San Antonio Down Payment Assistance: 2026 Programs, Income Limits & How to Qualify

Fact-checked by

Byron Davis

Texas DPA Fact-Checker · NMLS #621780

Last reviewed May 1, 2026

San Antonio down payment assistance is help — typically a grant, a forgivable second lien, or a federal tax credit — that may cover some or all of the down payment and closing costs on a home purchase in the San Antonio metro and Bexar County. Eligible San Antonio buyers may combine state programs (TSAHC, TDHCA), the federal MCC tax credit, and — when funding is open — the City of San Antonio Homeownership Incentive Program (HIP 80 or HIP 120) depending on income, credit score, occupation, and where the home sits inside the City of San Antonio limits or in the wider Bexar County footprint.

This guide walks through every San Antonio-area DPA program with real numbers, the actual eligibility rules verified from primary sources, and direct links so you can verify every claim with the issuing agency. If you have a 620 credit score and an income under your county’s AMI ceiling, you may qualify for at least one San Antonio first time home buyer program — often more.

What Is San Antonio Down Payment Assistance in 2026?

San Antonio buyers have access to up to four overlapping sources of down payment and closing-cost help. Most San Antonio DPA flows through three structures: grants (no repayment), forgivable second liens (no monthly payment, forgiven over time if you stay in the home), or deferred second liens (no monthly payment, due only when you sell or refinance). The right structure depends on which program you qualify for and how long you plan to stay in the home.

• TSAHC (Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation) — statewide programs that work across Bexar, Comal, Guadalupe, and surrounding counties. Typically delivers DPA as a grant up to 5% of the loan amount when paired with FHA/VA/USDA. Per the official TSAHC San Antonio area page (verified May 19, 2026), the San Antonio area is a TSAHC priority region.
• TDHCA (Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs) — statewide programs administered through the Texas Homebuyer Program portal at welcomehome.tdhca.texas.gov. Includes My First Texas Home (for first-time buyers) and My Choice Texas Home (for repeat buyers).
• Federal MCC tax credit — up to $2,000 per year off your federal taxes for the life of your loan, subject to your federal tax liability. Issued at closing under IRS §25. TSAHC waives the MCC issuance fee ($500 savings) when an eligible Texas Hero pairs an MCC with DPA on the same loan.
• City of San Antonio HIP 80 and HIP 120 — the Homeownership Incentive Programs run by the City of San Antonio Neighborhood and Housing Services Department (NHSD). Important note from the official program page verified May 19, 2026: HIP 80 and HIP 120 are currently NOT accepting new applications for FY 2026. If renewed by City Council, funding may become available October 1, 2026. Buyers waiting on HIP availability may still qualify for TSAHC or TDHCA in the meantime.

City of San Antonio HIP 80 and HIP 120 — The Local Homeownership Incentive Programs

The City of San Antonio Homeownership Incentive Programs (HIP) are city-funded forgivable second loans administered by the San Antonio Neighborhood and Housing Services Department (NHSD). Funding flows from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) HOME Investment Partnerships Program and is allocated annually through the city’s NHSD budget. There are two tiers: HIP 80 (for households at or below 80% of San Antonio-New Braunfels MSA Area Median Income) and HIP 120 (for first-time buyers at or below 120% AMI).

Critical disclosure (verified May 19, 2026 from sa.gov): the HIP 80 and HIP 120 programs are currently NOT accepting new applications for FY 2026. The official program page states: “If renewed by City Council, funding will become available October 1, 2026.” Buyers shopping in 2026 should verify the City’s program status directly with NHSD before counting on HIP funding in a closing timeline. We always recommend you contact the City of San Antonio NHSD directly for the most current funding availability before applying.

HIP 120 (when funded) — Up to $15,000 for First-Time Buyers

HIP 120 lends between $1,000 and $15,000 as a 0% interest, no-payments second loan toward down payment and closing costs on a home inside San Antonio city limits. The forgiveness structure is split: 25% of the loan amount is perpetual (never forgiven, returned at sale or refinance), and 75% is forgiven over a 10-year period. Per the City’s HIP 120 General Information PDF (verified May 19, 2026), the program’s key eligibility lines include:

• Borrower must be a first-time homebuyer — defined as not having owned a home for the last three years (with some exceptions for displaced homemakers and target-area purchases)
• Home must be within San Antonio city limits (use the City’s council districts map to verify)
• Existing home purchase price limit: $305,200 — new construction: $325,800 (FY 2025 figures per sa.gov)
• Combined household income at or below 120% of San Antonio-New Braunfels MSA AMI (see income table below)
• HUD-approved 8-hour homebuyer education course required before application approval
• Minimum $500 earnest money deposit on the purchase contract

2025 HIP 120 household income limits per the City NHSD PDF (FY 2026 figures may update October 1, 2026 if the program is renewed):

HIP 80 (when funded) — Up to $30,000 for 80% AMI Households

HIP 80 lends between $1,000 and $30,000 as a 0% interest, no-payments second loan toward down payment and closing costs on a home inside San Antonio city limits. The forgiveness structure depends on the loan size: loans of $1,000 to $15,000 are 100% forgiven over 5 years, and loans of $15,001 to $30,000 are 100% forgiven over 10 years. Per the City’s HIP 80 General Information PDF (verified May 19, 2026), the key eligibility lines include:

• Combined household income at or below 80% of San Antonio-New Braunfels MSA AMI
• Home must be within San Antonio city limits
• Existing home purchase price limit: $263,000 — new construction: $278,000 (FY 2025)
• HUD-approved 8-hour homebuyer education course required before application approval
• Minimum $500 earnest money deposit on the purchase contract

TSAHC vs TDHCA — Which Texas State DPA Fits Your San Antonio Buy?

Texas has two state DPA agencies. Both serve San Antonio-metro buyers, and both offer DPA paired with the MCC tax credit. The right one for your situation depends on first-time-buyer status, household income, occupation, and which loan type you’re using. Side by side:

For Bexar County buyers, the most-used TSAHC combination is the Frontline Home (powered by TSAHC's Homes for Texas Heroes Loan Program) for eligible educators, police officers, firefighters, EMS personnel, corrections officers, veterans, and nursing faculty (up to 115% AMI ceiling), or the HomeStep (powered by TSAHC's Home Sweet Texas Home Loan Program) for general first-time and repeat buyers (80% AMI ceiling). For TDHCA, first-time buyers typically route to the First Welcome (powered by TDHCA's My First Texas Home program), while repeat buyers route to the Encore Home (powered by TDHCA's My Choice Texas Home program).

Loan-Type Pairings — How San Antonio DPA Works With FHA, VA, USDA, and Conventional

San Antonio DPA assistance sits on top of a regular first mortgage. Each loan type pairs differently with the DPA layer. The four common combinations for SA-metro buyers:

The most common pairing for San Antonio buyers is FHA + Heroes (for eligible occupations) or FHA + Home Sweet Texas (for general first-time buyers under 80% AMI). VA buyers — especially the large JBSA-Lackland, JBSA-Randolph, and Fort Sam Houston military communities — may pair VA + TSAHC for zero-down financing with closing-cost assistance on top.

Bexar County and San Antonio-New Braunfels MSA AMI for 2026

Every San Antonio-area DPA program ties eligibility to Area Median Income (AMI), published annually by HUD for the San Antonio-New Braunfels metropolitan statistical area (MSA). The SA-New Braunfels MSA covers Bexar, Comal, Guadalupe, Atascosa, Bandera, Kendall, Medina, and Wilson counties. Income limits vary by household size and by the program’s specific AMI ceiling.

The 115% AMI ceiling (TSAHC Heroes program) comfortably captures most dual-income teacher / first-responder / nurse households in San Antonio. The 80% AMI ceiling (Home Sweet Texas, TDHCA programs, HIP 80) is meaningfully more restrictive — a single SAISD teacher earning $58,000 typically clears it, but a two-teacher household earning combined $120,000 may pinch the cap depending on family size.

MCC Tax Credit for San Antonio Buyers

The Texas Mortgage Credit Certificate (MCC) is a federal tax credit issued at closing under IRS §25. It lets eligible first-time San Antonio buyers claim a percentage of their annual mortgage interest as a federal income tax credit — up to $2,000 per year, subject to your federal tax liability. The credit is available for the life of the loan and may be reissued after refinance.

One MCC per loan. You may use either a TSAHC MCC or a TDHCA MCC, never both on the same mortgage. Per TSAHC’s program documentation, when an eligible Texas Hero pairs an MCC with DPA on the same loan, the MCC issuance fee is waived — an additional $500 in savings beyond the standalone benefit. Full mechanic, worked math examples, recapture handling, and the reissued-MCC procedure are covered in our Texas Mortgage Credit Certificate Guide.

San Antonio-Area Independent School Districts (ISDs)

The San Antonio metro contains 15+ Independent School Districts serving Bexar and surrounding counties. For TSAHC Heroes program participants in education roles (teachers, school librarians, school counselors, school nurses, teacher aides), employment verification typically comes from the ISD HR or Benefits department on official letterhead. Major San Antonio-area ISDs and their county coverage:

Each ISD’s HR or Benefits department typically verifies employment for TSAHC Heroes program enrollment within 1-3 business days. Most San Antonio-area ISDs have a designated benefits coordinator who is familiar with the Heroes program letter requirements. Teachers shopping in summer may want to time the verification letter to align with the school-year transition — a closing in August often pairs well with the August teacher start date and avoids the summer-pay continuity questions that sometimes arise in underwriting.

JBSA, Fort Sam Houston, and Military Buyers in San Antonio

San Antonio is one of the densest military-community metros in the United States. Joint Base San Antonio (JBSA) consolidates three historic installations: JBSA-Lackland (Air Force basic military training and security forces school, southwest San Antonio), JBSA-Randolph (Air Force flight training and the 12th Flying Training Wing, northeast SA near Universal City), and JBSA-Fort Sam Houston (the historic Army medical center, north-central SA — Brooke Army Medical Center sits here). Add a large veteran population from JBSA-Camp Bullis and the broader Hispanic veteran community, and you get one of the strongest VA loan + Heroes/Veterans DPA pairings in Texas.

How San Antonio military buyers may pair benefits, per primary-source eligibility rules:

• VA loan eligibility — qualifying veterans, active-duty service members, and certain reservists/National Guard members may use a VA home loan with 0% down, no monthly mortgage insurance, and a funding fee that is waived for veterans with 10%+ VA-rated disability per VA’s Lenders Handbook M26-7.
• TSAHC Veterans Program — under the Frontline Home, veterans and active military qualify alongside police officers, firefighters, EMS, teachers, and corrections officers. The DPA grant or forgivable second lien may cover the closing costs on the VA loan (since VA itself doesn’t require a down payment).
• Texas VLB Housing Assistance — the Texas Veterans Land Board (administered through the Texas General Land Office at glo.texas.gov/vlb) offers a separate first-mortgage program for eligible Texas veterans, with rate discounts for veterans with 30%+ VA-rated disability. Whether TSAHC DPA can pair with a VLB first mortgage depends on the specific program year’s combination rules — verify with a TSAHC-approved lender.
• MCC tax credit — military buyers who are first-time buyers (or buying in HUD-targeted areas) may also claim the MCC alongside the DPA + VA combination, subject to the same federal tax liability conditions described in the MCC section above.

San Antonio Neighborhoods and DPA Fit

“San Antonio” is more accurately a metro of 2.6+ million people across Bexar and the surrounding seven counties of the SA-New Braunfels MSA. Where you buy directly affects which programs may be available:

• Inside City of San Antonio limits — HIP 80 and HIP 120 are city-funded, so they apply only inside city limits (when the program is open for applications — currently closed for FY 2026). Includes downtown, Southtown, Tobin Hill, Government Hill, Dignowity Hill, Lavaca, King William, Beacon Hill, Monte Vista, Olmos Park (partial), Alamo Heights (separate municipality but adjacent), Northwood, Stone Oak (most of), and the West Side / South Side neighborhoods. HUD-targeted census tracts (which allow higher AMI ceilings on TDHCA MFTH) cluster in the East Side, West Side, and parts of South San Antonio.
• Schertz / Cibolo / Universal City (Bexar/Guadalupe/Comal) — outside SA city limits, so HIP does not apply. TSAHC + TDHCA available. JBSA-Randolph primary BAH commuter zone. SCUCISD and Judson ISD serve the area.
• Helotes / Leon Valley / Hollywood Park — outside SA city limits. TSAHC + TDHCA available. Northside ISD (NISD) serves most of this area. JBSA-Lackland secondary commuter zone.
• Converse / Live Oak / Selma — outside SA city limits. TSAHC + TDHCA available. Judson ISD serves the area. JBSA-Randolph primary BAH commuter zone.
• New Braunfels / Cibolo / Schertz / Comal County — outside Bexar but inside the SA-New Braunfels MSA. TSAHC + TDHCA available. Comal ISD and New Braunfels ISD serve the area. Higher median price than central SA; AMI math may pinch the 80% ceiling for Home Sweet Texas.
• Boerne / Kendall County — outside SA city limits. TSAHC + TDHCA available. Boerne ISD. Higher median price; Heroes 115% AMI typically fits where Home Sweet Texas may not.
• Alamo Heights / Terrell Hills / Olmos Park — separate independent municipalities adjacent to SA. Outside SA HIP coverage. TSAHC + TDHCA available; Alamo Heights ISD serves the area. Typically higher median price; check Heroes AMI math.

If you’re shopping in multiple SA-area neighborhoods, our short form may help identify the best fit based on the specific county / ISD / military-base zone you end up buying in. We don’t need an exact address — a target area is enough.

Credit Score and DTI for San Antonio DPA

The credit-score floor for San Antonio down payment assistance is set by two layers: the program minimum (set by TSAHC, TDHCA, the City of San Antonio, or HUD) and the lender overlay (additional underwriting standards your loan officer’s lender applies on top of program minimums).

• TSAHC programs: 620 FICO minimum on most loan types
• TDHCA programs: 620 FICO minimum on most loan types
• HIP 80 and HIP 120: minimum credit typically aligned with the FHA or conventional first mortgage; verify with the City of San Antonio NHSD when the program reopens for applications
• Lender overlays: many lenders apply 640 or 660 minimums above the program floor, especially for higher-DTI files

For context: the U.S. average FICO score is around 715, so a 620 minimum is well below the national average. If your score is on the borderline, ShopDPA may introduce you to a Texas LO whose lender works with manual underwriting and lower-FICO scenarios. Back-end DTI typically caps at 45-50% depending on loan type and credit; some lenders may underwrite higher DTI files for compensating factors like reserves or strong credit history.

HUD Homebuyer Education for San Antonio Buyers

Every major San Antonio DPA program — TSAHC, TDHCA, HIP 80, HIP 120 — requires completion of a HUD-approved homebuyer education course before closing. Courses run 6-8 hours and cover budgeting, mortgage basics, the Texas closing process, post-purchase home maintenance, and how to avoid foreclosure. The City of San Antonio specifically requires an 8-hour HUD-approved class for HIP applicants.

• Online courses — Framework Homeownership and eHome America are the most common. Self-paced, typically $75-$99, completable in one sitting.
• Neighborhood Housing Services of San Antonio (NHSSA) — a HUD-approved counseling agency in San Antonio that offers homebuyer education classes. NHSSA also runs its own separate down payment loan program for eligible Bexar County buyers. Find course schedules at nhsofsa.org/homeownershipcenter.
• Other HUD-approved counseling agencies in SA — multiple agencies serve the SA metro and offer in-person classes, often free. Find the full list at HUD’s Find a Counselor tool.

Save the certificate — your loan officer needs it before clear-to-close, and HIP applications require it before submission. Some lenders ask for the certificate at pre-qualification, not just at closing, so it may help to complete the course early in the process.

Recapture Tax for San Antonio DPA Buyers (IRS §143)

The federal recapture tax under IRC §143 may apply to certain mortgage revenue bond–financed loans (which includes most TSAHC and TDHCA first mortgages) and to MCC holders. The accurate version: a recapture tax may apply only if and only if three conditions all happen at the time you sell or refinance away from the financed property.

This is general information, not tax advice. Talk to a CPA before you sell if you think recapture might apply. Primary source: IRS Form 8828.

Step-by-Step: From Form to Closing Day in San Antonio

The path San Antonio buyers take through ShopDPA:

1. Tell us about your situation via our short form. Takes under 60 seconds. No SSN, no credit pull, no cost.
2. See your options. We line up the Texas state programs (TSAHC, TDHCA, MCC) that may fit your Bexar, Comal, Guadalupe, Atascosa, Bandera, Kendall, Medina, or Wilson county purchase, plus a note on whether the City of San Antonio HIP may be relevant if you’re buying inside city limits and HIP funding is open.
3. Meet your Texas loan officer. A licensed mortgage professional in our Texas partner network reaches out to walk you through what your options actually look like for your specific income, credit, target area, military status, and (if applicable) Heroes-eligible occupation. The LO does the underwriting; ShopDPA introduces.
4. Complete homebuyer education. 6-8 hour HUD-approved course online ($75-$99) or 8-hour in-person class at NHSSA or another SA-area HUD-approved counseling agency.
5. Apply for the program. Your loan officer submits the TSAHC or TDHCA program enrollment. If the City of San Antonio HIP 80 or HIP 120 is the right fit (and the program is accepting applications), you apply directly with the City of San Antonio NHSD.
6. Close on your home. The DPA layers in along the way, so you walk to the closing table with your keys in reach.

ShopDPA is a Texas home loan referral service. We connect Texas buyers with licensed mortgage professionals in our partner network. We are not a mortgage broker, lender, or loan officer, and we do not originate, fund, or service loans.

Required Documents for San Antonio DPA Pre-Qualification

• Photo ID — Texas driver’s license or state ID
• Income — last 2 pay stubs, last 2 W-2s, last 2 years of federal tax returns (1040 + all schedules)
• Self-employment (if applicable) — last 2 years business tax returns + year-to-date profit & loss statement
• Assets — last 2 months of bank statements (all accounts), most-recent 401(k) / IRA / brokerage statements
• Large deposits — letter of explanation + paper trail for any deposit over ~$500 not from payroll
• Military / VA buyers — DD-214 (or current Statement of Service for active duty), Certificate of Eligibility (your LO can pull)
• Heroes program — current employer verification letter on letterhead (typically from your ISD HR, your police or fire department’s benefits office, or your hospital’s HR for nursing faculty)
• Homebuyer counseling certificate — from your HUD-approved course (8-hour version for HIP applicants)
• Purchase contract (once selected) — fully executed sales contract from your SA-area real estate agent, with $500 earnest money deposit if applying for HIP

Frequently Asked Questions

Reviewed for compliance with TSAHC, TDHCA, IRS §143, IRS §25, and City of San Antonio NHSD primary-source documentation. Last verified May 19, 2026.