How Much Do I Need for a House Down Payment?

“How much do I need for a down payment?” is almost always the wrong first question — because in Texas, the real answer often isn’t 20%, or even 5%. It’s whatever’s left after you stack your loan program against the down payment assistance you may not know you qualify for.

The Baseline: What Loan Programs Actually Require

• Conventional loans can go as low as 3% down for qualified first-time buyers.
• FHA loans require 3.5% down with a credit score of 580 or higher.
• VA loans (for eligible veterans and service members) and USDA loans (for eligible rural and some suburban DFW-adjacent areas) can go to 0% down.

That’s the floor. What most buyers miss is that Texas layers real down payment assistance on top of these programs — assistance that can cover some or all of that number.

Texas & DFW Down Payment Assistance Programs

These are current, real programs — not just marketing language. We help DFW buyers combine these with a first mortgage every day.

• TDHCA My First Texas Home — Up to 5% of your loan amount as a 0%-interest second lien with no monthly payment; you only repay it when you sell or refinance. Requires a 620+ credit score and first-time buyer status (or no home ownership in the past 3 years). Pairs with FHA, VA, or conventional financing.
• TSAHC Homes for Texas Heroes — For teachers, firefighters, police and corrections officers, EMS personnel, nurses, and veterans: 3–5% of your loan amount, with your choice of a non-repayable grant or a deferred 0% second lien.
• TSAHC Home Sweet Texas — The same 3–5% grant-or-lien structure as the Heroes program, open to any eligible buyer, not just the professions above.
• City of Dallas DHAP — Up to $60,000 as a deferred, forgivable loan for first-time buyers purchasing inside Dallas city limits, subject to income limits and a required HUD-approved homebuyer education course.
• City of Fort Worth HAP — Up to $25,000, forgivable after a required occupancy period, for first-time buyers inside Fort Worth city limits.
• Tarrant County — Up to $50,000 as a deferred loan forgiven after a set residency period, covering Fort Worth, Arlington, Mansfield, and surrounding Tarrant County cities.
• City of Arlington — Up to $20,000, forgivable, for first-time buyers purchasing in Arlington.

Most of these programs cap household income (commonly in the roughly $97,000–$120,000 range for DFW-area households, depending on the program and family size) and require a minimum 620 credit score. Funds for local city and county programs are limited and can run out mid-year, so timing matters.

What This Means for Your Actual Number

Stack these correctly — say, an FHA loan at 3.5% down combined with TDHCA assistance covering that 3.5% — and a buyer’s true out-of-pocket down payment can land close to $0, before closing costs. That’s why “how much do I need” has to be answered with your specific situation, not a rule of thumb.

Not sure how a bigger or smaller down payment changes your monthly payment? Run the numbers with our Mortgage Calculator →