What CalHFA Programs Are Available to California First-Time Buyers in 2026?
CalHFA gives California first-time buyers four working assistance programs in 2026: MyHome (up to 3.5% of the price for down payment or closing costs), ZIP (2% to 3% in zero-interest closing cost help), MyAccess (a 2.5% deferred loan), and Dream For All (as much as 20% of the price, capped at $150,000, for first-generation buyers). Each one is a repayable loan, not a grant, and each rides behind a CalHFA first mortgage. The catch is eligibility: your qualifying income must clear your county’s 2026 limit, one borrower needs a homebuyer education certificate, and MyHome and Dream For All both require first-time buyer status. Dream For All is closed as of July 2026, while MyHome and ZIP stay open year-round.
This page lays out each program with the 2026 numbers, pulled from the agency’s published limits and lender matrices. Where a program is closed, we say so. Nothing sours a buyer faster than reading about last year’s program that stopped taking applications.
Which CalHFA stack fits your county?
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Get a free assessment →How Do CalHFA’s Down Payment Assistance Programs Compare?
Four programs, one quick comparison. MyHome and MyAccess help with the down payment, ZIP handles closing costs, and Dream For All does the heavy lifting for first-generation buyers when its window is open. Here is how they line up.
| Program | What it covers | Amount | Interest | Key requirement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MyHome | Down payment or closing costs | 3.5% (FHA), 3% (conventional, VA, USDA) | Simple interest, deferred | First-time buyer; any CalHFA first mortgage |
| ZIP | Closing costs only | 2% or 3% of the first mortgage | Zero interest | CalPLUS first mortgage |
| MyAccess | Down payment or closing costs | 2.5% of the loan amount | Deferred | CalPLUS Access first, paired with MyHome |
| Dream For All | Down payment or closing costs | Up to 20% of price, max $150,000 | Shared appreciation | First-generation and first-time buyer; window-based |
Every row is a deferred junior loan. You make no monthly payment on any of them, and each comes due only when you sell, transfer, or refinance. The rest of this page walks each one in detail.
What Is CalHFA and How Does It Work?
CalHFA is the California Housing Finance Agency, and it has financed homes since 1975. It is self-supporting rather than taxpayer-funded. The agency sells bonds and lends the proceeds. That funding model is why its core programs stay open year after year while grant-funded programs come and go. By its own fiftieth-anniversary count, it has helped more than 233,000 homebuyers with $43.5 billion in first mortgages.
Here is the part most buyers miss. The agency never lends to you directly. A CalHFA-approved private lender originates the loan, through loan officers the state has trained. So the loan officer matters. One who rarely touches these files will not know which pairings fit your situation.
What Are the Main Advantages?
The bond-funded core runs continuously. That means the first mortgages plus MyHome and ZIP. No application season, no lottery, no race against a funding pool that empties mid-year. That reliability pays off when you plan months ahead. Dream For All is the exception, and we cover its window-based reality below.
What Is the MyHome Down Payment Assistance Program?
MyHome is a deferred-payment junior loan, the agency’s own term for a second mortgage with no monthly payments. On FHA loans it covers as much as 3.5% of the purchase price or appraised value, whichever is less. On conventional, VA, and USDA loans the cap is 3%. The statewide median home ran roughly $930,000 in May 2026, per the California Association of Realtors. Against that price the FHA version is worth more than $30,000 of help.
One correction, because plenty of pages get this wrong and an older version of this one did too. MyHome is not interest-free. The program handbook defines it as a simple-interest loan. Nothing leaves your pocket month to month. But the balance you eventually repay is principal plus accrued simple interest. ZIP is the genuinely zero-interest program.
MyHome sits in second lien position behind your first mortgage. The combined loan-to-value of everything stacked on the home cannot exceed 105%. Funds may go toward down payment or closing costs, though they cannot pay off your other debts, and there is no cash back at closing. Buyers who want assistance that forgives instead of deferring should compare the Elite Grant, which forgives in as little as 6 to 36 months on qualifying FHA files.
How Does the Silent Second Structure Work?
Lenders call these “silent seconds” because the junior loan makes no monthly demand on your budget. Your housing cost is just the first mortgage, taxes, and insurance. The second sits quietly against the title until a triggering event: sale, transfer, or payoff of the first loan. For most buyers that beats draining savings at closing. The deferred balance grows slowly, and California equity has historically grown faster, though nobody can promise that pattern for any given year or neighborhood.
What Are the ZIP Zero-Interest Program Benefits?
ZIP stands for Zero Interest Program. It is closing cost assistance in its purest form. The loan equals 2% or 3% of your first mortgage, and it charges no interest. What you receive is what you repay, whether that happens in year three or year thirty. Funds are restricted to closing costs and prepaid items. ZIP comes only with a CalPLUS first mortgage and records in third position behind MyHome.
How Does Closing Work?
California closing costs typically land around 2% to 3% of the purchase price once escrow, title, lender fees, and prepaids are tallied. ZIP is sized to cover most of that bill, and sometimes all of it. Pair it with MyHome handling the down payment, and many buyers arrive at closing on a purchase needing little cash beyond earnest money. The escrow process itself is standard. The assistance simply shows up as extra lien documents in your signing package.
What Are CalPLUS First Mortgage Programs?
CalPLUS FHA and CalPLUS Conventional are 30-year fixed first mortgages that exist to carry ZIP, which is mandatory on both. The agency’s own descriptions note that CalPLUS runs at a slightly higher fixed rate than its standard loans. That premium is effectively how the zero-interest closing cost money gets funded. Whether the trade wins depends on your cash at closing versus your long-run cost. It is a math problem, not a slogan.
The credit floors are published in the agency’s lender matrices, updated January 1, 2026. CalPLUS FHA starts at a 640 score with debt-to-income up to 45%, and a 700 score stretches that ceiling to 50%. Manually underwritten FHA files and manufactured homes need 660. The conventional programs require 680, with 700 again unlocking the higher debt ratio, and they permit no manual underwriting. Standard FHA loans in California are worth comparing when your score sits below the conventional floor.
What About CalPLUS Access and MyAccess?
CalPLUS Access is the newer branch of the family. Instead of ZIP, these FHA and conventional first mortgages pair with MyAccess, a deferred junior loan of 2.5% of the loan amount, usable for either a down payment or closing costs. MyAccess must be combined with MyHome and records third behind it. The practical question is whether ZIP or MyAccess pencils out better for your county and price point. That answer moves with pricing, so have your loan officer run both.
What Is the Dream For All Shared Appreciation Loan?
Dream For All is the state’s headline assistance program and its most misunderstood. It reaches 20% of the purchase price, capped at $150,000, toward a down payment or closing costs, attached to a Dream For All Conventional first mortgage. There is no monthly payment. When you sell, transfer, or pay off the first loan, you repay the original amount plus a share of your home’s appreciation. The standard share is 20% of the gain. Buyers at or below 80% of area median income repay a reduced 15% share. The state refills its fund from your equity growth. That is the deal. Price it honestly against an interest-bearing loan before you commit.
Eligibility here is the catch, and it is stricter than the rest of the lineup. At least one borrower must be a first-generation homebuyer. That means someone who has not owned a home in the last 7 years, and whose parents, so far as the buyer knows, own no home in the United States today or owned none at the time of death. Applicants who grew up in the state or institutional care system qualify automatically, regardless of their parents’ history. Each borrower on the loan must also be a first-time homebuyer. One must currently live in California, and the household must fit under a separate Dream For All income table that runs lower than the standard limits.
Funding is the hard constraint. The first round in 2023 ran first come, first served, and the entire allocation was reserved in eleven days. The agency switched to a random drawing. The 2026 cycle followed that script. The application portal closed March 16, 2026, and vouchers went out to selected applicants on May 20, 2026. As of July 2026, no new round has been announced. Preparation for the next window is concrete. Gather parent documentation for the first-generation test, take the free one-hour Dream For All course, and get pre-approved with a participating lender before the portal opens, not after.
Is the Forgivable Equity Builder Loan Available in 2026?
No. The Forgivable Equity Builder loan once offered 10% of the purchase price and forgave the balance after five years of occupancy. Its funding was exhausted after the 2022 launch, and it does not appear in the agency’s 2026 program handbook lineup. If the legislature funds a new round, it will surface through CalHFA program bulletins first. Buyers who need forgivable help today should look at lender-funded grant programs or the reduced-share Dream For All structure instead.
What Are the 2026 CalHFA Income Limits by County?
CalHFA sets one income limit per county, and the 2026 table took effect June 30, 2026. The floor is $192,000. The ceiling is $325,000. What counts is the qualifying income on your loan, not everything your household earns. Here is how a representative set of counties lands.
| County | 2026 qualifying income limit |
|---|---|
| Most inland, Central Valley, and rural counties (Fresno, Kern, Butte, and similar) | $192,000 |
| Los Angeles | $214,000 |
| Sacramento | $245,000 |
| Alameda, Contra Costa | $322,000 |
| Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara | $325,000 |
These numbers move every summer, so verify your own county on the agency’s current table before ruling yourself in or out. Dream For All uses its own lower income table.
Just as important is what gets counted. The limit applies to the qualifying income of the borrowers on the loan, the same income the lender uses for approval. Earnings from a household member who is not on the loan do not count against the cap. Income the lender ignores, the agency ignores too. That distinction rescues plenty of two-income households where only one spouse goes on the mortgage.
The first-time homebuyer test is a three-year lookback. You pass if you have not owned and occupied a principal residence in the last three years, and have not lived in a home your spouse owned during that period. The test binds MyHome and Dream For All. The standalone first mortgages dropped it, so a repeat buyer within the income limits can still use a CalHFA or CalReady first mortgage without assistance attached.
What Geographic Considerations Affect Availability?
Every county is covered, but the limits track local incomes, so coastal metros allow far higher earnings than inland counties. Buyers in genuinely rural areas should also compare USDA loans in California. Those pair their zero-down structure with MyHome under the government matrix.
Does your income clear your county's cap?
The published limit is one number, but what counts is the qualifying income on your loan file, not everything your household earns. Tell us your county and rough income and we'll check it against the current table at no cost.
Get a free assessment →What Homebuyer Education Course Do You Need?
Only one occupying first-time borrower per transaction completes the education requirement, which saves co-borrowing couples half the effort. The online path is eHome’s eight-hour course. It costs $100 and is the only online option the agency accepts. Frameworks and HomeView are specifically rejected, because they lack the one-hour, one-on-one counseling follow-up. The in-person or virtual path runs through NeighborWorks America or any HUD-approved counseling agency, with fees that vary by provider. Dream For All applicants add a second, free, one-hour online course covering how shared appreciation works.
The requirement earns its keep. The curriculum covers budgeting for taxes and insurance, how escrow works, and what maintenance actually costs. Repeat buyers using a standalone first mortgage skip it entirely.
How Do You Stack MyHome, ZIP, and Other Assistance?
The pairings are rule-bound, so think of fixed menus rather than a buffet. The first menu is a CalPLUS first mortgage with MyHome in second position and ZIP in third, covering down payment and closing costs in one closing. Menu two swaps in a CalPLUS Access first with MyHome and MyAccess behind it, trading ZIP’s closing-cost-only money for help that can also reach the down payment. Menu three is simpler. It is a standard CalHFA first with MyHome alone, which leaves room under the 105% combined loan-to-value cap for outside layers.
Those outside layers are where a good file gets creative. Gift funds from family stack cleanly. Many city and county programs layer on top of the state package, including San Diego and Los Angeles programs with their own deferred loans. Our guide to down payment assistance programs maps those local options. Where county programs still offer them, a Mortgage Credit Certificate adds an ongoing federal tax credit. One honest caution: the state’s assistance programs are repayable loans, not grants. Buyers hunting for money that never has to be repaid are really shopping for lender grants or forgivable local programs, which is a different category we compare below.
Which Combinations Fit Which Buyers?
Buyers with stronger credit often pair MyHome with a conventional first to avoid FHA’s permanent mortgage insurance. Those with thinner scores lean on the FHA menu’s 640 floor. Veterans can attach MyHome to a VA loan in California, stacking state closing cost help onto a zero-down federal benefit. That one is quietly excellent.
Three programs, one closing, zero guesswork
Rod has arranged California mortgages for more than 40 years and knows which state pairings actually reach the closing table. One call lines up MyHome, ZIP or MyAccess, and our own grant options against your real numbers.
What Is the Application and Processing Timeline?
There is no separate state application to file. Your loan officer reserves the programs while underwriting the first mortgage. The paperwork mirrors any purchase loan. Expect tax returns, pay stubs, bank statements, and employment verification. Assistance loans are approved alongside the first mortgage, not in sequence. That keeps things fast. A well-prepared file closes in the usual 30-to-45-day window. Two quirks are worth knowing in advance. The education certificate must be in the file before closing. And first-time buyer purchases of resale homes require a one-year home warranty under the current matrices. Pre-approval through a participating lender doubles as program qualification, which lets your offer stand on verified numbers.
What Are Common Misconceptions About CalHFA Programs?
Three myths keep buyers from these programs. The first: that state assistance is only for low-income households. Not so. The 2026 tables allow qualifying income up to $325,000 in five Bay Area counties. Teachers, nurses, and tech workers use them routinely. The second myth is that you need spotless credit. The published floors are 640 on the FHA menu and 680 conventional, with the compensating structure spelled out in the matrices. The third myth is that a state program automatically means a below-market rate. Sometimes the pricing is attractive. Sometimes it is not. CalPLUS in particular is priced above the agency’s standard loans by design, because it funds ZIP. Treat the package as a cash-flow decision to be priced, not a discount to be assumed.
When Do You Repay CalHFA Assistance?
Every deferred loan in the system comes due at the same events: sale of the home, transfer of title, or payoff of the first mortgage, which includes refinancing it. What you owe differs by program. ZIP repayment equals exactly what you received. MyHome repayment is principal plus accrued simple interest, so the payoff grows modestly over the years. Dream For All repayment is the original amount plus a share of appreciation. That share swings with the market. In a strong market it can cost more than an interest-bearing loan. In a flat market, far less.
Refinancing deserves planning rather than fear. A refinance normally triggers repayment of the junior loans. But the agency offers a Dream For All Refinance that resubordinates the shared appreciation loan on a rate-and-term transaction, and subordination requests on MyHome are handled case by case. Sell early with thin appreciation, and the sale proceeds must clear the assistance before you see equity. Hold through a normal cycle and the balances shrink. Run the exit math before you close, not when the moving truck is booked.
Get the payoff math before you sign
Bring us your price range and county. We'll show you what you'd owe at sale under MyHome, ZIP, and Dream For All, in dollars, before you commit to a structure.
What If You Don’t Qualify for CalHFA or Don’t Want the Restrictions?
CalHFA has real requirements that disqualify a lot of buyers. The assistance programs need you to be a first-time buyer with no ownership in the past 3 years. Your qualifying income must fall under county caps, you must complete a homebuyer education course, and the assistance is never forgiven; it comes due when you sell, refinance, or transfer the property. The Forgivable Equity Builder loan did forgive after five years, but it has been unfunded since 2022 and is absent from the agency’s 2026 lineup.
If any of those conditions are a problem, there is a cleaner path.
Our no money down program has none of those restrictions. No income caps. No first-time buyer requirement. No education course. If you qualify for a standard FHA or conventional loan, you qualify for the grant. The assistance is forgiven after 6 months with nothing to repay after that point. Maximum amounts reach up to $30,205 on FHA loans regardless of county and up to $38,633 on conventional loans in high-cost counties.
For buyers who have owned before, earn more than the county caps allow, or simply want assistance that does not follow them to the closing table when they eventually sell, that is the more straightforward option.
How Does CalHFA Work Across California’s Different Markets?
The programs run statewide, but the useful lever changes with geography. In high-cost coastal metros the income limits qualify comfortable households, yet 3.5% of a seven-figure price barely dents the down payment. What shines there is the closing cost side. MyHome plus ZIP on a CalPLUS loan lets buyers walk into escrow with little more than earnest money. Inland the story flips. Across the Central Valley, the Inland Empire, and most rural counties, that same 3.5% can cover the entire down payment on a starter home. That is often the difference between renting another year and owning. Different region, different lever, same through-line: stack the programs that fit your numbers.
How Do You Apply for CalHFA Assistance in California?
You apply through a CalHFA-approved lender, not the state, and the assistance is reserved while your first mortgage is underwritten. No two files stack the same way. County limits, credit tiers, which first mortgage carries the assistance, and what local layers fit on top all shift with where you buy and what you earn. Call (510) 589-4096 and we will run your numbers against the current 2026 tables and tell you which combination actually maximizes your help. Or keep reading through the rest of our down payment assistance guides.
Explore More Down Payment Assistance
The state package is one aisle in a bigger store. Our no money down program, covered above, forgives in 6 months with no income caps. The Elite Grant forgives in 6 to 36 months for qualifying FHA buyers. Local city and county programs range from modest deferred loans to six-figure help in a handful of jurisdictions. Tax-credit certificates quietly return money every April where counties still fund them. Buyers planning to build rather than buy can pair these strategies with a construction-to-permanent loan. Compare the options side by side and pick the structure that fits how long you plan to own the home.
