Idaho first-time homebuyer grants and down payment assistance (2026)

Idaho’s statewide down payment help is a loan you start repaying right away

The Second Mortgage pays toward your down payment, closing costs or both, as a separate loan behind your first mortgage. You repay it monthly over 15 years, starting with your first payment, so it raises your monthly cost ⁠¹⁠². Unlike many states, Idaho does not forgive or defer its main assistance.

IHFA changed the terms on Aug. 28, 2025. The maximum went from 7% to 8% of the purchase price, and the minimum buyer contribution dropped from 0.5% of the price to $500 ⁠³. That $500 can cover earnest money, the appraisal, the inspection or the education fee ⁠¹. IHFA’s own example: a $400,000 home with a conventional loan needs $12,000 down (3%), but with the Second Mortgage the buyer brings only $500 ⁠¹.

The flyer says funds are limited and terms can change at any time ⁠². IHFA’s lender delivery checklist still lists a “Forgivable Grant Note, if applicable.” But no current IHFA page or flyer describes a forgivable or grant option, so ask your lender before counting on one.

What 8% at two points over your rate costs each month

Under the September 2025 flyer, the Second Mortgage is capped at 8% of the sales price or the appraised value, whichever is lower. Its fixed rate is 2% above your first-mortgage rate, spread over 15 years ⁠². Since Sept. 17, 2025, conventional loans in Bannock, Bear Lake, Bingham, Bonneville, Caribou, Franklin, Fremont, Jefferson, Madison, Oneida and Power counties get a flat 6.75% rate on the Second Mortgage instead. In those 11 counties, IHFA also dropped the 0.125% rate add-on on the first mortgage. FHA, VA and USDA loans in those counties are still priced the standard way ⁠⁴.

Our illustration, not an IHFA quote: IHFA’s homebuyer page advertised 30-year rates as low as 6.75% (6.753% APR) on Oct. 20, 2026 ⁠⁹. On a $400,000 purchase, the full 8% is $32,000. At 8.75% (6.75% plus 2) over 15 years, that is about $320 a month on top of the first mortgage. Borrowing less than the maximum lowers it.

First Loan Tax-Exempt returned in March 2026

IHFA brought back its tax-exempt mortgage revenue bond loan in 2026, with locks starting March 9, 2026. It covers both conventional HFA loans and government (FHA, VA, USDA) loans, and it can be paired with the Second Mortgage ⁠⁵. The rules come from federal bond law:

• First-time buyers only, except in targeted counties. IHFA counts you as first-time if you have not owned and lived in a primary residence in the last three years ⁠⁵⁠⁸.
• Household income, not just borrower income. IHFA counts everyone on title, every spouse (even a non-borrowing one) and every other adult 18 or older who will live in the home and be liable on the loan. Non-occupying co-borrowers are not allowed ⁠⁸.
• Recapture paperwork. Closing includes a recapture notice, a summary and a reimbursement form, plus a tax-exempt rider on the deed of trust ⁠⁵.
• One-time use. A buyer who used the tax-exempt loan or an MCC cannot get another IHFA loan later ⁠⁸.

IHFA had posted no notice ending the 2026 round by Oct. 20, 2026, but bond funding is limited. IHFA’s Mortgage Credit Certificate (“The MCC/Tax Credit”) is currently suspended ⁠⁸.

County limits: the $170,000 ceiling and the bond loan’s chart

Most IHFA loans have a single income cap of $170,000 per household. On IHFA’s county chart, sales price limits appear only for the tax-exempt loan ⁠⁷⁠¹⁰. First Loan Tax-Exempt uses county limits by household size and a county sales price limit. Fannie Mae HFA Preferred and Freddie Mac HFA Advantage loans cap income at 80% of area median income ⁠⁷. IHFA put new tax-exempt income and price limits into effect for reservations on or after May 1, 2026. It says the limits rose in every county ⁠⁶. The 2026 chart is on IHFA’s document server (mediaserve.ihfa.org), which refused connections when we checked on Oct. 20, 2026. The figures below come from the most recent chart we could open, revised May 19, 2025. Treat them as floors: the 2026 limits are higher.

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Across all 44 counties on the 2025 chart, the price limits ran from $544,232 to $787,968. Income limits ran from $98,400 to $130,200 for 1-2 people and from $113,160 to $151,900 for 3 or more. The 80% AMI limits ran from $65,920 (Jerome, Twin Falls) to $92,880 (Teton) ⁠⁷. Canyon, Kootenai and most rural counties were “targeted,” so the first-time rule does not apply there ⁠⁵⁠⁷. For your county’s 2026 figures, use the chart linked from IHFA’s Borrower Income Limits page or ask your lender ⁠¹⁰.

Credit, debt ratios and Finally Home! education

Credit. IHFA does not publish its own minimum credit score. Its homebuyer page says only that a score of 620 or higher typically helps ⁠⁹. On foreclosures, bankruptcies, manufactured homes and income documentation, its lender FAQ defers to FHA, VA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac rules and to the automated underwriting findings. It accepts borrowers with no credit score under those rules. A past foreclosure on an IHFA loan requires IHFA’s permission to reapply ⁠⁸.

Debt-to-income. None of IHFA’s public homebuyer pages sets a DTI cap for the Second Mortgage. Your lender’s underwriting findings decide it, and your lender also checks that you can afford the combined payment ⁠¹⁠⁸. The two programs below do set caps: 47% back-end for IHFA’s HOME assistance ⁠¹², and 39% front-end and 45% back-end for Boise’s HOP ⁠¹⁴.

Education. Finally Home! is IHFA’s own course, run by a HUD-approved counseling agency (ID 81204). IHFA requires it when you use the Second Mortgage, when a first-time buyer uses a Fannie or Freddie HFA loan, or when underwriting calls for it. If two first-time buyers are on the loan, one certificate covers both ⁠⁸. The online course costs no more than $70. Households below 200% of the federal poverty line can apply for a Homeownership Education Access Grant to cover it ⁠¹¹.

Boise’s HOP and IHFA’s federal HOME dollars

Boise, Homeownership Opportunity Program. This is the largest city program we could verify. The City of Boise lends CDBG money to buyers with household income of at least 50% and no more than 80% of AMI, for homes inside Boise city limits ⁠¹³⁠¹⁴. The maximum is $45,000 for a standard (fee simple) home, or $65,000 for a home in a community land trust or with a deed restriction. City staff review the caps each October. The assistance is a deferred second mortgage with no monthly payment. When you sell or transfer the home, you repay the original amount multiplied by the home’s appreciation (new sale price divided by your purchase price), capped at your net proceeds ⁠¹⁴. The city’s other rules:

• You put in at least 0.5% of the price, and after closing you still have savings equal to two monthly payments.
• Liquid assets above $35,000 must go into the purchase.
• The first mortgage must be a 30-year fixed loan. IHFA loans are accepted.
• City staff inspect the home before purchase ⁠¹⁴.

You cannot apply to the city directly. You start with NeighborWorks Boise or LEAP Housing, which handle the counseling and the first-mortgage approval and then refer you ⁠¹³⁠¹⁴. NeighborWorks Boise tells buyers to have a credit score above 620, no collections and about $6,000 for closing costs before taking its class ⁠¹⁵. The city’s page does not publish how much money is left this year.

IHFA HOME Program down payment assistance. IHFA’s HOME Programs Department makes 0% second loans from federal HOME funds for households at or below 80% of AMI. You repay the loan when you sell, transfer the home, take cash out in a refinance, or default ⁠¹². The 2026 plan, dated April 1, 2026, sets these rules:

• An average credit score of 640 across all three bureaus (not the middle score), and a 47% back-end DTI.
• No property owned in the past 36 months.
• At most $105,574 in total assets, and $30,000 in liquid assets at closing.
• A $500 minimum investment and a $100 fee at closing ⁠¹².

Homes must stay your principal residence for 5, 10 or 15 years, depending on the amount. The loan is not forgiven when that period ends ⁠¹². Funds go out through competitive reservations to partner organizations, not an open application. The plan says to email [email protected] to learn how to apply ⁠¹².

Outside Boise, we could not confirm another city-run down payment program on an official site as of Oct. 20, 2026. Ask your city’s community development office.

Getting an IHFA loan with assistance, step by step

1. Check the ceiling that applies to you

   If your household earns $170,000 or less, you can use the standard IHFA loans and the Second Mortgage. For the tax-exempt loan, compare your household income and target price with your county’s 2026 chart ⁠⁶⁠¹⁰.

2. Register for Finally Home!

   Take the online course (at most $70), or ask about in-person classes. Keep the certificate for your lender ⁠¹¹.

3. Pick an IHFA-approved lender

   Use Idaho Housing’s Find a Lender directory. Lenders outside the network cannot offer IHFA loans or the Second Mortgage ⁠⁹.

4. Bring your documents

   IHFA lists pay stubs, W-2s, tax returns, bank and asset statements, and ID ⁠⁹. Tax-exempt files also need income information for every adult in the household and the bond affidavits ⁠⁵⁠⁸.

5. Get preapproved and shop

   Your agent attaches the preapproval letter to your offer ⁠⁹.

6. Lock the loan and the assistance

   Your lender reserves the loan with IHFA. A standard lock lasts 45 days. Each 15-day extension costs the lender a fee, up to a 90-day maximum ⁠⁸.

7. Close and set up HomeLoanServ

   HomeLoanServ will collect both payments. Keep your closing disclosure for each loan ⁠⁹.

If one lender turns you down, another approved lender may decide differently, since IHFA defers to agency underwriting rules ⁠⁸. For a Boise HOP referral, call NeighborWorks Boise at (208) 258-6226 or LEAP Housing at (208) 391-2823 before you sign a purchase contract ⁠¹³. Programs in other states are on the first-time homebuyer grants page.