The Mississippi Down Payment Assistance Guide
Program and regulatory figures verified October 6, 2026. Details change; confirm your scenario with us.
Everything on this site in one place, in the order a Mississippi buyer actually needs it.
Where do I start?
With three questions, in this order.
Do you teach in a critical-shortage district? Then HAT is likely the best money available to you anywhere in the state, because it is the only assistance here that is forgiven and the only one with no income limit of its own. HAT and the district list.
Is your down payment already covered? Then look at JustRate, which trades the assistance for MHC's lowest bond rate.
Everyone else: start at Smart7 and move off it only for a reason.
What are the five programs?
| Program | Amount | Rate / term | Monthly payment | First-time rule | Income limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smart7 | $7,000 | 0%, deferred | None | None | $137,870 statewide |
| Easy8 | $8,000 | 0%, deferred | None | Required outside target | County MRB |
| Trusty10 | $10,000 | 2%, 15-year | Yes | Required outside target | County MRB |
| Trusty10 Plus 2 | $12,000 | 2%, 15-year | Yes | Required outside target | County MRB |
| JustRate | None | Lowest MRB rate | None | Required outside target | County MRB |
| HAT | Up to $6,000 | Forgivable | None | — | None alone |
The comparison, with the arithmetic.
What is the single most important Mississippi decision?
Whether to take Smart7 or move up to Easy8 or Trusty10 for more money. Here is the arithmetic, using MHC's own figures and a one-or-two-person household in a non-target county:
- Smart7 to Easy8: $1,000 more assistance. Income ceiling falls $137,870 to $81,100, a $56,770 loss. Price ceiling falls $413,610 to $316,373, a $97,237 loss. First-time rule now applies.
- Smart7 to Trusty10: $3,000 more assistance, all of the above, plus a 15-year amortising second at a 2% rate with a monthly payment in your DTI.
If your income and price sit comfortably inside the county figures, none of those losses bind and the extra money is simply extra money. If they do not, Smart7 is the program that is actually available to you.
How do the income limits work?
Two systems. Smart7 uses one statewide figure of $137,870. The three bond programs use county Mortgage Revenue Bond limits, split at household size three and split again by target status.
County figures range from $81,100 to $117,720 for one or two in family. Because Smart7's limit exceeds the highest county figure in the state, Smart7 has the loosest ceiling in all eighty-two counties. The full table.
How does target status work in Mississippi?
Three ways, which is one more than most states:
- 42 counties are target areas throughout. No buyer in them faces the first-time rule.
- 30 counties are split. Both kinds of area inside one county, so the property address decides. This includes the Jackson metro, the Gulf Coast, Hattiesburg, Oxford, DeSoto and Meridian.
- 10 counties are non-target throughout. The rule applies countywide: Itawamba, Lawrence, Leake, Lee, Pontotoc, Smith, Tate, Tishomingo, Union and Yalobusha.
Target status drives both the first-time rule and your income ceiling, under 26 U.S.C. §143. The detail.
What if I have owned a home before?
You have three possible routes, and most Mississippi buyers have at least one. Smart7 never applies the first-time rule. Forty-two counties waive it. Veterans are exempt on the three bond programs.
Which exit applies to you and the veteran exemption.
What should teachers know?
That HAT is the only forgivable assistance in Mississippi, that it carries no income limit on its own, and that pairing it with an MHC product imports that product's limit. Also that it requires 1% of the sales price from your own funds, which cannot be gifted even though the reserves can.
Sixty-eight of eighty-two counties have an eligible district, and the home must be in the county where you teach. HAT in full.
What is the process?
MHC's own sequence, and it is worth following in order: contact an approved MHC participating lender, confirm you fit the income limits for your county, get pre-qualified, complete pre-purchase homebuyer education, start shopping inside your pre-approval and MHC's price limits, then return to your lender who reserves the assistance with MHC.
Only an approved participating lender can take an application for an MHC product. Education is the step most likely to delay a closing if left late. Get it done early.
How do I know these numbers are current?
Because each one carries the date we verified it, and because we checked them twice. Every figure here was taken from MHC's published pages and then independently confirmed against MHC's own 32-page Homebuyer Guide. The two agreed exactly.
We also arithmetic-checked all eighty-two county rows, with zero anomalies. MHC sets these figures and changes them, so treat 2026-10-06 as the date and ask us to confirm before you rely on anything. Ask.
Frequently asked questions
What down payment assistance is available in Mississippi?
Five programs. The Mississippi Home Corporation offers Smart7 at $7,000, Easy8 at $8,000, Trusty10 at $10,000 or $12,000 with Plus 2, and JustRate which provides a lower bond rate instead of assistance. Separately, Housing Assistance for Teachers provides up to $6,000 of Mississippi Department of Education money that is forgiven after three years in a critical-shortage district. Verified against MHC 2026-10-06.What is the best down payment assistance program in Mississippi?
For most buyers, Smart7, despite paying the least at $7,000. It is the only MHC product with no first-time homebuyer requirement, it carries the highest income ceiling in the state at $137,870 statewide, the highest purchase price limit at $413,610, and no monthly payment. Teachers in critical-shortage districts should look at HAT first, since it is forgivable. Verified against MHC 2026-10-06.How do I apply for Mississippi down payment assistance?
Through an approved MHC participating lender, which is the only kind of lender that can pre-qualify you or accept an application for an MHC product. MHC's sequence is: contact a participating lender, confirm your county income limit, get pre-qualified, complete pre-purchase homebuyer education, shop within your pre-approval and MHC's price limits, then return to your lender to reserve the assistance. Verified against MHC 2026-10-06.Do you have to pay back down payment assistance in Mississippi?
On the four MHC products, yes. Smart7 and Easy8 are 0% seconds repaid on sale, refinance, loss of owner-occupancy or payoff of the first mortgage, with nothing collected monthly. Trusty10 is repaid monthly over fifteen years at a 2% rate. Housing Assistance for Teachers is the exception: it is forgiven once the licensed teacher completes three years in a critical-shortage district. Verified against MHC 2026-10-06.How many Mississippi counties waive the first-time homebuyer requirement?
Forty-two of eighty-two are target areas throughout, where the requirement applies to nobody. Thirty more are split, containing both target and non-target areas, so the answer depends on the property address. Ten are non-target throughout. Smart7 has no first-time requirement in any county. Verified against MHC 2026-10-06.Mike Certo · NMLS #260555 · Cornerstone First Mortgage NMLS #173855 · Equal Housing Lender. Educational content about financing, not a loan commitment and not tax or legal guidance. MHC program terms, income limits and purchase price limits are set by the Mississippi Home Corporation and change; figures here carry the date we verified them against MHC's published pages and its Homebuyer Guide. Smart7 and Easy8 are 0% second mortgages with no monthly payment, deferred until sale, refinance, loss of owner-occupancy or payoff of the first mortgage. Trusty10 is a 15-year second at a 2% rate set by MHC and does carry a monthly payment. Housing Assistance for Teachers is Mississippi Department of Education grant money forgiven on completion of three years' service in a district the Department designates as critical-shortage. Loans are subject to borrower and property qualification.