In 30 Mississippi Counties, Your County Does Not Decide
Program and regulatory figures verified October 6, 2026. Details change; confirm your scenario with us.
Most states answer the first-time buyer question at the county line. Mississippi answers it at the property line in thirty counties, which happens to include almost every market people actually buy in.
What are Mississippi's three target categories?
Federal Mortgage Revenue Bond rules let a state designate certain areas as targeted, and buyers in those areas skip the first-time homebuyer requirement. Most states draw this at the county level and leave it there. MHC publishes three categories instead:
| Code | What it means | Counties |
|---|---|---|
| * | Entire county is a target area. No buyer in it faces the first-time rule. | 42 |
| NT/T | Split. Both target and non-target areas inside one county. The address decides. | 30 |
| (blank) | Non-target throughout. The first-time rule applies countywide. | 10 |
The statutory basis for targeted areas sits in 26 U.S.C. §143, the federal provision governing qualified mortgage bonds.
Which Mississippi counties are split?
All thirty, and the list is not a collection of obscure places:
Alcorn, Bolivar, Calhoun, Clay, Covington, DeSoto, Forrest, Hancock, Harrison, Hinds, Jackson, Jasper, Jones, Lafayette, Lamar, Lauderdale, Lincoln, Lowndes, Madison, Neshoba, Pearl River, Prentiss, Rankin, Scott, Sharkey, Simpson, Tallahatchie, Tippah, Warren and Webster.
Read that against a map of where Mississippi actually transacts. Jackson and its suburbs. Gulfport, Biloxi and Bay St. Louis. Hattiesburg. Oxford. Tupelo's neighbours. Southaven and the Memphis commute. Meridian. Vicksburg. Starkville's region. The split counties are the market.
What does target status actually change?
Two things, and they compound:
- The first-time buyer rule. In a target area it does not apply, so a current or previous homeowner can use Easy8, Trusty10 or JustRate. Outside one, you need three years without a principal interest in a residence, or the veteran exemption.
- Your income ceiling. Target areas carry a higher MRB limit than non-target areas in the same county.
In the Jackson metro the second effect is worth $18,280. MHC lists Hinds, Madison and Rankin at $91,400 for a one-or-two-person household on the non-target side and $109,680 on the target side. Same county, same household, same program, $18,280 apart.
The Jackson metro, specifically
Hinds, Madison and Rankin all carry identical figures: $91,400 non-target and $109,680 target for one or two in family, $105,110 and $127,960 for three or more. Every one of the three is split.
So a buyer comparing Madison and Flowood and north Jackson is not comparing three different county rules. They are comparing three identical county rules with address-level answers inside each. More on the Jackson metro.
How do I find out which side an address is on?
Through an approved MHC participating lender. MHC says it plainly in the note on its own income-limits page: for split counties you will need to check with your lender. The designation is drawn at a level finer than the county, and the lender runs the address against it.
That check happens before you write an offer, not after. It determines whether the first-time rule applies to you and which of two income limits you are being measured against.
Is there a way around this?
Yes, and it is the reason Smart7 keeps coming up. Smart7 has no first-time homebuyer requirement anywhere in Mississippi, and its $137,870 income limit is statewide, so target status does not affect it at all. For a buyer in a split county who has owned before, or whose income sits between the two county figures, Smart7 removes the question entirely.
That is a genuinely useful thing to know before you start checking addresses. How Smart7 compares.
Frequently asked questions
What is a target area for Mississippi down payment assistance?
A federally designated area, under 26 U.S.C. §143, where the Mortgage Revenue Bond first-time homebuyer requirement does not apply and a higher income limit is allowed. MHC designates forty-two Mississippi counties as target areas throughout, ten as non-target throughout, and thirty as split, containing both. Verified against MHC 2026-10-06.How do I know if a Mississippi address is in a target area?
In the forty-two all-target and ten non-target counties the county answers it. In the thirty split counties it does not, and MHC directs buyers to check with their lender, because the designation is drawn at a level finer than the county line. An approved MHC participating lender runs the specific property address against the designation. Verified against MHC 2026-10-06.Which Mississippi counties are split between target and non-target?
Thirty: Alcorn, Bolivar, Calhoun, Clay, Covington, DeSoto, Forrest, Hancock, Harrison, Hinds, Jackson, Jasper, Jones, Lafayette, Lamar, Lauderdale, Lincoln, Lowndes, Madison, Neshoba, Pearl River, Prentiss, Rankin, Scott, Sharkey, Simpson, Tallahatchie, Tippah, Warren and Webster. They include the Jackson metro, the Gulf Coast, Hattiesburg, Oxford, DeSoto County and Meridian. Verified against MHC 2026-10-06.Does target area status change my income limit in Mississippi?
Yes, and in split counties it is the larger effect. In Hinds, Madison and Rankin counties MHC lists $91,400 for a one-or-two-person household in the non-target area against $109,680 in the target area, a difference of $18,280 on the same program in the same county. Smart7 avoids this entirely by using one statewide limit of $137,870. 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.