Georgia Down Payment Assistance (2026)

Georgia’s statewide down payment assistance is Georgia Dream: $10,000 standard, $12,500 for PEN (protectors, educators, nurses, military) and CHOICE (disability), as a 0% deferred second mortgage repaid at sale or refinance. Repeat buyers use Peach Plus (income to $237,282, price to $725,000). Veterans can skip the down payment entirely with a VA loan, and USDA does the same in eligible rural areas. City and county programs stack in some places; Atlanta, DeKalb, Gwinnett and Savannah each publish their own.

Every route, compared

Route	Amount	Repaid?	Who	Limits
Georgia Dream Standard	$10,000	Yes, 0% deferred, at sale or refinance	First-time buyers	$137,555/$158,188 income; $625,000 price
Georgia Dream PEN	$12,500	Yes, 0% deferred	Public protectors (law enforcement, fire, ems, corrections), educators (k-12 and public college or university staff), health care workers (nurses, hospital and clinic staff) and active military	Same as Standard
Georgia Dream CHOICE	$12,500	Yes, 0% deferred	Household member with a disability	Same as Standard
Peach Plus	DCA-set DPA option	Yes, 0% deferred	First-time and repeat, FHA or VA	$206,333/$237,282; $725,000
Peach Advantage	DCA-set DPA option	Yes, 0% deferred	First-time and repeat, conventional	150% AMI; $725,000
Peach Select VA	None (rate benefit)	n/a	Veterans and service members	$137,555/$158,188; $625,000
VA loan (no DPA needed)	0% down	Funding fee only	Eligible veterans, service members, some surviving spouses	No loan limit with full entitlement
USDA loan (no DPA needed)	0% down	Guarantee fee	Eligible rural and some suburban areas, income-limited	By county and household size
City and county programs	Varies	Varies	Usually income-limited	Invest Atlanta, DeKalb, Gwinnett, Chatham publish their own terms

The Georgia Dream tiers

Standard is 5% of the purchase price or $10,000, whichever is less. PEN and CHOICE are 6% of the purchase price or $12,500, whichever is less. PEN covers public protectors (law enforcement, fire, EMS, corrections), educators (K-12 and public college or university staff), health care workers (nurses, hospital and clinic staff) and active military; CHOICE covers a household member with a disability. All three: 640 minimum credit (660 manufactured), no more than $20,000 or 20% of the sales price in liquid assets after closing, $1,000 minimum from the borrower, homebuyer education through a HUD-approved agency, first-time buyer rule of no primary residence owned in three years unless the home is in a DCA targeted area. Full Georgia Dream rules and the city cap table.

VA: the zero-down route for veterans

With full entitlement there is no VA loan limit, no down payment and no monthly mortgage insurance. The cost is the one-time funding fee, which scales with your down payment and whether you have used the benefit before:

Down payment	First use	Subsequent use
Under 5%	2.15%	3.30%
5% to 9.99%	1.50%	1.50%
10% or more	1.25%	1.25%

USDA: zero down outside the metro core

USDA guaranteed loans require no down payment in eligible rural and many exurban areas, with income limits by county and household size. Large parts of Georgia outside the Atlanta, Savannah, Augusta, Macon and Columbus cores are eligible; the map is address-by-address, so check the specific home before you count on it.

City and county programs

Atlanta (Invest Atlanta), DeKalb, Gwinnett and Chatham counties and several smaller cities run their own income-limited programs, some forgivable over a residency period. Terms and funding change often and are published by each program; we do not reproduce figures we cannot date. Ask your lender which local program stacks with Georgia Dream for the address you are buying.

The two costs assistance does not cover

Assistance solves the entry cost. It does nothing about the carrying costs: Georgia property tax, which varies widely by county and city (see our county-by-county guide), and homeowners insurance. Budget both before you decide what you can afford.

Questions buyers ask

Is there free down payment money in Georgia?

Not from the state. Georgia Dream is a 0% second mortgage with no monthly payment, repaid when you sell or refinance. Some city and county programs forgive over time; read each one's terms. The two true zero-down routes are VA and USDA loans, which are loan programs rather than assistance.

How much down payment assistance can I get in Georgia?

$10,000 through Georgia Dream Standard or $12,500 through PEN or CHOICE, each the lesser of a percentage of the purchase price or the cap. Local programs can add to that where they are allowed to stack; your lender confirms the combination.

Can repeat buyers get down payment assistance in Georgia?

Yes. Peach Plus and Peach Advantage accept repeat buyers with income limits up to $237,282 and homes to $725,000; Georgia Dream Standard is first-time only.

What is the VA funding fee in Georgia?

The same nationally: 2.15% of the loan on first use with less than 5% down, 3.30% on subsequent use, lower with a bigger down payment, and waived for veterans receiving disability compensation, Purple Heart recipients on active duty, and eligible surviving spouses. It can be financed into the loan.

Does Georgia Dream work in Atlanta?

Yes, statewide. The practical constraint in metro Atlanta is the $625,000 price cap against what you want to buy; the Georgia Dream page shows current city medians against the cap.

Who do I apply with?

A Georgia Dream participating lender. DCA does not take applications from buyers directly. Your agent's job is to make sure the contract timeline and the property type fit the program before you write the offer.