Limits & Costs
2026 FHA Loan Limits: How High Can You Go in Your County?
FHA loan limits rose for 2026, with a floor of $541,287 and a ceiling of $1,249,125. Here's how to find your limit and why it matters.
December 12, 2025 · 6 min read
Cash to close
What will you actually bring to the closing table?
The down payment is only part of it. This estimator adds closing costs, escrow prepaids and per-diem interest, then subtracts earnest money, allowable seller credits, gift funds and down payment assistance.
3.5%
Min. down payment
580
Min. FICO score
$1,249,125
2026 high-cost ceiling
Quick answer
How much cash do you need at an FHA closing?
Cash to close on an FHA purchase is your minimum required investment — 3.5% of adjusted value at a 580+ score, 10% below that — plus lender fees, third-party and title fees, and prepaid escrow items, less earnest money already paid, seller credits capped at 6% of the sales price, documented gift funds and down payment assistance.
What this means for your mortgage
Budget for the down payment plus roughly the same again in fees and prepaids, then use a seller credit, a gift or DPA to bring the table figure down.
Reviewed by the licensed mortgage team at Simply Approved Mortgages · Last verified August 31, 2026 against HUD Handbook 4000.1
Break the fees down line by lineTL;DR
FHA cash to close: key takeaways
- Closing costs and prepaids often exceed the 3.5% down payment itself
- Interested party contributions are capped at 6% of the sales price
- Seller credits cannot pay your minimum required investment
- Excess contributions become an inducement to purchase and cut the sales price
- Earnest money already on deposit is credited at the table
- Per-diem interest shrinks when you close later in the month
Purchase, costs and credits
Estimated cash at closing
$12,527 due at the table
- Down payment (3.5%)
- $13,125
- Base loan amount
- $361,875
- Lender + third-party closing costs
- $5,500
- Tax escrow deposit
- $1,125
- First-year homeowners insurance
- $2,600
- Insurance escrow cushion
- $433
- Per-diem interest
- $744
- Total funds required
- $23,527
- Earnest money credit
- $5,000
- Seller credit applied (6% IPC cap)
- $6,000
- Gift funds + down payment assistance
- $0
- Total credits
- $11,000
Estimates only. Fee amounts, escrow months and per-diem interest vary by lender, title company, closing date and county. Your binding figures appear on the Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure — this is not a quote or a commitment to lend.
Figures are illustrations based on the values you entered — not an offer, rate lock, or commitment to lend. Emailing your scenario sends it to a licensed loan officer in Florida or Colorado.
Where the money actually goes
Buyers budget for the down payment and are surprised by everything else. On a 3.5% down FHA purchase, the closing costs and prepaid escrow items are frequently larger than the down payment. Knowing the full figure early is the difference between a confident offer and a scramble two days before closing.
The four buckets
| Bucket | What it covers | Negotiable? |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum required investment | 3.5% of adjusted value at 580+, 10% at 500–579 | No — but gifts and DPA can fund it |
| Lender fees | Origination, underwriting, credit report, appraisal | Shoppable and comparable on the Loan Estimate |
| Third-party and title | Title insurance, settlement, recording, survey, pest | Partly — some providers are yours to choose |
| Prepaids and escrow | First-year insurance, tax and insurance reserves, per-diem interest | No — but the closing date changes the amount |
The 6% interested party contribution cap
FHA lets interested parties — the seller, the builder, the real estate agent — contribute up to 6% of the sales price toward your closing costs, prepaids, discount points and the upfront MIP. They cannot pay your down payment. Anything above 6% is an inducement to purchase and comes off the sales price before the loan is calculated, which quietly raises your cash requirement.
Closing at the end of the month lowers per-diem interest
Interest is collected from your closing date through the end of the month. Closing on the 27th instead of the 5th can cut several hundred dollars of prepaid interest — though it also means your first mortgage payment arrives sooner.
Illustration — a $375,000 purchase
At 3.5% down the required investment is $13,125. Add roughly $5,500 in lender and title fees and about $5,000 in prepaids and escrow, and total funds required land near $23,600. Subtract $5,000 of earnest money already on deposit and a $6,000 seller credit — well inside the $22,500 IPC cap — and the balance due at the table falls to roughly $12,600. Add a down payment assistance second lien and that figure moves again. This is a planning illustration, not an offer of credit.
Reduce the number legitimately
- Negotiate seller-paid closing costs into the contract, staying under 6%.
- Document gift funds correctly — see the gift funds guide.
- Check Florida and Colorado down payment assistance on the DPA page.
- Shop title and settlement services from the Loan Estimate's shoppable list.
- Schedule the closing later in the month to trim per-diem interest.
For a fee-by-fee breakdown, use the closing cost estimator, and check the resulting monthly payment in the FHA payment calculator.
FHA cash to close calculator: methodology and assumptions
Cash to close = down payment + lender fees + third-party fees + tax escrow deposit + first-year homeowners insurance + insurance escrow cushion + per-diem interest, less earnest money already paid, seller credits capped at 6% of the sales price, gift funds and down payment assistance. Per-diem interest = base loan amount x note rate / 365 x days remaining in the closing month.
Assumptions used
- • FHA minimum required investment of 3.5% at a 580+ decision credit score, 10% at 500–579
- • Interested party contributions capped at 6% of the sales price per HUD Handbook 4000.1
- • First-year homeowners insurance premium paid in full at closing, plus a two-month cushion
- • Tax escrow months are an input because collection varies by state and closing date
- • Upfront MIP assumed financed into the loan rather than paid in cash
Limitations — what it does not include
- • Actual fee amounts, which are set by your lender, title company and county
- • Transfer taxes, HOA transfer or capitalization fees and municipal lien searches
- • Any prorated seller credit for taxes already paid, which appears on the settlement statement
- • Down payment assistance repayment terms — model those on the DPA page
- • Rate, monthly payment and annual MIP — use the FHA payment calculator
Data year 2026. Program figures last checked against their source on 2026-01-01. Sources: HUD Handbook 4000.1, Section II.A.4 (Borrower Investment and Interested Party Contributions), CFPB — Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure explainer, HUD Mortgagee Letter 2023-05 (mortgage insurance premium rates). Results are estimates for planning only — not a quote, rate lock, approval, or commitment to lend. Your binding numbers appear on the Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure.
Ready to see what you qualify for?
Talk with a licensed FHA broker about your scenario. Licensed in Florida and Colorado.
FHA Loan Rates for Cash to Close
Everything on this page about Cash to Close comes back to one question: what does the loan actually price at? FHA pricing is set per scenario, so your credit profile, base loan amount, loan-to-value, property type, term and lock period all move the number you actually get. Run your scenario below and compare real FHA options side by side: note rate, provider APR, points or lender credit, and the payment that goes with each one.
Snapshot pricing unavailable
No current pricing snapshot — we never show sample rate figures.
Sample scenario: Florida primary residence, 30-year fixed FHA. Pricing is refreshed once every business day and can change between refreshes.
Loading the most recent FHA pricing snapshot…
Snapshot pricing is an example for the sample scenario described above. It is not a quote, an application, a pre-approval, a rate lock, an offer of credit or a commitment to lend, and it is not personalized to you.
APR is supplied by our pricing provider for the exact scenario priced. Other lender or third-party charges listed separately may not be reflected, and the final APR can change. Your final mortgage disclosures control.
A lender credit reduces eligible closing costs only. It cannot exceed those costs and is never cash back to the borrower.
Get my own FHA pricing
The three cards above are examples from the latest daily snapshot. Enter your own purchase price, down payment, credit score and location to see every eligible FHA option for your scenario, priced right now.
FHA cash-to-close questions
How much cash do I actually need to close an FHA loan?
Cash to close is your minimum required investment plus closing costs and prepaid escrow items, less your earnest money deposit, any seller-paid closing costs, gift funds and down payment assistance. On a 3.5% down FHA purchase, the closing costs and prepaids are often larger than the down payment itself.
What is FHA's minimum required investment?
FHA requires a minimum borrower investment of 3.5% of the adjusted value for borrowers with a decision credit score of 580 or higher, and 10% for scores between 500 and 579. Gift funds from an approved source and eligible down payment assistance can satisfy that investment.
How much can the seller pay toward my FHA closing costs?
Interested party contributions on an FHA loan are limited to 6% of the sales price. Contributions above that are treated as an inducement to purchase and reduce the sales price dollar for dollar before the loan amount is calculated, which lowers how much FHA will insure.
Does my earnest money deposit reduce my cash to close?
Yes. The earnest money you already paid to the escrow or title company is credited on the Closing Disclosure. It does not reduce your required investment — it is simply money you have already put toward it, so the balance due at the table is smaller.
What prepaid items should I budget for?
Expect the first year of homeowners insurance paid in full, an escrow cushion of roughly two to three months of taxes and insurance, per-diem interest from closing to the end of the month, and any required flood insurance premium. These are not lender fees, but they are real cash at the table.