Illinois Assistance Calculators
Program and regulatory figures verified September 25, 2026. Details change; confirm your scenario with us.
Two calculators, both answering questions the program's own published tables make harder than they need to be.
The tools
- Assistance amount calculator. Enter a purchase price and see what each of the four IHDAccess programs would pay, ranked. Below roughly $150,000 the ranking is not what most buyers expect.
- Affordability and income check. See which income ladder applies to your county and household, and how much headroom you have.
Why ranking matters more than a single number
Every IHDA program pays the lesser of a percentage and a cap. At a $350,000 Chicago purchase, IHDAccess Home's $15,000 cap governs and it is clearly the largest. At a $110,000 Decatur purchase, the caps are irrelevant and the 10% Repayable program wins outright.
A calculator that gives you one number for one program hides that. Ours shows all four together.
What these tools do not do
They do not quote rates, payments or APRs, and this site does not publish them anywhere. They do not approve anything. IHDA's disclaimer is the governing one: program funding and availability are subject to change at any time and are not guaranteed until the lender places a complete reservation.
They also cannot tell you whether an address is in a targeted area, because that is determined at address level by IHDA's lookup tool, linked from the IHDA income and purchase price limits. What targeted status is worth.
After the numbers
The arithmetic is the easy part of an Illinois file. The parts that decide outcomes are the household composition rules and the credit and DTI matrix. Run the numbers, then read those two.
Or send us the scenario and our team will run all four programs against the current tables and tell you which ones you clear.
Frequently asked questions
How much down payment assistance can I get in Illinois?
It depends on your purchase price and which program fits your household, because each pays the lesser of a percentage and a maximum. IHDAccess Home pays 6% to $15,000 for first-time buyers, IHDAccess Repayable 10% to $10,000, IHDAccess Deferred 5% to $7,500 and IHDAccess Forgivable 4% to $6,000. Below roughly $150,000 the Repayable program usually pays the most.
How do I calculate my IHDA minimum investment?
Take 1% of the purchase price and compare it to $1,000. Whichever is greater is your minimum investment. On a $250,000 purchase that is $2,500 and on a $90,000 purchase it is $1,000. Earnest money already paid, and a borrower-paid appraisal, inspection or prepaid insurance, count toward it. Tax proration does not.
Does this site show Illinois mortgage rates?
No. This site does not publish interest rates, APRs or monthly payment figures anywhere. The calculators size the assistance amount and the borrower minimum investment only. IHDA publishes its own rate information for lenders, and your actual figures depend on your file, so we quote them directly rather than on a web page.
Can a calculator tell me if I qualify for Illinois DPA?
It can tell you whether your income clears the published limit for your county, program and household size, which is the largest single test. It cannot confirm eligibility, because household composition rules, credit and DTI, property type and the education requirement all apply, and because IHDA states that funding is not guaranteed until the lender places a complete reservation.
Why does the best IHDA program change with purchase price?
Because each program pays the lesser of its percentage and its cap. At higher prices the caps govern, so IHDAccess Home's $15,000 is the largest. At lower prices the percentages govern, so IHDAccess Repayable's 10% wins. The crossover sits near $150,000, which means much of downstate Illinois falls on the side where Repayable pays most.
Mike Certo · NMLS #260555 · Cornerstone First Mortgage NMLS #173855 · Equal Housing Lender. Educational content about financing, not a loan commitment and not legal or tax advice. IHDA program terms, income limits and purchase price limits are set by the Illinois Housing Development Authority and change; figures here carry the date we verified them and IHDA's own disclaimer applies, that funding and availability are subject to change and are not guaranteed until a complete reservation is placed. Loans are subject to borrower and property qualification.