What Bucks County gives first-time buyers
Bucks County runs a First Time Homebuyer Program that provides up to $10,000 toward down payment and closing costs as a 0% deferred mortgage. Nothing is due monthly. The loan is repaid when you sell, transfer the house, refinance to take on additional debt, or stop living there as your principal residence. Intake and the required counseling run through Bucks County Housing Group, and the county posts the program on its housing resources page.
Income has to be at or under 100% of HUD median family income for the area. The county’s page says the limits update annually, but the table it shows is marked June 2022. Confirm current limits with the county before you count yourself in or out.
The income table on the county’s website is dated 2022. Don’t rule yourself out from it. Confirm current limits with the county, then decide.
PHFA in Bucks
Pennsylvania’s housing finance agency layers on top. For reservations on or after July 1, 2026, a Keystone Home Loan in Bucks County is capped at a $588,800 purchase price, with income limits of $122,700 for a one- or two-person household and $141,100 for three or more. You need to be a first-time buyer, meaning no principal residence in the past three years, and a 660 credit score for the conventional version. A duplex can go 10% above the price cap.
| PHFA second mortgage | Amount | Terms |
|---|---|---|
| K-FIT | 5% of the lesser of price or appraised value | 0%, forgiven 10% a year over 10 years |
| Keystone Advantage | Lesser of 4% or $6,000 | 0%, repaid monthly over 10 years |
| K-DATE, new in 2026 | 8% up to a $150,000 loan, 5% above | 0%, due on sale, refinance, or payoff |
Whether the county’s $10,000 can sit behind a PHFA second on the same deal is a lender question. Some will, some won’t, and the answer depends on the first mortgage. The PHFA guide has every program in one place.
Transfer tax and closing costs in Bucks
Bucks charges the standard Pennsylvania 2% transfer tax, 1% state and 1% local, with no municipality charging more. We checked the county’s list and the statewide deviation list, and Bucks is clean. Custom splits it, so a buyer plans on 1%. Title insurance is priced by a statewide manual, so the owner’s policy on a $350,000 house is $2,450 at any title company in the county. The closing costs guide walks through every line.
The school district decides the tax bill
Property tax in Bucks is three bills, county, municipal, and school district, and the school district is the big one. Two houses at the same price in Bensalem and in Central Bucks can carry noticeably different tax bills, and the difference lands in your monthly escrow. Millage rates get set each summer, and we won’t print a number that’s wrong by the time you read it. Ask the lender to run the exact address, and check the current bill on the listing before you bid.
Where the loan limits land
| 2026 limit | Amount |
|---|---|
| FHA, 1 unit, Bucks County | $630,200 |
| Conforming, 1 unit | $832,750 |
| PHFA Keystone Home Loan price cap | $588,800 |
| USDA guarantee fee | 1% upfront, 0.35% annual |
FHA at $630,200 covers a lot of Lower and Central Bucks. Above $832,750 you’re in jumbo territory, which happens in the county’s pricier townships and on anything with river frontage. Between $588,800 and $630,200 there’s a band where FHA works and PHFA doesn’t, so the price cap is worth knowing before you tour a listing in Newtown.
Upper Bucks has something the rest of the metro mostly doesn’t: USDA eligibility. Zero-down USDA loans work in Quakertown, Perkasie, Sellersville, Hilltown, the Rockhills, Chalfont, the Doylestown area, and New Hope. Lower Bucks is out. USDA’s standard 2026 income limit is $122,800 for one to four people and $162,100 for five to eight; the Philadelphia metro may carry a higher figure, and the lender will check the official map and limit for the address.
A worked example
You buy a $350,000 twin in Bensalem on an FHA Keystone Home Loan with K-FIT.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| FHA down payment, 3.5% | $12,250 |
| Buyer’s half of transfer tax, 1% | $3,500 |
| Owner’s title policy | $2,450 |
| Closing protection letter | $125 |
| Cash needed before lender fees and prepaids | $18,325 |
| K-FIT second, 5% | $17,500 |
| Left for you to bring, before lender fees | $825 |
Add the county’s $10,000 if the lender allows it, and the lender fees and escrow deposit are covered too. The K-FIT second is forgiven $1,750 a year; sell in year four and the unforgiven part gets settled at that closing. FHA mortgage insurance is 1.75% upfront and 0.55% a year at this down payment, and it stays for the life of the loan, so the FHA page is worth a read before you pick that route over a 3% conventional loan.
Start with one call
Tell us the town and the price range. The lender who calls you back does PHFA loans in Bucks and knows how Bucks County Housing Group runs intake. Call us.