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$5,000 Toward a Down Payment

The Iowa Finance Authority pays a $5,000 grant toward the down payment and closing costs on a home, for someone with 90 cumulative days of active duty between 2 August 1990 and 6 April 1991, or from 11 September 2001 onward. Training and drills do not count toward the 90 days. Anyone injured in federal-status service during those periods qualifies too. It is used with an IFA FirstHome or Homes for Iowans loan, or another qualifying fixed-rate fully amortising mortgage, through a participating lender.

Verified August 27, 2026

What this benefit is

The Iowa Finance Authority pays a $5,000 grant toward the down payment and closing costs on a home, for someone with 90 cumulative days of active duty between 2 August 1990 and 6 April 1991, or from 11 September 2001 onward. Training and drills do not count toward the 90 days. Anyone injured in federal-status service during those periods qualifies too. It is used with an IFA FirstHome or Homes for Iowans loan, or another qualifying fixed-rate fully amortising mortgage, through a participating lender.

What it's worth: $5,000 toward the down payment and closing costs

  • The grant is $5,000 toward the down payment AND closing costs — not one or the other.
  • The service test is 90 CUMULATIVE days of active duty between 2 August 1990 and 6 April 1991, or from 11 September 2001 to the present. Cumulative means added together.
  • Training and drills are EXCLUDED from the 90 days, which is what most Guard members get wrong.
  • There is a separate route for a person injured in federal-status service during those periods, with no 90-day requirement.
  • It is used with an IFA FirstHome or Homes for Iowans loan, or another qualifying fixed-rate, fully amortising mortgage.
  • Apply through an IFA participating lender rather than to the authority directly.
  • There is no disability requirement on the main route.

Who is entitled to it

  • You served in the U.S. armed forces.
  • You served in a qualifying period.
  • You are buying in Iowa.

Not sure whether that describes you?

Answer a few questions about this benefit specifically — we only ask what this one actually depends on, and we stop as soon as we know.

How to claim it

  1. 1Find an IFA participating lender. The grant is not applied for directly and a non-participating lender cannot deliver it.
  2. 2Count your qualifying days carefully: 90 cumulative days of ACTIVE DUTY, excluding training and drills.
  3. 3If you were injured in federal-status service during a qualifying period, ask about that route — it does not need the 90 days.
  4. 4Ask the lender to price the FirstHome and Homes for Iowans loans alongside your own mortgage options; the grant attaches to a qualifying loan.
  5. 5Line this up before you make an offer. $5,000 changes what deposit you need, and finding out afterwards is too late.
Form
Applied through an IFA participating lender
File with
An Iowa Finance Authority participating lender
Documents you will need
dd214
No renewal
Once granted it does not need renewing.

Sources

This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.