Three tiers, and that is the whole of it
| Credit score | Maximum loan-to-value | Minimum down payment |
|---|---|---|
| 580 and above | 96.5% | 3.5% |
| 500 to 579 | 90% | 10% |
| Below 500 | Not eligible | — |
Those are HUD's, and they do not vary by lender.1 A borrower at 580 is eligible for maximum financing at 96.5 percent loan-to-value; between 500 and 579 the ceiling is 90 percent; below 500 there is no FHA loan.1
They do not tell you a lender will actually lend at 580, because most add a minimum of their own on top — 620 and 640 are both common. That is an overlay, not FHA policy, and it is the single most common reason somebody believes they do not qualify for a loan they qualify for.
If you were declined, ask which number you missed. If the answer is a score, ask whether it was HUD's or theirs.
The debt ratio guidelines
The guidelines are 31 percent of effective income for the housing payment and 43 percent for total fixed payments.1 Guidelines, not walls: files are written above them on documented compensating factors, which is the same structure VA uses and the same one people mistake for a hard ceiling.
How much you can borrow
FHA limits are set by county. The national floor is 65 percent of the conforming loan limit and the ceiling is 150 percent of it; with the 2026 conforming limit at $832,750 that puts the one-unit floor at $541,287 and the ceiling at $1,249,125, for case numbers assigned on or after January 1, 2026.2,3
| Units | Low-cost areas | High-cost areas |
|---|---|---|
| One | $541,287 | $1,249,125 |
| Two | $693,050 | $1,599,375 |
| Three | $837,700 | $1,933,200 |
| Four | $1,041,125 | $2,402,625 |
Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands run higher still — $1,873,625 on a one-unit property.2 Most counties sit somewhere between the floor and the ceiling, set against local median prices, so the number that matters is your county's, not the national one.
If the down payment is the obstacle
It often is, and it is the one part of an FHA file that can be covered by somebody else. Down payment assistance is a section of its own — grants, forgivable liens and repayable seconds are three different things, and the score floors for them sit above bare FHA.
The thing nobody mentions about the 10 percent tier
A score in the 500s forces 10 percent down, which lands the loan at exactly 90 percent loan-to-value. That is the tier where the annual mortgage insurance premium stops after 11 years instead of running for the full term.4
It is not a reason to want a lower score. But if you are being told a low score makes an FHA loan expensive, the larger down payment it requires is buying something back, and a decent comparison should show you that rather than stop at the down payment line.
Sources
These references support the factual explanations above. Where this page states a preference rather than a fact, it says so — those are our editorial judgement, not a claim that any one channel always costs less.
Next
What a 500–579 score costsIt changes the down payment and it shortens the list of lenders. It does not end the conversation.FHA mortgage insuranceTwo premiums, not one — and whether the second one ever ends is settled on the day you close.Priced against your actual file
FHA limits are set county by county, and what the mortgage insurance costs depends on where your loan-to-value lands. Send us the basics and we’ll price it properly — no credit pull, and it commits you to nothing.