Florida SHIP Programs

The Florida SHIP program sends state housing money to every county, which then decides who gets it and how much.

How the Florida SHIP program works

• Documentary stamp tax revenue funds it, so the pot rises and falls with real estate activity
• Individual counties and cities administer it, not the state
• It can cover down payment, closing costs and home repairs
• Amounts and rules differ in every county
• Most counties give preference to first-time buyers
• Income limits typically run from 80% to 120% of area median income
• Funding is finite each cycle

You apply to your county, not to the state

This is the single most useful thing to understand about SHIP, and it explains why the amounts you read about vary so wildly.

The state distributes the money. Your county writes the rules. Therefore the award in Seminole reaches far higher than the award in a neighbouring county, and the eligibility conditions differ too. Comparing a figure you read for one county against your own situation tells you very little.

Because of that, start at your county’s housing office rather than at a state website. We keep county pages for the larger markets, including Broward, Miami-Dade, Hillsborough, Duval, Pinellas and Collier.

Timing decides whether you get anything

Florida’s fiscal year begins on 1 July, and most counties open a fresh SHIP allocation around then. Popular counties exhaust that allocation well before the year ends, and some maintain a waiting list rather than accepting new applications.

Therefore treat SHIP as time-sensitive in a way the statewide programs are not. Ask your county office two questions directly: is funding currently available, and when does the next cycle open? A program that is technically open but out of money helps nobody.

SHIP stacks with the statewide programs

County SHIP money and Florida Housing’s own programs come from different sources, so many buyers use both. A common combination is a first mortgage, Hometown Heroes or FL Assist for the down payment, a Mortgage Credit Certificate for annual tax savings, and a county SHIP award on top.

See the Florida down payment assistance guide for how far that can go.

Source: Florida Housing Finance Corporation, SHIP program. Each local government sets its own strategies, income tiers and award amounts, and revises them by cycle; confirm current terms with the administering office.