Six things that quietly changed for Texas borrowers on January 1

The first week of January, every mortgage outlet runs the same recap. Limits went up, that is the lede, and the rest is filler. But the practical picture for a Texas borrower in January 2026 is more layered than the headlines suggest.

Six things actually took effect or carried forward into the new year. A few are headline items. A few are quiet changes that most lenders are not even mentioning to their clients. Here is the working version.

1. Conforming loan limit moved to $832,750

Up from $806,500. Statewide in Texas because Texas has no high-cost designated counties under the FHFA program. I covered the practical impact in last month's piece on the limit change. Short version: if you are not near the edge, this changes nothing. If you are between $806K and $832K, this is your year.

2. FHA limits also moved

Floor now $541,287 for one-unit. Twenty-five Texas counties go higher (Austin MSA at $571,550, DFW at $563,500, San Antonio at $557,750, Glasscock at $813,050). Full county table at Texas FHA loan limits 2026.

3. Homestead exemption went to $140,000

The Prop 13 increase took effect for the 2025 tax year. School district exemption is $140,000 for everyone with a homestead. Seniors and disabled homeowners get an additional $60,000 under Prop 11, bringing their combined exemption to $200,000.

The practical impact most lenders are not catching: your 2026 escrow analysis is going to look different. If your lender ran their projection last spring using the old $100K exemption, your account is over-collecting right now. Expect a refund or reduced monthly escrow payment when the next anniversary analysis hits.

More importantly for anyone shopping right now: most pre-approval calculations use the prior year tax bill or a percentage of purchase price for the qualifying math. With the new exemption baked in for 2025, the corrected tax estimate runs lower than what most loan officers are still using.

On a marginal qualification scenario, the corrected math can pull you from "let us restructure" into "approved."

Worth asking your loan officer to re-run if you are tight on DTI.

Full detail on the exemption math: my Texas homestead exemption page and the November piece.

4. Texas VLB home loan cap raised to $832,750

The Texas Veterans Land Board bumped the Home Loan cap in early January to match conforming. This is meaningful for Texas veterans using VLB-participating lenders to access the program interest rate discount. Old cap was $806,500. New cap is $832,750. If you are a vet looking at a purchase or refi in the $810K to $830K range, your VLB option just expanded with you.

5. HUD rescinded the Supplemental Consumer Information Form

This one slipped under most radar. HUD pulled the SCIF requirement late last year, and the change is fully in effect heading into 2026. That is one fewer form clients have to sign at application and closing. Does not change pricing. Does not change qualifying. But it does shave a couple minutes off application packets, and frankly, the SCIF was an underused form whose data was not producing the analysis HUD had hoped for. Bureaucratically appropriate to retire it.

6. VA Circular 26-25-10

The VA issued Circular 26-25-10 on December 1, 2025, clarifying how the new conforming limit affects partial-entitlement VA borrowers. If you are a vet with partial entitlement (used the benefit before and have not restored it, or running two VA loans simultaneously), the math uses the new $832,750 number as the reference point.

Worth knowing: the circular itself is scheduled to be rescinded January 1, 2027. That is just how VA handles annual clarifications. If you are working through partial-entitlement math anytime in 2026, the rules are clear and durable for the year.

What is the same

Most of the regulatory framework is unchanged. The big ones:

• Texas 50(a)(6) cash-out refinance. The Article XVI Section 50 framework that governs cash-out refis on Texas homesteads. 80 percent LTV cap. Twelve-day waiting period from application to clear-to-close. Two percent cap on lender fees. Single-lien rule. Primary residence only. All still in effect. The SJR 60 amendment from 2017 that allows a 50(a)(6) loan to be refinanced into a 50(f)(2) rate-and-term refi is still the operative pathway. Full detail at Texas cash-out refinance 50(a)(6).
• Reg Z trigger terms. The federal advertising rules that govern when a broker has to provide full TILA disclosures did not change. Anyone advertising specific rates, payments, or down payment percentages without proper disclosures is doing the same dance they were doing in 2023 and 2024.
• RESPA Section 8. Anti-kickback and referral fee restrictions are unchanged. CFPB has signaled continued focus on this area.
• Texas SML rules. Chapter 56 of Title 7 of the Texas Administrative Code, which governs Texas mortgage broker licensing and conduct, completed its first full year in effect on November 23, 2025. No further amendments announced for early 2026. The complaint notice text on my disclosures page reflects the current required language.

What did not change but probably should have

Rates did not drop. The Federal Reserve has been signaling gradual easing through most of 2025, but the mortgage market does not move in lockstep with Fed signals. The spread between the 10-year Treasury and the 30-year mortgage rate has been persistently wider than historical norms for almost two years running. Pricing improvement in 2026 is more likely to come from spread compression than from outright Fed cuts.

Government-shutdown noise affected some processing in December but did not carry into the new year materially. FHA case number assignments and VA loan processing are running normally as of early January.

What to do with this

If you have a file in process or one queued for the next few months, three asks for your loan officer:

1. Confirm they are using the new $832,750 conforming limit in your scenario calculations, not the old $806,500
2. If you have a homestead exemption, confirm your tax estimate uses the new $140K (or $200K if you qualify for the senior add-on)
3. If you are a vet, confirm they know which scenario (full vs partial entitlement) you are in under VA Circular 26-25-10

These are quick checks. They do not take more than a couple minutes. But on borderline qualification scenarios, they are the difference between a clean approval and a structural restructure.

If you want a second set of eyes on any of this, send me what you have and I will run the numbers.