TEFA income limits and priority tiers: the 2026 poverty-line figures by household size

Short answer, as of October 8, 2026: TEFA has no income limit. Any eligible Texas child can apply. Household income decides the child's priority tier when there is not enough money for everyone, which is what happened in 2026-27. The tiers are written as percentages of the federal poverty level (FPL). The table below turns those percentages into 2026 dollar figures for households of two to eight people.

The four tiers, in the state's words

The official FAQ lists the year-one order like this:

1. Tier 1 — "Children with a disability who are members of a household whose total annual income is at or below 500% of the Federal Poverty Level."
2. Tier 2 — "Children who are members of a household whose total annual income is at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level."
3. Tier 3 — "Children who are members of a household whose total annual income is between 200% and 500% of the Federal Poverty Level."
4. Tier 4 — "Children who are members of a household whose total annual income is at or above 500% of the Federal Poverty Level." Children who were in a Texas public or charter school for at least 90% of the prior school year come first inside this tier, and "funds for children in this category may not exceed 20 percent of the amount of money appropriated from the program fund for that school year."

For Tier 1, "children with a disability" means a child with an IEP on file with the Texas Education Agency when the application window closes, or a child whose family submitted the program's proof-of-disability form. Only children with an IEP on file get the higher award. See the special education page.

200% and 500% of the 2026 poverty guidelines

These are the 2026 HHS poverty guidelines for the 48 contiguous states, published January 15, 2026. The 200% and 500% columns are our arithmetic (guideline × 2 and × 5). For households larger than eight, add $5,680 to the guideline for each extra person, then multiply.

The Comptroller's May 4, 2026 release used the same figure we show for a family of four: Tier 2 meant a household income at or below $66,000. The official FAQ (read October 8, 2026) says only that the guidelines "are set annually by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services"; it does not say which year's guidelines the 2027-28 window will use. If HHS publishes 2027 guidelines in January 2027, the figures will move slightly; our eligibility checker is updated when that happens. We do not save your answers.

What income means here

In year one, the program verified income only from a Form 1040 federal tax return for 2024 or 2025. The official FAQ says pay stubs, W-2s and benefit letters "could not be accepted to verify income", and unconfirmed income was one of the main reasons about 25,500 applications were found ineligible. The rules preamble confirms the Comptroller may use adjusted gross income. Practical step: have your most recent 1040 ready before the next window opens.

How the tiers played out in 2026-27

• April 2, 2026: the Comptroller said nearly 30,000 applicants were in Tier 1 and 79,000 in Tier 2, out of more than 274,000.
• April 22: about 42,600 Tier 1 children (plus siblings) received the first award notices.
• May 4: more than 53,000 Tier 2 children were awarded by lottery.
• June 10: awards passed 102,000; nearly 145,000 children remained waitlisted, including nearly 13,000 in Tier 2.
• Summer: further rounds reached Tier 3 as families opted out; the official home page notes a round of over 4,500 Tier 3 awards.

So in year one, Tier 1 and most of Tier 2 were funded, Tier 3 was partly funded, and Tier 4 mostly waited. The waitlist page has the full sequence.

The order changes in year two

After year one the state first sorts applicants into three groups: siblings of participating children, then new eligible applicants, then prior participants who left for a public or charter school. Inside each group the four income tiers apply again. Families already in the program do not go back into the lottery; they confirm they want to continue. Details are on the siblings page, and the deadline tracker will show the 2027-28 window once the Comptroller publishes it.

How we verify: tier wording is quoted from the Comptroller's pages and the poverty figures from the HHS guidelines page, both checked October 8, 2026; the 200% and 500% columns are our multiplication. Participation status of any school comes only from the official list. This site is independent and is not affiliated with the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts or Odyssey. See our methodology.