How does the Help to Buy Scheme work?

First things first – who does what:

We will: handle your mortgage application and work with the mortgage lender to get your mortgage approved. First you will Apply Online and then your Adviser will discuss whats possible in terms of a mortgage for you.

You will: be in charge of applying for the government Help to Buy scheme (HTB) loan via the Revenue Website 

Overview

The Help to Buy (HTB) incentive is a scheme for first-time property buyers. It will help you with the deposit you need to buy or build a new house or apartment. You must buy or build the property to live in as your home.

The incentive will give you a refund of Income Tax that you have paid in Ireland over the four years prior to making the HTB application.

You can qualify for a max Help to Buy amount of,

• €30,000
• or 10% of the Property Purchase Price
• or the total tax paid over the prior 4 years

Who can claim the Help to Buy (HTB) incentive?

To claim HTB, you must:

• be a first-time buyer
• buy or self build a new property
• live in the property as your main home for five years after you buy or build it
• be tax compliant, if you are self assessed you must also have tax clearance.

To qualify, you must not have previously bought or built a house or apartment, either on your own or jointly with any other person. If you are buying or building the new property with other people, they must also be first-time buyers. If you have inherited or been gifted a property it will not affect your eligibility.

Approved developers and contractors

The contractor you are purchasing your home from must be approved by Revenue. You can check the list of approved developers and contractors to make sure that your developer or contractor is approved.

Purchase value

The purchase value of a new build means the price that you bought it for. For self-built property, the purchase value is the approved valuation by the lender at the time that you took out the mortgage.

The purchase price or self build cost of your new property must be €500,000 or less.

Mortgage

You must take out your mortgage on the property with a qualifying lender. This loan must be used only for buying or building the property. The loan must be at least 70% of the purchase value of the property. This is known as the loan to value ratio.

How will the refund be paid?

The refund will be paid to the approved building contractor directly and as far as a mortgage lender is concerned this is a valid part of the purchase price.

If you self-build a home the refund will be paid to a bank account you hold with your loan provider.

How do you apply for Help to Buy (HTB)?

Use your Revenue myAccount or Revenue Online Service (ROS) to apply for HTB online. 

For more information please read the Help to Buy Guide on the Revenue.ie website