HelpTo Buy
The Help To Buy incentive is a Government tax refund scheme, designed to help first-time buyers get the deposit needed to buy a newly built home.
Borrowers can claim a maximum of 10% of the value of the property or €30,000 – whichever is lower.
Help To Buy Scheme
The Help to Buy (HTB) scheme is an incentive for first-time property purchasers. It will help you with the deposit you need to purchase or self-build a new house or apartment. You must purchase or self-build the property to live in as your home.
Who Can Claim HTB?
To qualify, you must not have previously purchased or built a house or apartment, either on your own or jointly with any other person.
If you are purchasing or self-building the new property with other people, all of them must be first-time purchasers. If you have inherited, or have been gifted, a property, depending on the circumstances, it may not affect your eligibility.
Eligibility Criteria:
- Must be a first-time purchaser at the time of the claim.
- Must purchase or self-build a qualifying property between 1 January 2017 and 31 December 2022.
- Must live in the property as your main home for five years after you purchase or self-build it.
- Must be tax compliant. If you are self-assessed, you must also have tax clearance.
- Must take out a mortgage on the property with a qualifying lender. The mortgage must be at least 70% of the purchase value of the property, or approved valuation in the case of a self-build.
Approved Developers & 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 ensure that your developer or contractor is approved.
If you are self-building, you do not need to use a Revenue approved contractor. However, you will require a solicitor (registered with Revenue as a ‘HTB approver’) to verify your Help To Buy claim.
Qualifying Property
The property must never have been used as a residential home. If the property was non-residential, but has been converted for residential use, it may qualify for HTB. If you purchase or self-build the property as an investment, it does not qualify for Help To Buy.
The purchase value of a new build means the price you purchased it for. The value of the property must be €500,000 or less to qualify for HTB.
If you are self-building, the approved valuation is the valuation of the property approved by the lender at the time you took out the mortgage. The approved valuation must be €500,000 or less to qualify for HTB.
How Much Can You Claim
The amount that you can claim is the lesser of:
- €30,000.
- 10% of the purchase value of a new home or of the approved valuation of the property, in the case of self-builds.
- The amount of Income Tax (IT) and Deposit Interest Retention Tax (DIRT) you have paid for the four years prior to your application.
The maximum payment is €30,000 per qualifying property. This cap applies regardless of how many people enter into a contract to purchase the qualifying property.
How To Apply
There are three stages to the Help To Buy online application process – Application Stage, Claim Stage and Verification Stage.
Get in touch with our team here at Walsh Group, and we can assist you and guide you through the Help To Buy process from start to finish.