First Home Scheme Calculator Ireland

What this calculator is for

The First Home Scheme (FHS) is a shared-equity support designed to bridge an eligible homebuyer’s funding gap between their deposit plus mortgage and the price or eligible build cost of a qualifying home. The Scheme takes an equity share in the property; it is not an ordinary loan and it is not a grant.

This calculator is designed to answer four practical questions at once:

• is the property within the current FHS price ceiling for the selected local authority and property type?
• how large is the funding gap after the mortgage, cash deposit and any Help to Buy amount entered?
• is that gap within the current minimum and maximum FHS percentage limits?
• what would the current service-charge structure imply if that equity share remained outstanding?

It is still a planning tool rather than an eligibility decision.

How to read the result

Start with the scheme-range check. A positive funding gap is useful only if the property is within the relevant local price ceiling, the deposit requirement is met, and the equity amount sits inside the current FHS funding range.

The calculator then shows the equity share as a percentage of the original purchase price or build cost. That percentage is important because the future cost of redeeming the FHS share can move with the relevant property value.

The service-charge figures are a separate cost. The current FHS structure has no service charge for years 0–5. A charge starts in year 6 if the equity share remains outstanding.

Worked example

Suppose a buyer in County Meath is purchasing a qualifying house for €400,000.

They enter:

• mortgage available: €300,000;
• cash deposit: €40,000;
• Help to Buy: €30,000.

The deposit plus HTB is €70,000, which is more than 10% of the property price. The remaining funding gap is:

€400,000 − €300,000 − €40,000 − €30,000 = €30,000

That is a 7.5% equity share at outset.

Because HTB is being used, the current percentage maximum is 20% of the property price, or €80,000. The minimum FHS equity amount is the higher of 2.5% of the property price and €10,000; on €400,000, both equal €10,000. The €30,000 gap is therefore inside the calculator’s basic funding range.

The current Meath price ceiling is €475,000, so a €400,000 property is also below the local ceiling.

If the full €30,000 FHS share remained outstanding with no redemption, the current 1.75% year-6 service-charge rate would imply about €525 for year 6. Through the end of year 10, five chargeable years at that rate would total about €2,625, ignoring day-count differences and assuming the share had not been reduced.

Current property price ceilings matter

FHS property price ceilings vary by local authority. Most areas use the same ceiling for houses, apartments and self-builds, but not every area does.

The current published bands include:

• €500,000 in Cork City, Dublin City, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, Fingal, South Dublin and Wicklow;
• €475,000 in Galway City, Kildare and Meath;
• €450,000 in Cork County, Galway County and Limerick;
• €425,000 in Kerry, Louth and Mayo;
• €400,000 in Clare, Donegal, Kilkenny, Laois, Leitrim, Roscommon, Sligo, Westmeath and Wexford;
• €375,000 in Carlow, Cavan, Longford, Monaghan, Offaly and Tipperary.

Waterford currently differs by property type: the published ceiling is €400,000 for houses and self-builds and €450,000 for apartments.

The calculator embeds those current published ceilings and shows the applicable amount for the location and property type selected. The FHS says ceilings are reviewed regularly, so always confirm the live figure before signing a contract.

Deposit and mortgage rules

The FHS currently requires a minimum deposit of 10% of the property purchase price or build cost. For a self-build, equity in the site can contribute towards the deposit requirement. If you qualify for Help to Buy, HTB can contribute towards the deposit.

The Scheme is intended to bridge the remaining shortfall; it cannot itself provide the 10% deposit.

Applicants also need mortgage approval from a participating lender and must borrow the maximum amount available to them from that lender, up to the applicable 4-times-income ceiling. A calculator cannot know what a lender will actually make available after underwriting, so the mortgage figure entered here must come from your real financing position rather than simply assuming four times income.

The FHS also states that an applicant cannot be using a Macro Prudential Exception with the participating lender.

Minimum and maximum equity shares

The current minimum FHS equity share is the higher of:

• 2.5% of the purchase price/build cost; or
• €10,000.

The current maximum is generally:

• 30% of the purchase price/build cost where Help to Buy is not used;
• 20% where Help to Buy is used.

The calculator checks the funding gap against those percentage limits. It does not automatically reduce a gap that is too large; instead it tells you that the gap exceeds the percentage maximum so the problem remains visible.

Service charges from year 6

The current FHS service-charge rates are:

• years 0–5: 0%;
• years 6–15: 1.75% a year;
• years 16–29: 2.15% a year;
• year 30 onward: 2.85% a year.

The rates are fixed for the life of the equity facility under the current scheme terms. Charges accrue daily and are applied monthly in arrears.

Where no redemption has been made, FHS describes the annual charge as the original property price/build cost multiplied by the current equity-share percentage multiplied by the applicable service-charge rate. For an unchanged share, that is mathematically the same as applying the rate to the original FHS euro amount.

This calculator shows the year-6 charge and a simple total through year 10. Those figures assume no partial redemption and ignore leap-year day-count differences. If you redeem part of the share, the calculation changes.

Shared equity can become more or less expensive to redeem

The opening FHS contribution is not a fixed loan balance.

If the Scheme initially holds 10% of a €400,000 home, the opening equity amount is €40,000. If the relevant property value later rises to €500,000, redeeming an unchanged 10% share can require about €50,000, subject to the Scheme’s valuation and redemption rules. If the relevant property value falls, the euro amount can also fall.

That exposure to property value is separate from the service charge.

What the calculator cannot decide

A property can fit the arithmetic and still fail the formal Scheme rules. The calculator does not verify:

• first-time-buyer or other eligible-homebuyer status;
• right to reside or principal-private-residence conditions;
• mortgage approval or whether the applicant has borrowed the maximum available;
• participating-lender status;
• Macro Prudential Exception status;
• property qualification beyond the selected price ceiling;
• anti-money-laundering, fraud or other FHS screening;
• future valuations, redemptions or contractual events.

The First Home Scheme also cannot be combined with every other housing support. Its current website states, for example, that it cannot be used with the Affordable Home Purchase Scheme or Local Authority Home Loan.

Common mistakes to avoid

Do not treat shared equity as free money. Do not compare only the monthly mortgage payment while ignoring the future equity redemption value. Do not assume a property is eligible merely because its price is below €500,000: the FHS uses local price ceilings that can be lower. And do not use the maximum 30% when HTB is part of the transaction, because the current FHS maximum then falls to 20%.

Related Compound tools

Use the Mortgage Borrowing Calculator to understand the Central Bank income ceiling, the Mortgage Affordability Calculator to stress-test monthly repayments, the House Buying Costs Calculator for upfront transaction costs, and the Help to Buy Calculator for the tax-refund side.

Frequently asked questions

Is the FHS equity contribution a grant?

No. The Scheme receives an equity share in the property.

Can Help to Buy form part of my 10% deposit?

Yes. The FHS states that qualifying HTB can contribute towards the required deposit.

How much can the FHS provide?

The current maximum is generally 30% of the purchase price/build cost, reduced to 20% where HTB is used. The current minimum is 2.5% or €10,000, whichever is higher.

When do service charges start?

Under the current structure, there is no service charge for the first five years. The first chargeable period begins in year 6.

Does being below the local price ceiling guarantee eligibility?

No. It satisfies only one element of the Scheme rules.

Can the future redemption cost rise?

Yes. The euro value of an unchanged equity percentage can rise if the relevant property value rises.

Method and limitations

The calculator selects the current published FHS price ceiling from the local authority and property type entered.

It then treats the deposit available for the 10% screen as:

cash deposit + Help to Buy entered (where HTB is selected)

The funding gap is:

property price/build cost − mortgage − cash deposit − HTB

The equity percentage is:

funding gap ÷ property price/build cost × 100

The calculator compares that gap with the current minimum of 2.5%/€10,000 and the 20% or 30% maximum. It also checks whether deposit plus HTB reaches 10% and whether the property is at or below the selected price ceiling.

Where those basic screens are met, the year-6 service-charge illustration is:

funding gap × 1.75%

The through-year-10 illustration assumes five chargeable years at 1.75%, no partial redemption and no day-count adjustment.

This method does not replace the FHS eligibility process, participating-lender underwriting, legal advice or the Scheme’s customer contract.

Useful sources

• First Home Scheme — Eligibility
• First Home Scheme — Rules and eligibility
• First Home Scheme — Property price ceilings
• First Home Scheme — Service charges