Help to Buy Calculator Ireland

Budget 2027 Help to Buy increase

Budget 2027 announced an increase in the maximum Help to Buy refund from €30,000 to €35,000. The calculator now defaults to the €35,000 cap while retaining the previous €30,000 cap for comparison.

The other core numerical constraints remain visible in the tool: the refund is still limited by the percentage-of-property-value test and by qualifying Income Tax and DIRT paid. The property-value and qualifying-finance checks also still matter.

What this calculator is for

Help to Buy (HTB) is a Revenue tax-refund scheme for eligible first-time purchasers and self-builders buying or building a qualifying new home in Ireland. It is not a flat grant. The amount available depends on the property value, the qualifying finance used for the purchase and the Income Tax and DIRT actually paid by the applicants in the four tax years before the application.

This calculator brings those numerical limits together so you can see which one is binding before you make a formal Revenue application.

How to read the result

The headline refund is an indicative maximum, not an approval. Under the enhanced HTB rules, the refund is limited to the lowest of:

• €35,000;
• 10% of the qualifying property value; or
• the qualifying Income Tax and DIRT paid in the previous four tax years.

The property must also meet the scheme conditions. For the standard numerical screen used here, the qualifying property value cannot exceed €500,000 and the qualifying finance must reach at least 70% of the purchase price or approved self-build valuation.

The calculator separately shows the qualifying-finance amount, the 70% threshold and the resulting loan-to-value percentage so that a failed screen is visible rather than hidden inside the refund number.

Worked example

Assume a first-time buyer is purchasing a qualifying new home for €400,000, has a €300,000 qualifying mortgage, and has €24,000 of qualifying Income Tax and DIRT available for refund.

The mortgage is 75% of the property value, so the 70% finance test is met. The three refund limits are:

• statutory maximum: €35,000;
• 10% of €400,000: €40,000;
• qualifying tax paid: €24,000.

The lowest amount is €24,000, so that is the calculator’s indicative maximum refund.

If the same buyer had only a €260,000 qualifying mortgage, the finance ratio would be 65%. The calculator would show that the basic 70% finance test is not met and would not display a positive HTB refund.

The 70% finance test has an important exception

For most HTB purchases, the qualifying loan is the mortgage from the qualifying lender. First Home Scheme shared equity does not count as part of the qualifying loan for the HTB 70% test.

Revenue does, however, provide a specific treatment for certain Local Authority Affordable Purchase Scheme transactions. For qualifying contracts entered into on or after 11 October 2023, the Local Authority affordable dwelling contribution can be added to the qualifying mortgage when testing whether the 70% threshold is met.

That is why this calculator has an Advanced mode. Use the Local Authority contribution field only where that Revenue rule actually applies to your transaction. Do not put a First Home Scheme equity amount into that field.

For example, on a €400,000 qualifying property, a €260,000 mortgage alone is 65%. If a qualifying €30,000 Local Authority affordable dwelling contribution can be counted, the finance used for the Revenue test becomes €290,000, or 72.5%.

Irish context

HTB is aimed at qualifying new homes and self-builds. It is not a general first-time-buyer payment for second-hand homes. The buyer, property, developer or contractor, mortgage and tax-compliance conditions all matter.

The enhanced HTB measure has been extended to 31 December 2029. That does not mean every application through 2029 will qualify for €35,000: the percentage cap, tax-paid cap and the rest of the eligibility rules still apply.

The Revenue application process remains the authoritative test. A calculator cannot verify whether the applicants are first-time buyers, whether a developer or contractor is qualifying, whether the loan is from a qualifying lender, whether the applicants are tax compliant, or whether Revenue’s occupancy and clawback rules will be satisfied.

Help to Buy and the First Home Scheme are different

HTB and the First Home Scheme can be used together in qualifying cases, but they solve different parts of the funding stack.

Help to Buy is a refund of qualifying tax already paid. It can contribute towards the deposit.

First Home Scheme funding is shared equity. It can bridge part of the remaining gap between the deposit plus mortgage and the property price, but it does not count towards the HTB 70% qualifying-finance test.

Using HTB also changes the maximum First Home Scheme percentage: where HTB is used, the current maximum FHS equity contribution is generally 20% rather than 30%.

Use the First Home Scheme Calculator separately so that the two supports are not accidentally blended into one number.

What can change the answer

The most important variables are:

• the qualifying property purchase price or approved self-build valuation;
• the amount of the qualifying mortgage;
• any Local Authority affordable dwelling contribution that Revenue permits to count in the 70% test;
• the applicants’ qualifying Income Tax and DIRT history;
• whether the buyer, property and lender conditions are actually satisfied.

A couple does not simply receive twice the headline cap. The refund remains subject to the scheme maximum and the qualifying tax available to the applicants.

Common mistakes to avoid

Do not treat €35,000 as an automatic entitlement. Do not count a First Home Scheme equity contribution towards the HTB 70% mortgage test. Do not use the current market value of a second-hand home as though it were a qualifying HTB property. And do not spend against an estimated refund before the Revenue process confirms the claim.

For a complete buying budget, also keep the deposit separate from legal fees, stamp duty, surveys, valuation and moving costs. The House Buying Costs Calculator is designed for that wider cash requirement.

Related Compound tools

Use the House Deposit Calculator for the standard deposit requirement, the Mortgage Borrowing Calculator for the income-based mortgage ceiling, the Mortgage Affordability Calculator for a cash-flow stress test, and the First Home Scheme Calculator for shared equity.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use HTB on a second-hand home?

The scheme is aimed at qualifying new homes and self-builds. Check Revenue’s current property conditions for the transaction you are considering.

Is Help to Buy a loan?

No. It is a tax refund subject to the scheme rules and possible clawback conditions.

Does First Home Scheme equity count towards the 70% HTB finance test?

No. Revenue states that First Home Scheme shared equity is not included in that qualifying-loan calculation.

Can a Local Authority Affordable Purchase contribution count?

For qualifying Affordable Purchase Scheme contracts entered into on or after 11 October 2023, Revenue says the Local Authority affordable dwelling contribution can be combined with the qualifying mortgage for the 70% test. Use Advanced mode only when that rule applies to your purchase.

Can I rely on the calculator before Revenue approval?

No. The result is a numerical planning screen; Revenue determines eligibility and the actual refund.

How First Home Scheme equity is treated in the 70% test

First Home Scheme equity does not count towards the Help to Buy 70% qualifying-finance test. The calculator therefore keeps FHS shared equity separate from the qualifying mortgage/Local Authority affordable-purchase finance used for that screen.

Method and limitations

The calculator first sets qualifying finance equal to the mortgage entered. In Advanced mode, it adds the Local Authority affordable dwelling contribution entered by the user. It then calculates:

Qualifying finance LTV = qualifying finance ÷ property value × 100

The basic numerical screen requires the property value to be no more than €500,000 and the qualifying-finance ratio to be at least 70%.

If those screens are passed, the indicative refund is:

minimum of the selected €35,000/€30,000 scheme cap, 10% of property value, and qualifying Income Tax + DIRT entered

No First Home Scheme equity is added to qualifying finance. The calculator does not validate first-time-buyer status, the nature of the property, qualifying-lender status, developer/contractor status, tax compliance, occupancy, application dates, Revenue records or clawback exposure.

Rules can change, so the official Revenue pages remain controlling.

Useful sources

• Revenue — Help to Buy incentive
• Revenue — How much can you claim?
• Revenue — What type of property qualifies?