House Buying Costs Calculator Ireland

What this calculator is for

The mortgage deposit is only one part of the cash required to buy a home in Ireland.

This calculator builds a completion and setup cash budget from:

• the deposit;
• standard residential Stamp Duty;
• solicitor/conveyancing and legal-outlay budget;
• survey or engineer budget;
• lender valuation;
• moving and basic setup costs;
• and any other upfront costs you enter.

Advanced mode then adds:

• initial insurance/mortgage-protection budget;
• furniture and appliances;
• immediate repairs or works;
• a cash reserve you want to retain after buying;
• and a check against your total cash available.

That distinction between money spent and money deliberately kept is one of the most useful parts of the calculator.

The deposit is not the completion budget

Suppose a property costs €400,000 and the buyer uses a 10% deposit.

The deposit is:

€40,000

Standard Stamp Duty is:

€4,000

Before legal fees, valuation, survey, moving or furnishing, the buyer is already at €44,000 of required cash.

A buyer who says “I have the 10% deposit” can therefore still be underfunded for completion.

CCPC guidance specifically tells buyers to budget beyond the deposit for costs including legal fees, Stamp Duty, valuation and insurance.

Current residential Stamp Duty

The calculator uses the current standard progressive residential rates:

• 1% on the first €1 million;
• 2% on the portion over €1 million up to €1.5 million;
• 6% on the portion above €1.5 million.

The Stamp Duty Calculator gives a detailed rate-band breakdown.

The House Buying Costs Calculator includes only the standard residential calculation and does not attempt to model special Stamp Duty cases.

What each cost field means

Deposit percentage

The percentage of the purchase price you plan to fund without the mortgage.

For a standard principal-home mortgage, the Central Bank’s current framework generally has a 90% maximum LTV, implying at least a 10% deposit.

A lender may require more, and your income may limit the mortgage independently of the deposit.

Solicitor / conveyancing and legal-outlay budget

Use an itemised quote where possible.

The number you enter should reflect the total amount you expect to pay for legal work and relevant outlays that you want captured in this budget, not just an attractive headline professional fee.

Ask what is included and whether quoted figures include VAT and third-party charges.

Survey / engineer budget

A structural survey or engineer’s inspection is different from the lender valuation.

The purpose is to understand the condition of the property and identify problems that could influence your decision or future repair budget.

Requirements and appropriate scope vary with the property.

Lender valuation

A mortgage lender normally requires an approved valuation of the property.

CCPC notes that the lender-approved valuation is part of the drawdown process.

The valuation protects the lender’s lending decision; it should not automatically be treated as a substitute for a detailed structural survey.

Moving / basic setup

This can include removals, storage, utility setup and other immediate moving expenses.

Other upfront costs

Use this as a catch-all only after you have identified the major categories separately.

If a material cost is predictable, it is better to budget it explicitly rather than hide it inside an optimistic “other” figure.

Advanced mode: insurance and protection

CCPC says most mortgage providers require mortgage protection before the mortgage is issued, and lenders can also require buildings insurance.

Premiums vary by borrower, cover and property, so the calculator does not insert an official default.

Use an actual quote when available.

This field is a budgeting line only. It does not determine what cover you need or whether an exemption from mortgage-protection requirements may apply.

Advanced mode: furnishing and appliances

A technically habitable home can still require a large amount of setup cash.

Typical categories can include:

• beds and furniture;
• refrigerator, washing machine and other appliances;
• window coverings;
• lighting;
• flooring in some new builds;
• tools and basic household equipment.

These costs are highly personal, which is why the default is zero.

Add only what you realistically expect to buy near completion.

Advanced mode: immediate works

A survey can reveal spending that is not formally part of the property purchase but is realistically unavoidable soon after.

Examples might include:

• urgent electrical work;
• heating-system repair;
• leaks;
• security work;
• locks;
• painting;
• flooring;
• or essential retrofit items.

Keep cosmetic ambitions separate from genuinely immediate work if you want a conservative completion budget.

The retained cash reserve is not a cost

Advanced mode has a separate Cash reserve you want left after purchase field.

The reserve is not added to the transaction-cost subtotal.

Instead, the calculator creates a cash target:

upfront purchase/setup costs + desired retained reserve

This is important because a household can have enough cash to close and still emerge with almost nothing left.

The reserve lets you test a stronger condition:

Can I complete the purchase and still hold the cash buffer I want?

Worked example: advanced cash plan

Assume:

• property price: €400,000;
• deposit: 10% = €40,000;
• Stamp Duty: €4,000;
• solicitor/legal: €2,500;
• survey: €600;
• valuation: €200;
• moving: €1,500;
• other: €1,000;
• initial insurance/protection: €500;
• furnishing: €5,000;
• immediate works: €10,000.

Professional costs total:

€2,500 + €600 + €200 = €3,300

Moving/setup/immediate-work costs total:

€1,500 + €1,000 + €500 + €5,000 + €10,000 = €18,000

Total upfront spending is:

€40,000 deposit + €4,000 Stamp Duty + €3,300 professional + €18,000 setup = €65,300

If you also want to retain a €10,000 reserve, the cash target becomes:

€75,300

With €70,000 available, the model shows a €5,300 shortfall against that stronger target.

That is more informative than simply saying the buyer has the €40,000 deposit.

Mortgage required

The calculator also shows:

property price − deposit

This is the mortgage amount implied by the purchase price and chosen deposit percentage.

It is not a statement that a lender will approve that mortgage.

Use the Mortgage Borrowing Calculator and Mortgage Affordability Calculator to test the income, LTV and repayment side separately.

Registration fees and legal outlays

CCPC notes that a solicitor handles the transfer and mortgage registration process and identifies registration fees as a separate closing cost.

Because professional quotes can package outlays differently, this calculator does not hard-code a registration-fee amount.

Put it inside the solicitor/legal-outlay budget based on the quote for your transaction.

That keeps the calculator flexible without pretending one fixed professional-cost figure applies to every property.

New build versus second-hand home

The cost profile can differ materially.

A new build may bring:

• snagging;
• flooring;
• appliances;
• landscaping;
• blinds or curtains;
• and other finishing costs.

A second-hand property may bring:

• survey findings;
• immediate repairs;
• older heating systems;
• retrofit work;
• or redecoration.

Do not rely on the same setup budget simply because the purchase prices are similar.

Booking deposit and total deposit

A booking deposit paid to an estate agent is not an additional mortgage deposit on top of the purchase funds.

It is normally part of the overall purchase money flow.

The calculator asks for the total deposit percentage, not a booking deposit plus another full deposit.

Your solicitor will reconcile the actual funds needed for completion.

Help to Buy is not a cost

The calculator does not subtract Help to Buy from the cost lines automatically.

Help to Buy, if available and applicable, is a funding source.

The purchase costs still exist; the scheme changes how part of the qualifying purchase is funded.

Use the Help to Buy Calculator separately and then determine how the approved support affects the cash you personally need to supply.

The same principle applies to shared equity: funding and costs are different concepts.

Do not forget recurring costs after the keys

This calculator focuses on upfront cash.

After completion, the household may also face:

• mortgage repayment;
• Local Property Tax;
• home insurance;
• management fees where applicable;
• energy;
• maintenance;
• and future repairs.

Use the Local Property Tax Calculator for the LPT estimate.

A purchase can be affordable at completion but uncomfortable month to month if recurring costs were ignored.

If the property has an extension, converted garage or other alteration whose planning status is unclear, read Planning Permission in Ireland before treating the issue as a minor post-purchase detail. Planning uncertainty can affect conveyancing, lending and future resale.

A practical pre-completion workflow

Early search stage

Use broad but conservative estimates.

Keep a contingency because the exact property is not known.

Sale agreed

Replace defaults with:

• solicitor quote;
• survey/engineer quote;
• lender valuation fee;
• real insurance estimates;
• actual moving costs.

After survey

Add immediate works identified by the property inspection.

Before contracts / drawdown

Ask the solicitor and lender for the amounts and conditions still outstanding.

CCPC’s drawdown guidance notes insurance, legal checks, valuation and property checks among the items that can matter before funds are released.

Before completion

Re-run Advanced mode with:

• actual cash available;
• all known costs;
• and the reserve you want to preserve.

The final question should be:

What cash will remain after the transaction closes and the immediate setup bills are paid?

Common mistakes to avoid

Stopping at the deposit

The deposit is only one part of completion cash.

Treating the lender valuation as a full structural survey

They serve different purposes.

Comparing solicitor quotes by headline fee only

Check VAT, outlays and what is included.

Forgetting furniture and setup

A new home can create spending immediately after closing.

Treating an emergency reserve as available spending money

If the goal is to retain it, include it in the cash target.

Assuming scheme support removes purchase costs

It changes funding, not the existence of transaction costs.

Forgetting post-purchase recurring costs

The completion budget is not the household monthly budget.

Frequently asked questions

How much cash do I need to buy a €400,000 home?

There is no single answer. With a 10% deposit, the deposit is €40,000 and standard Stamp Duty is €4,000, but legal, valuation, survey, moving, insurance, setup and any works are additional.

Does this calculator include Stamp Duty automatically?

Yes, using the current standard residential progressive rates.

Are the professional-cost defaults official averages?

No. They are editable planning figures. Replace them with quotes.

Does it include mortgage protection and home insurance?

Advanced mode provides a field for an initial insurance/protection budget because actual premiums vary.

Why is the reserve separate from total upfront cost?

Because money you intend to keep is not a transaction cost. It is added only when calculating the cash target you want to have available.

Does cash available affect the purchase-cost calculation?

No. It only creates the Advanced surplus/shortfall check.

Does it tell me whether a lender will provide the required mortgage?

No.

Method and limitations

The calculator calculates the deposit as:

property price × deposit percentage

It calculates standard residential Stamp Duty using the current progressive 1%, 2% and 6% bands.

Professional-cost subtotal is:

legal/outlays + survey/engineer + valuation

In Basic mode, moving/setup costs are:

moving + other

In Advanced mode they are:

moving + other + insurance/protection + furnishing + immediate works

Total upfront spending is:

deposit + Stamp Duty + professional costs + moving/setup costs

Mortgage required is:

property price − deposit

Advanced cash target is:

total upfront spending + desired retained reserve

Cash position is:

cash available − cash target

The model does not determine actual legal fees, insurance premiums, survey scope, mortgage eligibility, scheme entitlement, lender charges, tax reliefs or the adequacy of the reserve you choose.

Useful sources

• CCPC — Applying for a mortgage
• CCPC — From approval to closing
• CCPC — Mortgage protection
• Revenue — Stamp Duty property rates