Help to Buy Scheme Ireland: Eligibility, Refund, and How to Apply

The Help to Buy scheme in Ireland refunds up to €30,000 in income tax and Deposit Interest Retention Tax (DIRT) to first-time buyers who purchase or build a new home. The relief is worth 10% of the property’s purchase price or approved valuation, capped at €30,000, and it runs until 31 December 2029 under the enhanced rates introduced in 2020.¹ The money comes from tax you’ve already paid in the previous four years, so what you actually receive depends on your own tax record.²

Who Counts as a First-Time Buyer

Under Section 477C of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997, a first-time buyer is someone who has never previously purchased or built a residential property, alone or with anyone else, in Ireland or abroad. Where two or more people buy together, every applicant must meet that test. One prior owner in the group disqualifies everyone.³

Two situations trip people up. Inherited or gifted property may not automatically disqualify you, depending on the circumstances, so it’s worth checking with Revenue rather than assuming you’re out.⁴ Divorce or separation, by contrast, offers no relief. Even if you signed away all rights to a former family home, you still don’t qualify as a first-time buyer for HTB if you previously purchased or built that property. The Fresh Start Principle used for Local Authority Home Loans does not apply here.⁵

Tax Compliance and Residency

Your tax affairs must be fully up to date. All income tax returns for the relevant years, Form 12 for PAYE workers or Form 11 for self-assessed taxpayers, need to be filed and processed, and any outstanding liabilities settled. If your returns aren’t current, the application won’t progress past the first stage.⁶

You also have to live in the property as your main home for at least five years after purchase or completion.⁴ Sell it, rent it out, or move your primary residence within that window and Revenue can claw the refund back.⁷

Which Properties Are Eligible

The property must be a new residential dwelling that has never been used or been suitable for use as a home before. That covers new-builds from developers, self-builds on your own site, and conversions of non-residential buildings into homes. Second-hand homes don’t qualify at any price.⁵

The value ceiling is €500,000. For developer-led purchases that’s the market value, usually the price you pay. For self-builds it’s the valuation approved by your mortgage provider. Anything above €500,000 is excluded outright.⁵

Your mortgage must cover at least 70% of the purchase value or the approved self-build valuation. Cash buyers can’t use the scheme.⁵

How Much You Can Actually Get Back

The refund is the lowest of three figures:

€30,000, the absolute ceiling
10% of the property value, either the purchase price for a new build or the approved valuation for a self-build
The total income tax and DIRT you paid across the tax years you select from the four years before your application

That third figure is where expectations meet reality. If your combined income tax and DIRT over four years totals €18,000, that’s your ceiling, even if 10% of the property value would have produced €25,000.¹

The €30,000 cap applies per property, not per person. Two people buying together share a single €30,000 maximum.¹

You choose how many of the four available tax years to use, anywhere from one to four. Selecting all four usually maximises the refund because it captures the largest pool of tax paid, but you have the flexibility to leave a year out if it makes sense to.⁸

How to Apply

Everything runs through Revenue online, either MyAccount for PAYE workers or ROS for self-assessed taxpayers. There are three stages.⁶

Application

You confirm whether you’re applying alone or as a group, complete the declaration, and choose the tax years to use. If your tax record is in order, Revenue issues an Application Number and an Access Code through MyEnquiries, along with the maximum you could potentially claim and an expiry date. Miss that expiry without submitting a valid claim and the application lapses; you’d have to start over.⁸

Claim

The claim stage opens on a concrete trigger: signing the contract for a new-build purchase, or drawing down the first stage of a self-build mortgage. You upload the loan offer and signed acceptance, the signed contract (new build) or proof of the first mortgage stage payment and the lender’s valuation report (self-build), confirm the property, mortgage and deposit details, and, for group applications, specify how the refund splits between you. Revenue then issues a Claim Reference Number.⁶

Verification

Before any money moves, an independent party has to verify the claim. For new-build purchases that’s your contractor. For self-builds it’s your solicitor. You give the verifier both the Claim Reference Number and the Access Code from the application stage.⁶

Where the Refund Goes

For a new-build purchase, the refund is paid directly to the contractor and credited against your deposit. You never handle the funds. For a self-build, it’s paid into a bank account you hold with your mortgage provider.⁵

When Revenue Can Claw the Money Back

Revenue can reclaim the refund if you weren’t actually entitled to it, if you don’t live in the property as your main home for at least five years, or if the purchase or build isn’t completed.⁷ The amount owed reduces on a sliding scale the longer you’ve lived in the property, so someone selling in year four repays less than someone moving out in year one. If you’re weighing a sale inside the five-year period, confirm the exact figures with Revenue or a tax adviser first.

Using Help to Buy with Other Schemes

You can combine the HTB refund with the First Home Scheme, which provides a State equity share to bridge the gap between your mortgage, deposit and the purchase price. Using both reduces the maximum First Home Scheme equity share from 30% to 20% of the purchase price or build cost.⁹

The refund can also go toward your deposit under an affordable purchase arrangement using a Local Authority Home Loan. In that case, the loan itself is capped at 90% of the minimum purchase price, with your deposit and any HTB refund making up the remaining 10%.¹⁰

1
Revenue Irish Tax and Customs. Help to Buy (HTB) Scheme – How Much Can You Claim
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Revenue Irish Tax and Customs. Help to Buy (HTB) Scheme
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Revenue Commissioners. Help to Buy (HTB) Incentive
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Revenue Irish Tax and Customs. Who Can Claim HTB?
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Citizens Information. Help to Buy Scheme
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Revenue Irish Tax and Customs. How Do You Apply for HTB?
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Revenue Irish Tax and Customs. Can Revenue Claw Back a Refund?
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Revenue Commissioners. Help to Buy – Summary Guide for Applicants
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First Home Scheme. Eligibility
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Local Authority Home Loan. Guidance Note on Interaction of APS and LAHL