Help to Buy Calculator
This Help to Buy calculator estimates your HTB refund as a first-time buyer of a new home in Ireland. Revenue gives you back income tax and DIRT you have already paid, up to €30,000, and it goes towards your deposit.
Last verified · Methodology
Your new home
USC and PRSI do not count. When you apply in myAccount, Revenue shows the maximum it can refund from its own records.
Help to Buy refund
Estimated refund
€30,000
You get the €30,000 maximum.
- 10% of the purchase price
- €40,000
- Scheme maximum
- €30,000
- Tax paid in the last four years
- €35,000
- Price at or under €500,000
- Yes
- Mortgage at least 70% of price (€280,000)
- Yes, 85.0%
For first-time buyers of a new home or self-build bought or drawn down by 31 December 2029. Revenue confirms the final amount. Not tax advice.
| Buyer | Price | Mortgage | Tax paid | Refund | Limited by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New apartment, recent graduates | €250,000 | €200,000 | €40,000 | €25,000 | 10% of price |
| Couple, first years of work | €350,000 | €300,000 | €20,000 | €20,000 | Tax paid |
| Couple, steady earners | €400,000 | €340,000 | €35,000 | €30,000 | €30,000 cap |
| At the price cap | €500,000 | €400,000 | €32,000 | €30,000 | €30,000 cap |
| Mortgage too small | €400,000 | €260,000 | €40,000 | €0 | Does not qualify |
How the refund is worked out
Help to Buy gives first-time buyers back income tax and Deposit Interest Retention Tax they have paid in Ireland. The refund is the lowest of three figures:
- €30,000, the maximum per home;
- 10% of the purchase price, or of the approved valuation for a self-build;
- the income tax and DIRT you paid in the four tax years before you apply.
USC and PRSI do not count, which catches people out. Look at the income tax line only. A couple who paid €20,000 of income tax between them over four years get €20,000, even on a €350,000 home where 10% would be €35,000. On a €250,000 apartment the 10% rule bites instead, giving €25,000.
Who qualifies
You, and everyone buying with you, must be a first-time buyer: none of you can have bought or built a home before, in Ireland or abroad. The home must be newly built, bought from a Qualifying Contractor or self-built, and you must live in it as your main home for five years.
Two numbers decide whether a purchase qualifies at all. The price must be €500,000or less, and the mortgage from a qualifying lender must be at least 70% of the price. A buyer with a large deposit who borrows less than 70% loses Help to Buy entirely, so check this before putting extra cash in. Anything from 70% up to the Central Bank's 90% ceiling works, and you can test your figures in the mortgage calculator.
Applying through myAccount
PAYE workers apply in myAccount under Property and Land Services; the self-employed use ROS. The application stage shows the maximum Revenue can refund from its records. Once you have the property and mortgage details you make the claim, your developer verifies it, and Revenue pays the developer as part of your deposit.
Make sure your tax affairs are up to date first, since you need to be tax compliant. Then work out stamp duty on the VAT-exclusive price with the stamp duty calculator, and see the terms in plain English in the Help to Buy glossary entry.
The lesser of €30,000, 10% of the purchase price (or approved valuation for a self-build), and the income tax and DIRT you paid in the four tax years before you apply. USC and PRSI do not count.
The home must cost €500,000 or less. Above that it does not qualify at all; there is no partial refund.
No. Help to Buy is only for a newly built home bought from a developer that is a Qualifying Contractor, or a home you build yourself, where the construction was subject to VAT in Ireland.
The enhanced scheme, with the €30,000 maximum, covers purchases and self-build drawdowns up to 31 December 2029.
For a new build, Revenue pays the refund to the developer as part of your deposit once your claim is verified. For a self-build, it goes to the bank account you nominate after your solicitor verifies the claim.
Yes. When two or more people buy together, every one of them must be a first-time buyer and all named borrowers on the mortgage must be part of the application.