Understanding the Help to Buy Scheme

Here’s everything you need to know about the scheme that’s making the housing market more affordable for first-time buyers.

A real incentive to secure a new home

Thanks to this government initiative, you can now get a refund of Income Tax and Deposit Interest Retention Tax (DIRT) that you paid over the previous four years. The maximum relief is 5% of the purchase price of your future home, which makes saving the money for your mortgage deposit more manageable.

Key criteria that you must meet

You have to be a first-time buyer. If you’re applying with a partner, then neither of you can have built or bought a house or apartment in the past. It’s essential that your tax affairs are in order whether you are a PAYE employee or self-employed.

Since 1st January 2017, the Help to Buy scheme only applies to properties costing €500,000 or less. Self-builds are included in the Help to Buy scheme. In this instance, the valuation your mortgage lender supplies will determine the market value of your new build.