Help to Buy Ireland — 2026 Guide

Help to Buy (HTB) is a Revenue tax-refund scheme that helps first-time buyers fund the deposit on a new-build home. It refunds income tax and DIRT you've already paid over the previous four years — a tax refund of up to €35,000 where contracts are signed (or a self-build mortgage is first drawn down) on or after 7 October 2026, and up to €30,000 where that happened on or before 6 October 2026 — in both cases capped at 10% of the purchase price.

Because the refund is also capped at 10% of the purchase price, the €35,000 maximum only applies on homes priced at €350,000 or more.

Two key limits to remember up front: it's for new builds only (not second-hand homes), and for first-time buyers only. The money is paid toward your deposit, not to you directly.

Your refund is the lowest of these three figures:

• your tier maximum — €35,000 where contracts are signed (or a self-build mortgage is first drawn down) on or after 7 October 2026, €30,000 on or before 6 October 2026, or
• 10% of the purchase price (or approved valuation for a self-build), or
• the total income tax and DIRT you paid over the previous four years.

The determining date is the date your purchase contract is signed, or for a self-build the date your mortgage is first drawn down — not your application date. Because the refund is also capped at 10% of the purchase price, the €35,000 maximum only applies on homes priced at €350,000 or more.

That third figure — your own tax record — is the one people overlook. Illustrative examples (the actual figure depends on your real tax record):

• A buyer who paid roughly €8,000+ a year in income tax over four years will usually reach the full tier cap on a home of €350,000 or more.
• A buyer who paid around €3,500 a year over four years would be limited to about €14,000, even on a higher-priced home.

You can check your exact four-year tax total through Revenue's myAccount.

Help to Buy Calculator

Estimate your Help to Buy refund in 60 seconds.

Enter the property price and your 4-year tax paid to see your estimated refund.

• You're a first-time buyer (and, if buying jointly, so is everyone on the mortgage).
• The home is a new build or self-build you'll live in as your main residence.
• The property value is €500,000 or less.
• You take out a mortgage of at least 70% of the purchase price (loan-to-value of 70%+).
• You're tax-compliant for the four years you're claiming.

1. Application stage — apply through Revenue's myAccount (or ROS if self-assessed). Revenue confirms your maximum refund and gives you an application number.
2. Claim stage — once you've signed contracts (or drawn down a self-build mortgage), you complete the claim and your contractor or solicitor verifies it.
3. Payment — the refund is paid to the contractor (purchase) or to your mortgage loan account (self-build), toward your deposit.

The process typically takes around two to four weeks. We make sure your application timing lines up with your mortgage so nothing holds up your deposit.

Help to Buy and the First Home Scheme (FHS) are designed to work together. HTB tops up your deposit; FHS provides a shared-equity contribution toward the purchase price. Used in combination, the FHS equity share is reduced to a maximum of 20% of the purchase price (30% where HTB is not also used).

FHS requires a mortgage from a participating lender — Haven, Bank of Ireland and PTSB are among those that take part. We model both schemes together and check the result against the lenders that support them, so you see your true cash requirement before you commit.