Buying your first home is a big deal. The Help to Buy Scheme (HTB ) and the First Home Scheme (FHS ) are the government's two main support schemes for first-time buyers in Ireland. These schemes are making a huge difference in giving more people the boost they need to get their dream home.
In order to qualify as a first-time buyer and receive any kind of grant aid, you must not have had a mortgage in your name before, either in Ireland or abroad. Inherited properties or a house purchased outright are not included in the list of qualifiers. If you are buying or self-building the property with somebody else, they must also be a first-time buyer.
Help to Buy Scheme
The Help to Buy Scheme helps first-time buyers purchase a newly-built house or apartment. You can also get it for once-off self-build homes. To qualify, you must be a first-time buyer who buys or self-builds a new residential property between January 1, 2017 and December 31, 2029.
The HTB was extended in 2020, becoming known as the Enhanced Help to Buy Scheme. The Enhanced Help to Buy Scheme was then extended in Budget 2025 and is now available until December 31, 2029.
Once you have qualified for the HTB scheme, you must also pass the following criteria:
If you are buying a new home, it must cost €500,000 or less. If you are building your home, the approved valuation must be €500,000 or less.
You must live in the property for five years from the date that it is habitable. You will have to pay the HTB payment back if you do not live there for five years.
You must meet certain tax requirements to qualify for the scheme. You must be fully tax compliant for four years immediately before your claim. You will need to complete Form 12 for PAYE workers and Form 11 for self-assessed taxpayers for each of those four years. You must also pay any outstanding taxes. The Help to Buy Scheme gives a refund of the income tax and Deposit Interest Retention Tax (DIRT ) you have paid in Ireland for the four years before the year you apply.
To qualify, you must take out a mortgage with a qualifying lender. The mortgage must be at least 70 per cent of the purchase value of the property if you are buying a newly built home, and of the valuation approved by the mortgage provider if you are building your home.
The maximum amount of relief available was increased in 2020 and remains in effect until December 31, 2029.
If you sign a contract for a new house or draw down a self-build mortgage between July 23, 2020 and December 31, 2029, you can get the increased relief.
You can claim relief on the lesser of:
€30,000.
10 per cent of the market value of a new build property.
10 per cent of the approved valuation of a self-build property.
The amount of income tax and DIRT you paid for the four years before the year you apply. (You cannot claim relief on PRSI or USC ).
If you signed a contract for a new house, or drew down on a self-build mortgage between January 1, 2017 and July 22, 2020, you qualify for the original relief.
You can claim relief on the lesser of:
€20,000.
5 per cent of the market value of a new build property.
5 per cent of the approved valuation of a self-build property.
The amount of income tax and DIRT you paid in the four years before the year you apply.
First Home Scheme
The First Home Scheme is an affordable housing scheme that supports you in buying a new home or building your first home.
Unlike the HTB scheme, the FHS is a shared equity scheme. This means that the government and participating banks pay up to 30 per cent of the cost of your new home in return for a stake in the home. If you want, you can buy back the stake at any time, but you don’t have to.
To be eligible for the FHS, you must be at least 18 years old and a first-time buyer. You must also have mortgage approval with a participating lender and borrow the maximum amount available to you from one of the participating lenders. You must not be availing of Macro Prudential Exception, which is the the measures set by the Central Bank of Ireland that places a ceiling on amount of money that can be borrowed from mortgage providers to buy residential property, with a participating lender and have a minimum deposit of 10 per cent of the property purchase price or build cost (for self-builds, equity in your site can contribute to your deposit ).
To be eligible for the scheme, a qualifying property must be a new build house or apartment in a private development, a self-build on a privately owned site, or a house or apartment you are currently renting and residing in and now looking to purchase, having received a Notice of Termination from your landlord, as the landlord is putting the property on the market.
The property must also be in the Republic of Ireland, be your principal private residence, and be within the local authority property price ceiling for the property type. This means that the price of your home must be within the price limits of your area. The limits for Galway city are capped at €450,000 for all properties, while County Galway is capped at €400,000 for all properties.
The FHS can fund up to 30 per cent of the property purchase price or build cost (for self-builds ). This amount is reduced to 20 per cent if you are availing of the Help to Buy Scheme. The minimum equity share is 2.5 per cent of the property purchase price or build cost (for self-builds ), or €10,000, whichever is higher.
You can buy back the equity share in your home at any time. But you do not have to.
You can buy back the full equity share in a single payment, or pay it back in instalments as you can afford. However, the minimum amount you can pay back is 5 per cent of the original equity amount, and you can only make two partial payments a year.
There is no charge for the First Home Scheme for the first five years that you own your home. But, if you have not bought out the FHS equity share in your home by the sixth year, a service charge will apply. This service charge is for the maintenance of the First Home Scheme.
More information
While the stress of being a first-time homeowner is no doubt nagging those reading this, there are multiple sources online that outline the information in much greater detail and can provide even more options for you.
To learn more about the HTB scheme and the FHS, you can visit both gov.ie and citizensinformation.ie
