Help to Buy Scheme

First Time Buyers Help to Buy (HTB) Scheme

Some guidance on the Help To buy Scheme.

First time buyers who qualify for the scheme can factor the tax rebate into their deposit requirements. This will ease the burden a good bit. The big issue is that the Incentive is only available to first time buyers,  on new builds, either buying a new house or build one.

Main Highlights

• Designed to assist First Time Buyers with obtaining deposit required to purchase a new property to live in as their home.
• It is a refund of income tax paid over the previous 4 tax years.
• It is only available if all parties to the mortgage appliction are First Time Buyers .
• The applicants must borrow at least 70% of the purchase price for the property or the build cost for a self build.
• Purchase price must be no greater than €500k.
• Refund is currently the lesser of, 10% of the purchase price/ build cost, taxes paid or €30k. Whichever is the lowest figure
• If buying in a developer, the Building Contractor must be registered on the Revenue website as eligible.

Who is Eligible

• First Time Buyers must not have individually or jointly with any other person previously built or bought a property.
• There are 2 types of customers;

1. Purchasing from a registered contractor
2. Individuals who are First Time Buyers starting a Self-Build

• All tax affairs must be up to date, any outstanding tax liability will be deducted from the eligible amount.
• Property must be occupied by the applicant for 5 years post completion

How to apply & what happens next

• First Time Buyers apply through the Revenue website either using PAYE or ROS access.
• Applicant eligibility will be checked based on tax paid over the last 4 years and any outstanding tax liability.
• After the application has been submitted the Revenue will provide confirmation number and access number for the applicant.
• The applicants will be able to print off a confirmation of the amount they are eligible for based on purchase details provided.
• Grant will be paid to the property contractor once all final contracts have been signed.

Impact on Mortgage Applications

• The regulations only impact First Time Buyer customers purchasing a new build property.
• A portion of the balance of funds may now be funded by the Help to Buy grant.
• Proof of eligibility can be provided by the customer by way of print out from the Revenue web site, to be provided at application stage.
• Grant is payable directly to the contractor and as such on closing confirmation will be needed from the customer’s solicitor that the grant has indeed been paid.
• Grant is payable to self builders direct, and can be claimed once you have first stage payment of the mortgage drawn down

All info available from Help to Buy Scheme (citizensinformation.ie)

Can Revenue request repayment of the Help to Buy payment?

You will have to repay Revenue some or all of your Help to Buy payment in certain situations. This is called clawback.

You have to pay the HTB payment back to Revenue if you:

• Do not live in the home for at least 5 years
• Do not complete the purchase of the home
• Do not finish building the home
• Were not entitled to the payment in the first place

If you do not live in the home for 5 years, the amount you must repay depends on how long you lived there.

This table shows how much you have to repay depending on how long you lived in the home.

HTB applies to houses and apartments, so better to say home to cover this.

Any Questions
Give us a call. We are happy to answer any questons you may have. We can also assess your ability to get a mortgage and how much you can borrow.