The Help to Buy scheme refunds first-time buyers the income tax and DIRT they paid over the previous four years, up to €35,000 from 7 October 2026 under Budget 2027 (6 October 2026), to put towards the deposit on a new house, apartment or self-build. Revenue’s own page still shows the old €30,000 figure; the increase is subject to the Finance Bill. For renters who want to buy: who qualifies, how the amount is worked out, how to claim, and how it sits beside affordable purchase and the First Home Scheme.
Published 2026-10-06. Rules from Revenue and the Department of Finance, read on 2026-10-06.
Who qualifies for Help to Buy?
Revenue’s conditions, all of which must hold:
- You are a first-time purchaser. You have never bought or built a house or apartment, alone or with anyone else, in Ireland or abroad. Everyone buying with you must be a first-time purchaser too. An inherited or gifted property may not count against you, depending on the circumstances.
- The home is newly built or self-built, and you sign the contract (or draw down the first part of a self-build mortgage) between 1 January 2017 and 31 December 2029.
- The purchase value, or the approved valuation for a self-build, is €500,000 or less. Revenue uses the full open market value even if you paid a reduced price.
- You live in it as your main home for five years.
- You take a mortgage with a qualifying lender for at least 70% of the purchase value or approved valuation.
- You are tax compliant, with tax clearance where it applies, and the developer is on Revenue’s list of approved contractors (self-builders need a solicitor registered as a HTB approver instead).
How much is the refund?
The refund is the lowest of three numbers: the maximum (€30,000 on Revenue’s page today, €35,000 from 7 October 2026 under Budget 2027, subject to the Finance Bill); 10% of the purchase value or approved valuation; and the income tax plus DIRT you paid in Ireland in the four tax years before your application. USC and PRSI do not count. The cap is per property, however many buyers sign the contract.
Take a couple paying €340,000 for a new three-bed. Ten percent is €34,000. If they paid €26,000 in income tax between them over the four years, the refund is €26,000. If they paid €40,000, the refund is €34,000 under the new cap, €30,000 under the old one. The four years are counted back from when you make the application, not from the date of your claim.
Revenue pays the money to the developer when you buy, and to your bank account with the mortgage lender when you self-build.
How does Help to Buy fit with affordable purchase?
A starter home from a council (the Starter Home Purchase Scheme, often called affordable purchase) is a new build you will live in, so it qualifies. The Housing Agency expects buyers to reach the minimum price with mortgage, savings and Help to Buy together. Revenue adds one helpful rule: for a Local Authority Affordable Purchase contract signed on or after 11 October 2023, the council’s equity contribution counts as a loan in the 70% test. Revenue’s example is a €300,000 home bought with a €180,000 mortgage and a €45,000 council contribution: (180,000 + 45,000) / 300,000 = 75%, so the buyer passes. The purchase calculator has a Help to Buy field capped at €35,000, and the equity share guide shows how the council price is set.
How does it fit with the First Home Scheme?
The First Home Scheme is for new builds in private developments and for self-builds. You can use both: Help to Buy goes towards your 10% deposit, and the First Home Scheme then bridges the gap between deposit plus mortgage and the price. The trade-off is set by the First Home Scheme: its stake is capped at 20% of the price when you use Help to Buy, 30% when you do not. Revenue leaves First Home Scheme funding out of the 70% test. The First Home Scheme cannot be combined with a council affordable purchase or the Local Authority Home Loan, so for a council home your pairing is Help to Buy plus the council’s own equity share.
How do you apply?
Everything runs online through myAccount (PAYE) or ROS (self-assessed), in three stages.
- Before you apply: file an Income Tax Return for each of the four years you want to count, wait for each Statement of Liability, and clear any tax owed. Self-assessed applicants need tax clearance. Revenue asks you not to start until all of that is done.
- Application: in myAccount, open Help To Buy under Property and Land Services (on ROS, the Help to Buy applicant link). Confirm whether you apply alone or as a group (two or more names on the mortgage means a group), complete the declaration and pick the refund years. You get an Application Number, an Access Code and an indication of the maximum you could claim, with an expiry date.
- Claim and verification: once you have a signed contract and a mortgage letter of offer, upload both (plus the Affordable Dwelling Purchase Agreement if you are buying from a council) and confirm the property, price, mortgage, deposit and any shared equity. Self-builders upload proof of the first drawdown and the lender’s valuation. The developer (or your solicitor for a self-build) then verifies the claim and Revenue pays.
Revenue can claw the refund back if you were not entitled to it, do not live in the home for five years, or never complete the purchase or build.
What Budget 2027 changed
Budget 2027 (6 October 2026) raised the maximum Help to Buy relief by €5,000, from €30,000 to €35,000, with effect from 7 October 2026. The Department of Finance says the other parameters stay as they are. Revenue’s pages had not been updated by the evening of 6 October, so expect to see €30,000 there for a while. The First Home Scheme was not changed. The comparison of the six affordable housing schemes puts council and private routes side by side; the next council scheme opens without notice, so the alert is how most readers hear about it in time.
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