Help to Buy Scheme Ireland: Eligibility, How to Claim, and Clawback Rules

You've found a new-build you can afford — just barely. The 10% deposit is the wall between you and getting keys. The Help to Buy (HTB) scheme exists specifically to knock that wall down, and it can put up to €30,000 into your deposit without you ever having to repay it as a loan.

But the claim process trips up a surprising number of buyers, and Revenue's clawback rules have consequences that can follow you for five years. Here's exactly how it works.

What the Help to Buy Scheme Actually Is

HTB is a tax refund scheme, not a grant. It lets first-time buyers reclaim Income Tax and Deposit Interest Retention Tax (DIRT) they paid in Ireland over the four tax years before their application. Extended until 31 December 2029, it applies only to newly built properties purchased from a Revenue-registered developer, or to self-builds where you're financing your own construction.

The refund amount is capped at whichever of these is smallest:

• 10% of the property's purchase price (or approved valuation for self-builds)
• €30,000 as an absolute ceiling
• The total Income Tax and DIRT you actually paid across the four preceding tax years

This last point is what catches people out. If you were on a modest salary for several of those years, or if you had significant PAYE underpayments, your refund may be well below €30,000. PRSI and the Universal Social Charge do not count — only income tax and DIRT.

Who Can Use the HTB Scheme

You must be a first-time buyer. That means you have never previously owned a residential property anywhere in the world — not in Ireland, not abroad. If you previously owned a home overseas, you do not qualify.

The property must be a new build or self-build with a purchase price (or approved valuation) of €500,000 or less. Second-hand homes are completely excluded regardless of their condition or how long they sat vacant.

You must also secure a mortgage of at least 70% of the property's purchase price or approved valuation from a qualifying commercial lender. On a €400,000 purchase, that means a minimum mortgage of €280,000.

Finally, you must occupy the home as your principal private residence for at least five years after purchase. This is the occupancy condition that triggers the clawback if breached.

The Four-Stage Claim Process

Revenue administers HTB through its ROS (Revenue Online Service) and MyAccount portals. The process unfolds in four stages.

Stage 1 — Application. You log into MyAccount and submit a preliminary request. Before Revenue will issue an application number and access code, every outstanding tax return must be filed. PAYE workers file a Form 12 for each of the four preceding tax years. Self-employed applicants file a Form 11. Any unpaid tax liabilities must be settled in full — Revenue will not process your application with an outstanding balance. Once everything is in order, Revenue confirms your maximum eligible refund amount.

Stage 2 — Claim. Once you've selected a property and signed contracts with a registered developer (or drawn down your first mortgage tranche on a self-build), you return to the portal and enter the property details, purchase price, a copy of the signed contract, and your mortgage details.

Stage 3 — Verification. The registered developer, or your solicitor acting as an HTB approver, logs into Revenue's portal and verifies the property details and transaction accuracy. You cannot shortcut this step — the developer or solicitor must be actively registered with Revenue as an HTB participant.

Stage 4 — Payment. Once verified, Revenue issues payment. For a new-build purchase, the fund goes directly to the developer's bank account and acts as a credit against the 10% deposit owed at contract exchange. For a self-build, it lands in your mortgage bank account to fund construction. You never handle the money directly.

How the HTB Refund Interacts with Your Deposit

A key feature of the scheme is how lenders treat the refund. The HTB payment counts as "unborrowed equity" under Central Bank macroprudential rules. This means it can satisfy your 10% Loan-to-Value deposit requirement without being counted as debt in your Loan-to-Income calculation.

A buyer purchasing a €300,000 new-build can use the full €30,000 HTB refund to cover the entire 10% deposit, requiring zero cash savings for the down payment — provided they paid enough income tax in the preceding four years. This is the most powerful feature of the scheme.

The Clawback Rules You Need to Understand Before Moving In

If you move out of the property, rent it out, or sell it before completing five full years of principal private residence, Revenue claws back a portion of the refund on a sliding scale:

One partial protection applies for joint applications. If at least one of the original HTB applicants continues to occupy the property as their primary home for the full five years, the clawback is waived even if the other applicant has moved out.

One other timing rule applies to self-builds. If the property is not purchased or completed within two years of Revenue advancing the refund to the contractor, the contractor becomes legally liable to repay the refund directly to Revenue.

Combining HTB with the First Home Scheme

HTB works alongside the First Home Scheme (FHS), which provides shared equity of up to 30% of the purchase price. However, if you use both together, the FHS equity ceiling drops from 30% to 20%. You still come out ahead — the combined effect of HTB (up to €30,000) and FHS (up to 20% of the purchase price) can bridge a very significant gap between your mortgage limit and the asking price.

The First Home Scheme is incompatible with the Local Authority Home Loan, so if you're using the state-backed mortgage route, you're relying on HTB alone.

What to Do Before You Apply

Start with Revenue's MyAccount portal and check the status of your last four tax years. File any outstanding Form 12 returns immediately — Revenue typically takes a few weeks to process them. Calculate your rough refund amount by adding up your income tax and DIRT payments across those four years. If the number is lower than expected, your solicitor or a mortgage broker can help you model the shortfall.

The HTB application number and access code have a validity period. Do not apply for your HTB access code until you are actively purchasing a property, or you risk the code expiring before you reach the verification stage.

For a complete step-by-step walkthrough of the entire purchase process — from mortgage approval in principle through to closing day — the Ireland First-Time Home Buyer Guide covers every phase with worksheets and checklists built for Irish buyers in 2026.

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