The Help to Buy (HTB) incentive, is a tax-based scheme to assist first-time purchasers with the deposit they need to buy or build a new house or apartment. It also aims to encourage additional supply of new houses by supporting demand.
HTB provides a refund of Income Tax and Deposit Interest Retention Tax (DIRT) paid in Ireland over the previous four years, subject to limits outlined in the legislation.
The level of support available to first time buyers under the HTB scheme, is whichever is the lesser of:
• €30,000; or
• 10 per cent of the purchase price of the new property; or
• the amount of Income Tax and DIRT paid in the four years before application for the relief.
For a property to qualify for the HTB scheme, it must be new or converted for use as a dwelling, having not previously been used as a dwelling. Additionally, the purchase value/approved valuation of the property must not exceed €500,000.
Based on the latest available data (31 August 2026), the scheme has supported over 69,000 individuals or couples to buy or build their own home.
One condition of the HTB scheme is that a qualifying first-time purchaser must take out a loan in an amount equal to at least 70% of the purchase value of the property. The Revenue Help to Buy Annual Report 2025 notes that 70% of HTB claimants had an LTV of 85% more. The proportion of claims in the lower LTV bands is higher for self-builds. Raising the LTV requirement may exclude many self-build applicants from the scheme. In the case of a self-build property, the purchase value is the approved valuation of the self-build property, as approved by the lender in accordance with the Central Bank’s macro prudential rules. These rules stipulate the valuation should include the site value.
The HTB scheme, was initially intended to be limited to persons who had mortgages with a minimum LTV of 80%. However, Central Bank data indicated that a sizable number of first-time buyers take out a mortgage with a LTV of less than 80%. As such, it was decided to amend the scheme to set the minimum LTV at 70% so as to ensure that first-time buyers did not feel compelled to borrow larger amounts than they would have otherwise in order to qualify for the scheme. Indeed, the Central Bank macro-prudential rules also limit mortgage borrowing in order to protect borrowers.
A number of reviews on HTB have been undertaken focusing on a range of broad issues including LTV. In 2017 an independent review of the Help to Buy incentive was completed and published. In 2018 an independent Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) of the Help to Buy incentive was carried out and published. An independent review of the HTB scheme conducted by Mazars took place in 2022 and was published on Budget Day that year. Indeed, the 2022 review recommended that the LTV be increased to 80% for purchasers availing of HTB.
Revenue advise that in relation to the Deputy's specific query regarding the number of self-build claims refused on loan-to value (LTV) grounds, that this information is not available. While individual HTB claims, including self-build claims, may be refused for a variety of reasons - including loan-to-value issues, Revenue does not maintain its records in a manner that would allow it to identify, on a statistical basis, the number of self-build claims refused specifically on LTV grounds in each of the years 2022 to 2025 and to date in 2026. Refusals are not categorised in the Revenue system in a way that would permit the extraction of reliable annual figures limited to self-build claims and refusals, where the reason is loan-to-value.
The Programme for Government commits to the "retention and revision" and these matters will be kept under review.
As the Deputy will appreciate, decisions regarding taxation measures are made in the context of the annual Budget and Finance Bill processes, at the appropriate time, having regard to the sound management of the public finances and the commitments set out in the Programme for Government and the impact any proposed changes would have on the wider housing market. It is a longstanding practice of the Minister for Finance not to comment in advance of the Budget on any tax matters which might be the subject of Budget decisions.
