Help to Buy Scheme Ireland: €35,000 Rules for 2026

How Much Can You Get from Help to Buy?

According to Revenue, the refund is the lowest of 3 numbers: the maximum for your contract date, 10% of the purchase price (or approved valuation for a self-build), and the Income Tax and DIRT you paid in the 4 tax years before you apply. USC and PRSI don't count. The maximum is per property, however many buyers there are.

Revenue, "How much can you claim?", read 29 October 2026. Revenue's application page also mentions the 5% limit under the original scheme.

Here's what that means at different prices, assuming you've paid enough tax:

Grantsights calculation from Revenue's 10% and maximum rules. The tax-paid limit may reduce any of these.

The tax-paid limit is the one people underestimate. You can only get back tax you've actually paid in the 4 years before the year you apply. For a couple, Revenue counts both of you. A Dáil answer of 20 October 2026 shows how this plays out: of 9,028 applications in 2025 that Revenue could match to its tax files, 2,111 had no Income Tax or DIRT at all in 2021, so they had nothing to reclaim for 1 of their 4 years.

Budget 2027: What's Announced and What's In Force

Budget 2027 raised the maximum from €30,000 to €35,000, and unlike most Budget measures it's already in force. According to Revenue's own page and the Minister for Finance's answer of 13 October 2026, the change was made by a Budget night Financial Resolution that took effect on 7 October 2026.

Dáil written answers 184 (13 October 2026) and 368 (15 October 2026), and Revenue's "How much can you claim?" page.

Who gets the extra €5,000? Only buyers whose price is above €300,000, because of the 10% rule, and who have paid enough tax. In Revenue's January to September 2026 data, 81% of claims (6,424 of 7,904) were for homes worth more than €375,000, so most new claimants should qualify for the full increase.

If you signed before 7 October 2026, you're on the €30,000 limit even if your claim is approved later. The Minister's 15 October 2026 answer restates the contract-date rule rather than making an exception for buyers who'd been approved but hadn't drawn down their mortgage.

Who Qualifies and Which Homes Count

Revenue's "Who can claim" page sets 5 conditions. You must:

1. Be a first-time buyer, never having bought or built a home alone or jointly, in Ireland or abroad. Everyone buying with you must also be a first-time buyer. An inherited or gifted home may not rule you out, depending on the circumstances.
2. Buy or self-build a new home to live in. It must be newly built with construction subject to Irish VAT, and never used or suitable for use as a home. A converted non-residential building may qualify. Investment properties don't.
3. Live in it as your main home for 5 years.
4. Be tax compliant, with tax clearance where relevant.
5. Take a mortgage of at least 70% of the purchase value or approved valuation from a qualifying lender.

The developer or contractor you buy from must be on Revenue's list of approved Help to Buy contractors. Self-builders don't need an approved contractor but need a solicitor registered with Revenue as a Help to Buy approver.

Shared equity and the 70% rule. First Home Scheme shared equity isn't counted in the loan-to-value calculation. A Local Authority Affordable Purchase Scheme contribution is counted for contracts signed on or after 11 October 2023.

Case in point: Revenue's own worked example is Mary, a first-time buyer who bought a €300,000 home under the Local Authority Affordable Purchase Scheme in October 2023 with a €180,000 mortgage, a €45,000 council contribution and €75,000 of savings. Because the council contribution counts, her loan-to-value is 75%, above the 70% minimum, so she qualifies. Under today's rules her 10% limit would be €30,000.

How to Apply, Step by Step

According to Revenue's 2025 annual report, 27,899 Help to Buy applications were made in 2025, but only 9,575 claims were approved. That's because an application only tells you your maximum; the money comes at the claim stage, once you've signed a contract.

1. Get your tax in order first. PAYE workers must file an Income Tax return for each year they want refunded and receive a Statement of Liability before applying. Self-assessed applicants need tax clearance and all returns filed. Pay any tax owed for the selected years.
2. Application stage. Apply in myAccount or ROS. Apply as a group if 2 or more names are on the mortgage (not counting a guarantor). If you're compliant, you'll get an Application Number, an Access Code through MyEnquiries, your maximum potential refund and an expiry date.
3. Show your lender. Lenders and contractors can check your maximum using Revenue's Mortgage Query Tool.
4. Claim stage. After you sign the contract (or, for a self-build, draw down the first tranche), upload your mortgage offer and signed acceptance, the signed contract, and any affordable purchase agreement. Self-builders upload proof of drawdown and the lender's valuation report, plus bank details for the mortgage account.
5. Verification stage. The approved contractor (or your solicitor, for self-builds) verifies the claim using your Claim Reference Number and Access Code.
6. Payment. For a new home you buy, Revenue pays the refund to the contractor, so it reduces what you pay toward the deposit. For a self-build, Revenue pays it into an account you hold with your mortgage lender.

Timelines. Revenue doesn't publish a processing time. Its 2025 report says application time depends on how quickly applicants fix outstanding tax issues, and that verification time is outside Revenue's control. In 2025, Revenue approved between 489 (January) and 918 (July) claims a month. Applications that aren't followed by a valid claim before the expiry date must be made again.

Grantsights Analysis of Revenue's Help to Buy Statistics

According to a Dáil answer of 21 October 2026, Revenue approved 70,388 Help to Buy claims from the scheme's start in July 2016 to 14 October 2026. 2025 was the busiest year so far, and 2026 is on pace to pass it, with 8,287 approvals by mid-October.

Dáil written answers 36 (21 October 2026) and 391 (20 October 2026), figures from Revenue. Averages are Grantsights calculations. Values for 2017 to 2021 weren't in those answers.

Cork (16%) and Dublin (15%) had the most approved claims in 2025, but the pattern shifted in 2026: Dublin led from January to September, with 20% of claims.

Grantsights analysis of Revenue's Help to Buy Annual Report 2025 (county tables, claims approved to 11 February 2026) and Revenue's monthly "claims by county by quarter" file for Q1 to Q3 2026, downloaded 29 October 2026. 12 smaller counties not shown. Revenue suppresses counts under 10, so the 2026 county figures for Leitrim and Longford aren't published exactly.

Revenue's price and loan data show who uses it:

Revenue Help to Buy Annual Report 2025 and Revenue monthly statistics files (claims by property price, by loan-to-value, and by build type and amount). Revenue reports the 2026 amount bands differently from 2025.

What this tells you:

• Prices are pushing against the €500,000 cap. The average 2025 claim was on a €418,500 home, and the share of claims above €450,000 jumped from about a third in 2025 to 43% in 2026. If you're looking at homes near €500,000, check the exact contract price and any extras before you sign. Nothing above the cap qualifies.
• Your best bet is to check the 10% line first. At €350,000 or more, the new limit is worth the full extra €5,000; below it, you're capped at 10% of the price.
• Most buyers borrow heavily. Half of 2026 claims had a mortgage of 90% or more of the price. Help to Buy usually tops up the deposit rather than replacing it.
• The €35,000 limit isn't automatic. In 2025, 37% of claims got less than the €30,000 maximum, mostly because of the 10% rule or the tax-paid limit.

What Revenue Doesn't Tell You About Help to Buy

Revenue's pages explain the rules, but these points trip people up. Each one can cost you the refund or a chunk of it.

1. A price above €500,000 means €0. There's no taper. A home at €505,000 gets nothing, and Revenue uses the full open market value, not a discounted price.

2. Your partner must also be a first-time buyer. If one of you owned a home before, even abroad, the joint purchase doesn't qualify.

3. The refund goes to the builder, not you. For a new home you buy, it's paid to the approved contractor. Make sure your contract shows it credited to your deposit. Older second-hand homes need a different route, such as the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant or SEAI's first-time buyer attic grant in our SEAI grants guide.

4. Living elsewhere within 5 years triggers clawback. According to the Minister's answer of 20 October 2026, Revenue raised 969 clawback cases worth €5,530,294 from 2022 to October 2026, including 137 cases worth €1,345,728 in 2026 alone. If you might need to move or rent out the home within 5 years, factor that in.

5. Self-build valuations include the site. The Minister confirmed on 30 September 2026 that the approved valuation includes the site, so a family site can push a self-build over €500,000. Deputies have raised the 70% mortgage minimum as a barrier for single self-builders on modest incomes when a gifted site lifts the valuation. Revenue doesn't record how many self-build claims fail on loan-to-value.

6. Unfiled returns stop everything. A common mistake is applying before filing. PAYE workers often haven't filed a tax return, and you can't select a year until you've filed it and received a Statement of Liability.

7. Second-hand homes are out. Despite repeated Dáil questions in autumn 2026, the Minister's position on 8 October 2026 was that the scheme is designed to support new supply, with the question kept under review.

Help to Buy Scams: Protect Your Deposit

According to Revenue's fraud warning page, Revenue will never contact you by email, text or phone call to tell you about a tax refund or bill, and it won't ask for your bank details, card numbers or passwords on a call. Revenue writes to customers through MyEnquiries inside myAccount and ROS.

• "Your Help to Buy refund is ready" texts are fake. Revenue says scam messages often claim you're due a refund and link to sites outside revenue.ie. Type revenue.ie into your browser instead of clicking.
• A fee to "unlock" your refund is a red flag. Revenue doesn't charge for Help to Buy.
• Nobody needs to apply for you. Applying is free in myAccount or ROS. A paid "HTB agent" isn't needed, and your myAccount password should never be shared.
• Check payment instructions for your deposit by phone. Before transferring a deposit balance, confirm bank details by calling your solicitor on a number you already have. The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission's phishing guide (opens in a new tab) advises verifying with the organisation directly using a trusted contact.
• If you've been caught, Revenue says to reset your Revenue password right away and contact your bank or card provider; the CCPC also advises reporting it to the Gardaí.

Other Guides in This Series

• Our SEAI grants guide covers the higher attic insulation grant for first-time buyers of older homes, which Help to Buy can't touch.
• Our Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant guide covers the main grant for buyers of older, empty homes.
• Our SUSI grant guide explains Ireland's student grants and the Budget 2027 changes.
• For first home buyers in Australia, our First Home Owner Grant guide lists each state's grant.

If you're buying new in Ireland, start with your tax: file any missing returns, run a Help to Buy application in myAccount to see your maximum, and check the contract price against the €350,000 and €500,000 lines before you sign.

Sources Checked

All pages read and files downloaded on 29 October 2026.

• Revenue, Help to Buy (HTB) scheme overview (opens in a new tab)
• Revenue, Who can claim HTB? (opens in a new tab)
• Revenue, What is a qualifying property? (opens in a new tab)
• Revenue, How much can you claim? (opens in a new tab)
• Revenue, What do you need to do before you apply? (opens in a new tab)
• Revenue, How do you apply for HTB? (opens in a new tab)
• Revenue, Can Revenue claw back a refund? (opens in a new tab)
• Revenue, Help to Buy annual statistics (opens in a new tab), including the Annual Report 2025 (opens in a new tab)
• Revenue, Help to Buy monthly statistics (opens in a new tab)
• Revenue, Fraudulent emails, SMS and phone calls (opens in a new tab)
• Dáil Éireann written answers from the Minister for Finance: approved claims by year, 21 October 2026 (opens in a new tab), claims and tax history, 20 October 2026 (opens in a new tab), clawback cases, 20 October 2026 (opens in a new tab), contract date for the €35,000 limit, 15 October 2026 (opens in a new tab), Budget 2027 increase and cost, 13 October 2026 (opens in a new tab), second-hand homes, 8 October 2026 (opens in a new tab) and self-build loan-to-value, 30 September 2026 (opens in a new tab)
• Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, Phishing (opens in a new tab)