Housing and renting / repayment

Help to Buy (HTB) for first-time buyers

Help to Buy refunds Income Tax and DIRT you paid over the previous four years, up to 30,000 euro or 10% of the purchase price of a new-build home, to use as a deposit. You must be a first-time buyer, take a mortgage of at least 70% of the price and live in the home for five years. It is not a tax credit.

Written by PAYEWise editorial team, plain-English tax writers working from Revenue sources. Tax review: pending appointment of a named tax-qualified reviewer. Reviewed 28 October 2026.

Who qualifies

First-time buyer of a new-build or self-build home worth 500,000 euro or less.
Mortgage of at least 70% loan-to-value.
Tax compliant for the previous four years.

Exclusions and pitfalls

Second-hand homes do not qualify.
Clawback applies if you do not live in the home for five years.

How to claim, step by step

Apply through myAccount or ROS > Help to Buy, then make a claim once you sign the contract.

This checker provides guidance from your answers. Revenue decides whether a claim is accepted. You can claim directly for free using myAccount.

Documents to keep

Contract
Mortgage approval
Statements of Liability for the previous four years

Worked examples

New build 350,000 euro qualifies

10% = 35,000 euro, capped at 30,000 euro, limited by tax paid.

Self-build qualifies

Qualifies based on approved valuation.

Second-hand house does not qualify

Not eligible.

All examples use hypothetical people and figures.

Terms used here

Next steps

This guide is part of a later content wave and will be expanded with more detail after reviewer sign-off.

Sources and review

R2Tax rates, bands and reliefs 2022-2026officialchecked 2026-10-28

Last reviewed 2026-10-28 (awaiting sign-off by a named tax-qualified reviewer). Every factual tax rule on this page is backed by a dated Revenue source. Spotted an error? Use the contact page.

Do it

Claim through Revenue (free)

Priority P2. Reviewed 2026-10-28.

Help to Buy (HTB) for first-time buyers

Next steps

This guide is part of a later content wave and will be expanded with more detail after reviewer sign-off.

Sources and review

R2Tax rates, bands and reliefs 2022-2026officialchecked 2026-10-28

Last reviewed 2026-10-28 (awaiting sign-off by a named tax-qualified reviewer). Every factual tax rule on this page is backed by a dated Revenue source. Spotted an error? Use the contact page.