Help-to-Buy (HTB) | Easy Money Calc Glossary

An Irish tax-relief scheme refunding up to €30,000 of income tax and DIRT paid in the prior four years toward a new-build home deposit for first-time buyers.

Help-to-Buy (HTB) is an Irish Revenue scheme aimed at first-time buyers of new-build homes. Eligible applicants can claim back up to €30,000 — or 10% of the property’s purchase price, whichever is lower — drawn from income tax and DIRT paid over the previous four years. The refund is paid directly to the buyer’s solicitor and applied toward the deposit.

To qualify the buyer must be a first-time buyer, purchasing a new-build (or self-build) home with a value of €500,000 or less, taking out a mortgage of at least 70% loan-to-value, and intending to live in the property as their principal private residence for five years. The scheme is currently extended through 2029 under Budget 2026.

The maximum cap of €30,000 was lifted from the original €20,000 ceiling in 2020 and made permanent in subsequent budgets. The refund is calculated as the lesser of: 10% of the property price, the mortgage loan amount × 10%, the income tax paid over the previous four years, or €30,000.

HTB interacts with the First Home Scheme — buyers can usually combine both, although the FHS equity-share calculation is reduced if HTB is also used. Use the mortgage affordability calculator to model how an HTB-funded deposit shapes the loan you can carry, and the stamp duty calculator for closing costs.