How Much Can I Borrow on a Mortgage in Ireland? The Practical Answer
The quick answer
The maximum mortgage you can get in Ireland is set by three separate rules, and you can only borrow as much as the lowest of the three allows. They are:
- The income multiplier (LTI): up to 4× your gross annual income for a first-time buyer, 3.5× for a second-time buyer or mover-upper.
- The deposit rule (LTV): you must have at least a 10% deposit as a first-time buyer (so you can borrow up to 90% of the property value), or 20% as a second-time buyer (so up to 80%).
- The lender’s affordability stress test: your repayment at a stressed interest rate (typically 2% above the offer rate) must fit within their net-disposable-income rules.
For a first-time buyer earning €60,000 with a €40,000 deposit looking at a €280,000 home, the multipliers say: 4 × €60,000 = €240,000 borrowing capacity. The LTV says 90% × €280,000 = €252,000 borrowing capacity. The stress test usually permits a bit more than the LTI at this salary. The binding constraint is the income multiplier at €240,000 — and that’s what determines the maximum loan, regardless of how much deposit they’ve saved.
The mortgage affordability calculator computes all three rules simultaneously and tells you which one is biting at your specific salary, deposit, and property value.
Rule 1: the loan-to-income (LTI) limit
The Central Bank’s macroprudential mortgage rules cap the loan-to-income ratio:
| Buyer type | Maximum LTI | Example: €70,000 income |
|---|---|---|
| First-time buyer (principal dwelling) | 4× | €280,000 maximum borrowing |
| Second-time buyer / mover (principal dwelling) | 3.5× | €245,000 maximum borrowing |
| Buy-to-let | 3.5× (typical lender practice) | €245,000 typical |
The 4× FTB limit was raised from 3.5× in January 2023 — a structural change that materially increased borrowing capacity for buyers in the first wave of post-rule-change applications.
“Income” for LTI purposes means gross annual income before tax — but the lender will haircut variable elements. The standard practice across Irish lenders:
- Base salary: counts in full.
- Guaranteed allowances (e.g. shift premium for a structured rota): typically count in full.
- Bonus: counted at 50% of a 3-year average, sometimes excluded entirely for lenders with conservative criteria.
- Overtime: similarly haircut at 50% or 100% depending on lender and how regular it is.
- Self-employed income: 2–3 years of certified accounts averaged; the lender’s underwriter has discretion to use the most recent year if it’s lower, but not if it’s higher.
- Rental income from existing property: typically counted at 75% of gross to allow for voids and costs.
A second applicant’s income aggregates with yours for joint mortgages. The LTI multiplier applies to the combined household income.
Rule 2: the loan-to-value (LTV) deposit limit
The LTV rule sets a minimum deposit as a proportion of the property value:
| Buyer type | Minimum deposit | Maximum LTV | Example: €350,000 home |
|---|---|---|---|
| First-time buyer | 10% | 90% | €35,000 deposit, €315,000 max loan |
| Second-time buyer / mover | 20% | 80% | €70,000 deposit, €280,000 max loan |
| Buy-to-let | 30% | 70% | €105,000 deposit, €245,000 max loan |
The deposit must come from “verifiable” savings, gifts (with a gift letter from the donor), or — for FTBs — the Help-to-Buy scheme (up to €30,000 or 10% of value, whichever is lower) and the First Home Scheme equity stake (up to 30% of value for qualifying buyers in qualifying developments).
A common error: thinking a bigger deposit lets you borrow more. It doesn’t — the LTV rule sets a floor on your deposit, not a ceiling on the loan. The loan size is still bounded by the LTI limit regardless of how much you put down.
What a bigger deposit does do is reduce the LTV bracket your lender prices you in. Most Irish lenders publish lower fixed rates at LTV ≤ 80% than at LTV 81-90%, so a 20% deposit can shave 10-25 basis points off your fixed rate even as a first-time buyer. That doesn’t change borrowing capacity but it changes lifetime cost — model both via the mortgage repayment calculator.
Rule 3: the lender’s stress test
The Central Bank requires lenders to model your loan at a stressed interest rate — typically the higher of the rate on offer + 2%, or the long-run reversion rate the lender uses. The stressed monthly repayment must fit within the lender’s affordability framework, which is roughly:
- Net Disposable Income (NDI) test: after the stressed mortgage payment, you must have a defined minimum remaining each month (varies €1,250–€2,000 per adult plus €250 per child, broadly).
- Debt Service Ratio (DSR) test: total monthly debt repayments (mortgage + existing loans + credit cards if they’re not paid in full) must not exceed 35–40% of net monthly income.
The stress test rarely binds for a first-time buyer at a moderate property price — the LTI usually constrains first. It starts to bite when:
- The applicant has significant existing debt (a car loan or substantial credit card balances).
- The applicant is taking a long mortgage term, e.g. 35 years on a high-LTV loan.
- The applicant is borrowing toward the upper end of the LTI multiple AND has high outgoings.
The DSR test is also why paying off a car loan before applying can sometimes unlock a materially higher mortgage. A €400/month car loan crowding the DSR can reduce maximum borrowing by €40,000-€60,000 at typical stressed rates.
Worked examples at different salaries
The binding constraint changes with salary. For a first-time-buyer couple with a clean balance sheet:
| Combined gross income | LTI max (4×) | Property value where LTV becomes binding (90% LTV) |
|---|---|---|
| €50,000 | €200,000 | €222,000 |
| €70,000 | €280,000 | €311,000 |
| €90,000 | €360,000 | €400,000 |
| €120,000 | €480,000 | €533,000 |
| €150,000 | €600,000 | €667,000 |
The pattern: at any property value below the right-hand column figure, the deposit (LTV) is the binding constraint — you need at least 10% of the asking price in deposit. Above that property value, the income multiplier (LTI) is binding — no amount of deposit will let you borrow more.
The stress test usually trails behind these two unless there’s other debt or a long term in play. For straightforward FTB cases the rule of thumb works: figure out which of the LTI or LTV is lower at your numbers, and that’s roughly your maximum loan.
Exemptions and edge cases
Every Irish lender has a small annual quota of LTI exemptions (loans above 4×) and LTV exemptions (deposits below 10% as FTB). These are usually reserved for high-earning professional couples (medics, solicitors, technology workers) where the bank’s risk team is confident in future earnings growth.
The exception is not advertised — you usually need to ask. Reasonable applicants in their 20s/30s on €100k+ salary trajectories with clean records can sometimes obtain 4.5× or 5× LTI by the third lender they approach. Exemptions are filled on a first-come-first-served basis through the year and tend to dry up by Q4.
The Help-to-Buy scheme is separate from these limits — it’s a tax rebate of up to €30,000 paid to FTBs of new-builds, treated as part of the deposit. It doesn’t change the maximum loan you can get; it just reduces the cash deposit you need to find from savings.
What the application process actually checks
Beyond the three rule-based limits, lenders look at:
- Six months of current account statements for the savings-pattern evidence (typically wanting to see €X/month going to savings or rent, ideally matching the prospective mortgage payment).
- Credit report (Central Credit Register) — missed payments on a car loan in the last 2 years is a significant black mark; missed payments on a phone bill or a small loan typically aren’t disqualifying.
- Employer reference — confirming employment status, length of service, gross salary.
- P60 / latest payslips for income verification (3 recent payslips standard, 12 months for self-employed and bonus-heavy earners).
- Self-employed accounts — 2–3 years of certified accounts (the latest one needs to be no more than 18 months old by completion).
A “soft” Approval-in-Principle (AIP) takes 2–6 weeks. Conversion from AIP to formal loan offer usually takes another 4–6 weeks once you’ve identified a property and submitted the valuation and solicitor’s pack.
Frequently asked questions
Can I borrow more if I’m willing to take a longer term? Up to a point. A longer term reduces the monthly payment, which can help with the affordability stress test if that’s binding. But the LTI multiplier is a hard cap regardless of term — no Irish lender will lend you 5× income just because you take a 35-year term instead of 25.
Does the 4× LTI include my Help-to-Buy money? No. Help-to-Buy is part of your deposit, not your loan. The €280,000 4× LTI on €70k income remains €280,000 whether or not you’re using HTB. The HTB money reduces how much cash deposit you need to fund from savings.
What if I’m self-employed for less than 2 years? Most Irish lenders require 2 years of certified accounts at minimum, 3 years preferred. The few exceptions (typically professionals moving from PAYE to a partnership in the same field) can sometimes get a loan on 12 months of accounts plus the previous PAYE history, but it’s lender-by-lender.
Will my parents’ help with the deposit be questioned? A gifted deposit is fine but the lender will require a signed gift letter from the donor confirming the funds are unconditional and non-repayable. Some lenders also want evidence of the donor’s source of funds for amounts over €25k-€50k.
Can I include rental income from a property I plan to buy? Generally no for a principal-dwelling mortgage. The lender wants to see your borrowing capacity for the home you’ll live in. The exception is renting out a room under the rent-a-room scheme (up to €14,000 tax-free) — some lenders will include 50-75% of plausible rent-a-room income for borrowers buying houses with spare bedrooms.
Does the stress test go away once I’m in the house? It only applies at origination. Once the loan is drawn down, the bank doesn’t re-test you each year. The actual rate you pay will be the contracted variable or fixed rate, not the stressed rate. The point of the stress test is to confirm at the application stage that you’d cope with a 2% rate rise during the loan term.
This guide reflects the Central Bank rules and lender practice as they stand in 2026. Individual lender criteria vary at the margin — for an actual borrowing capacity figure, get an Approval-in-Principle from two or three lenders rather than relying on any single calculator output.