The Help to Buy Scheme

Introduction

The Help to Buy Incentive (the Incentive) has been introduced in the Finance Act 2016. It is a scheme introduced to help first time buyers when they are purchasing a newly built property or are self building a property that they will live in as their home. Essentially the scheme takes the form of a refund of Income Tax and DIRT Tax paid over the last four years.  There is a brief summary of the scheme below but if you have any queries, feel free to give us a call.

Amount claimable

The maximum amount claimable is 5% of the purchase price up to an amount of €20,000. The maximum purchase of the property is €500,000 from 1st January 2017. However if you purchased between 19 July 2016 and 31 December 2016 the maximum was €600,000.

You are not entitled to any amount if the purchase price is over these amounts.

First time buyers and registration process

The Incentive is only open to first time buyers who purchase newly built homes (either in a development or a self-build). They must draw down a mortgage with a minimum 70% loan to value ratio. A first time buyer is an individual who has not, either individually or jointly with any other person, previously purchased or previously built, directly or indirectly, on his or her own behalf a dwelling. The property must be occupied by at least one of the first time buyers for a period of 5 years after the property becomes habitable.

Tax Requirements

The first time buyer must have paid income tax in the some of the previous 4 years. They will need to supply their PPSN. The first time buyer will be entitled to claim a refund of income tax and DIRT over the past 4 years. They will also need to be registered on the Revenue’s online account service if they are PAYE or through ROS if they are self-assessed.

Qualifying Contractor

A qualifying contractor must be registered with the Revenue Commissioners. They must supply details of qualifying residences and details of planning permission. On a claim being made by a first time buyer the qualifying contractor will need to supply various details to comply with the scheme.

For more information on how the scheme works, how to apply and what information you will need to provide, see  http://www.revenue.ie/en/tax/it/reliefs/htb/index.html

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