Practical guide · stated assumptions and checkable examples
Irish mortgage limits and Help to Buy: keep three constraints separate
Published · Sources checked
Source and worked-example review; not professional advice or approval. Examples are synthetic unless explicitly identified otherwise. Follow the cited authority for current eligibility and legal requirements.
A maximum loan estimate is not simply house price minus a Help to Buy amount. Loan-to-income, loan-to-value, lender underwriting and the support scheme’s own eligibility conditions are separate constraints.
Start with the mortgage-measure category
The reviewed Central Bank reference uses a four-times-gross-income loan-to-income limit for first-time buyers and 3.5 times for subsequent buyers, with a 90% loan-to-value limit for owner-occupiers under the standard measures. Buy-to-let and particular exemptions or allowances need separate treatment. The worksheet does not decide whether a lender will use an allowance or approve a loan.
References: Central Bank of Ireland — Mortgage measures
A synthetic purchase where income is the binding limit
Assume a qualifying first-time-buyer household with €80,000 gross annual income and a €400,000 home. Four times income is €320,000. Ninety percent of the property value is €360,000. Before other lender constraints, the lower of those two amounts is €320,000, leaving €80,000 of purchase-price funding to cover from other eligible sources. Closing costs are not included.
Calculation: Standard planning loan ceiling = min(income × relevant LTI multiple, property value × relevant LTV limit)
Help to Buy is a conditional refund, not extra borrowing capacity
Under the reviewed enhanced scheme, the potential amount is limited by the lowest of €30,000, 10% of the qualifying purchase or completion value and eligible income tax plus DIRT paid over the relevant four-year period. USC and PRSI are not simply added to that tax-history amount. The calculator needs the correct eligible paid-tax figure rather than inventing it from current salary.
References: Revenue Ireland — How much Help to Buy can you claim?
Apply a second synthetic calculation
For the €400,000 example, 10% is €40,000. With an entered €20,000 of eligible prior tax, the modeled scheme amount is min(€30,000, €40,000, €20,000) = €20,000, subject to all conditions. It does not raise the €320,000 income-based loan ceiling. The remaining purchase-price funding in this simplified example would be €60,000 after that assumed eligible support.
Verify the property and scheme conditions
Revenue’s conditions include the qualifying property-value ceiling and mortgage-funding requirements; the reviewed reference uses a €500,000 property limit and at least 70% qualifying mortgage finance. Other purchaser, property, timing and compliance conditions also matter. The worksheet does not certify first-time-buyer status, a contractor or a property. Keep evidence for each condition and budget actual closing costs separately.
References: Revenue Ireland — Help to Buy property conditions
Questions about this guide
Can Help to Buy make a larger income multiple automatically available?
No. The support amount and mortgage-measure constraints are separate calculations. Lender approval and any permitted allowances require their own assessment.
Is the maximum refund always €30,000?
No. The lowest applicable monetary limit and all eligibility conditions govern. The synthetic tax-history example produces €20,000, not €30,000.