How to apply for Help to Buy: the application and the claim

Help to Buy has two stages on Revenue's website. First you apply. Then, once you have signed contracts, you claim. The builder confirms the sale, and Revenue pays the refund to the builder.

This guide walks through both stages, what to have ready, and what tends to slow things down. For how the scheme works, read the Help to Buy scheme guide.

Before you start

You need three things in place.

An online account with Revenue. If you are an employee, that is myAccount. If you are self-employed, it is Revenue Online Service, called ROS. Register early. A new myAccount password can take a few days to arrive by post.

Your tax in order. Revenue checks that you have filed everything it expects. Employees usually need to file an income tax return for each of the four years. In myAccount this is the Form 12. If you owe tax for any year, pay it first.

Everyone on the mortgage on the application. Every person who will own the home must be on the Help to Buy application, and each one must be a first-time buyer.

Stage one: the application

The application stage tells you how much you can claim. You can do it before you have found a home.

1. Log in to myAccount or ROS.
2. Go to the Help to Buy section.
3. Choose to apply.
4. Confirm you are a first-time buyer and give the details Revenue asks for.
5. Revenue checks your tax for the last four years.
6. Revenue sends you an application summary with the most you can claim.

The summary shows the lowest of three figures: the cap, 10% of a price, and the tax you paid. The cap is €30,000. Budget 2027 announced a rise to €35,000, and Revenue's page gives 7 October 2026 as the start date. That rise is announced, not yet law, until the Finance Act 2026 is signed. The changes page tracks it.

The summary is useful before you bid. It tells you what deposit you can count on. Lenders and builders often ask to see it.

The application number and the access code

Once your application is approved, Revenue gives you two things:

• An application number.
• An access code.

Keep both. You give them to the builder at the claim stage. The builder uses them to find your claim on Revenue's system and confirm the sale.

The application stays open until the end of the tax year. If it lapses, you can apply again. The figure may change if your tax position has changed.

Stage two: the claim

You make the claim after you have signed contracts to buy. On a self-build, you make it after the first drawdown, which is the first payment from your lender.

1. Log in and go to the Help to Buy section.
2. Choose to make a claim.
3. Enter the details of the home: the address, the price, the builder, the contract date.
4. Enter the mortgage details: the lender and the loan amount.
5. Upload the signed contract, or the mortgage drawdown confirmation on a self-build.
6. Submit the claim.

Revenue checks the price against the €500,000 cap. It checks the loan against the 70% rule: the mortgage must be at least 70% of the price. Then it sends the claim to the builder for confirmation.

The builder's confirmation

The builder, or the developer, must be a Help to Buy qualifying contractor. That means Revenue has approved them for the scheme. Check this before you pay a booking deposit.

The builder logs in to Revenue's system with your application number and access code. They confirm the details of the sale: the price, the contract date, the deposit paid. Once they confirm, Revenue pays the refund to the builder. It counts as part of your deposit.

On a self-build, there is no builder confirmation. Revenue pays the refund into your mortgage loan account instead. Your solicitor (check the Law Society's register) or the lender confirms the drawdown. Your conveyancing solicitor handles the legal side of the purchase in any case.

Self-build timing

The timing on a self-build is different and catches people out.

• You cannot claim until the first drawdown has happened.
• The first drawdown often comes after you have spent your own money on the site and foundations.
• The refund goes into the loan account, which reduces the loan rather than giving you cash.

So on a self-build, do not plan to use Help to Buy for the first bills. Plan for it to reduce your mortgage once the build is under way. The self-build mortgage calculator shows the cash you need before the first drawdown.

A worked example of the timing

Niamh goes sale agreed on a new apartment for €320,000 in March. Here is how her Help to Buy runs.

Her own savings cover the other €8,000 of the deposit, plus the booking deposit already paid, which counts towards the same total.

What slows an application down

Tax returns not filed. This is the most common delay. Revenue cannot approve an application if a return is missing for any of the four years. File each one before you apply.

Tax owed. A small underpayment from a past year holds the whole application. Check your statement of liability in myAccount for each year.

A builder who is not a qualifying contractor. If the builder is not on Revenue's list, there is no refund. Ask before you commit.

A mortgage under 70%. If your loan is less than 70% of the price, the claim fails. Check the figure before you fix your deposit.

A price over €500,000. There is no refund at all above the cap.

Wrong details on the claim. If the price or contract date on your claim does not match what the builder enters, the claim stalls until one side corrects it.

Someone on the application who has owned before. Everyone on the application must be a first-time buyer. One past owner means no refund for anyone.

After the refund is paid

Keep living in the home. The refund is yours to keep as long as you live there for five years. If you sell, move out or let the home within five years, Revenue can take some or all of it back. The Help to Buy clawback guide explains how the amount is worked out.

Keep your application number, your claim summary and the builder's confirmation. You may need them if Revenue asks a question later.

Where this leaves you

Work out your likely figure on the Help to Buy calculator, then file any missing tax returns and make the application. The first-time buyer journey shows where the claim sits among the other steps to closing. When you are ready for contracts, get quotes from a solicitor.