The Help to Buy (HTB) incentive is a scheme to assist first-time purchasers (FTP) with the deposit they need to buy or build a new house or apartment. The incentive provides a refund of Income Tax and Deposit Interest Retention Tax (DIRT) paid in Ireland over the previous four years, subject to limits outlined in the legislation.
I am advised by Revenue that applications for Help to Buy may be made on a provisional basis as first-time buyers seek to clarify their entitlements in advance of commencing the purchase of a property. An application will only progress to the “claim” stage if and when the applicant decides to purchase a property that is eligible for the scheme. It is only at claim stage that the property address details become available, and therefore a county breakdown of applications, encompassing those that do not progress to claim stage, is not available.
Revenue have advised that the table below provides a county breakdown of the number of approved claims for the years 2017 – 2022, based on the date of the commencement of the claim stage:
-
|
2017
|
2018
|
2019
|
2020
|
2021
|
2022
|
Carlow
|
35
|
36
|
60
|
60
|
105
|
61
|
Cavan
|
34
|
40
|
60
|
69
|
87
|
69
|
Clare
|
60
|
74
|
126
|
104
|
166
|
94
|
Cork
|
509
|
563
|
804
|
804
|
1,104
|
958
|
Donegal
|
43
|
49
|
88
|
114
|
148
|
175
|
Dublin
|
1,974
|
1,574
|
1,679
|
1,145
|
1,110
|
1,057
|
Galway
|
201
|
218
|
290
|
331
|
417
|
326
|
Kerry
|
45
|
41
|
81
|
98
|
104
|
115
|
Kildare
|
514
|
473
|
675
|
772
|
990
|
1,029
|
Kilkenny
|
36
|
48
|
85
|
142
|
122
|
118
|
Laois
|
63
|
88
|
85
|
142
|
222
|
144
|
Leitrim
|
12
|
16
|
<10*
|
19
|
29
|
18
|
Limerick
|
162
|
151
|
210
|
213
|
256
|
176
|
Longford
|
19
|
18
|
34
|
22
|
29
|
25
|
Louth
|
130
|
185
|
218
|
189
|
342
|
312
|
Mayo
|
64
|
78
|
144
|
131
|
160
|
166
|
Meath
|
599
|
585
|
845
|
746
|
867
|
633
|
Monaghan
|
30
|
43
|
67
|
66
|
100
|
81
|
Offaly
|
55
|
34
|
59
|
78
|
135
|
153
|
Roscommon
|
32
|
31
|
63
|
61
|
80
|
62
|
Sligo
|
26
|
39
|
54
|
37
|
74
|
62
|
Tipperary
|
83
|
84
|
112
|
96
|
133
|
112
|
Waterford
|
127
|
113
|
145
|
161
|
192
|
162
|
Westmeath
|
60
|
70
|
80
|
94
|
95
|
101
|
Wexford
|
64
|
98
|
191
|
168
|
296
|
285
|
Wicklow
|
258
|
211
|
305
|
224
|
310
|
249
|
Total
|
5235
|
4960
|
6560*
|
6086
|
7673
|
6743
|
* Where there are fewer than ten cases in a county, the exact number is not provided due to Revenue's obligation to protect taxpayer confidentiality. The number of Leitrim-based claims is therefore excluded from the 2019 total.