About this calculator
The scheme exists because of the deposit gap the affordability calculator exposes: a first-time buyer can pass the Central Bank’s income test and still not reach the price. The First Home Scheme funds the difference between your deposit plus the maximum mortgage a participating lender will offer, and the price — taking an equity share in the home in return. The share is capped at 30% of the price, or 20% if you also claim Help to Buy, and cannot be smaller than the greater of 2.5% of the price or €10,000. You must have a deposit of at least 10% (the Help to Buy refund can form part of it), borrow the maximum offered, and buy a new home under your local authority’s price ceiling.
The cost is deferred, not absent. Nothing is charged for the first five years. From year 6 a service charge applies to the equity amount — 1.75% a year for years 6 to 15, 2.15% for years 16 to 29 and 2.85% from year 30 — until you redeem the share. Redemption can be in part or in full at any time, but always at the same percentage of the home’s market value on the day: if the home has risen in value, the buy-out costs more than you received; if it has fallen, less. The share must be redeemed when you sell, and the scheme is not regulated as a mortgage product — it sits alongside your loan, with the lender’s charge ranking first.
How to use it
- Enter the price and pick the local authority area — each area has its own price ceiling, and a home above it does not qualify at all.
- Enter the maximum mortgage a participating lender has offered (the scheme insists you borrow the maximum) and your deposit of at least 10%.
- Say whether you are also using Help to Buy: it drops the maximum equity share from 30% to 20%.
- Set how long you expect to keep the share and what the home might be worth then — the table prices the service charge years, and the last result is the buy-out cost.
The formula
With a €420,000 home, a €320,000 maximum mortgage and a €42,000 deposit, the gap is €58,000 — a 13.8% share, comfortably inside the 30% cap. That share costs €1,015 a year in service charges from year 6, and €22,620 in total if held 25 years. If the home is worth €500,000 when you buy the share out, redemption is 13.8% of €500,000 = €69,048 — you repay €11,048 more than you received, which is the scheme sharing your gain exactly as designed.
Worked example
Same home, bigger gap: a €500,000 Dublin apartment, a €300,000 maximum mortgage and a €50,000 deposit leave a €150,000 shortfall. Without Help to Buy the scheme can fund it all (30% cap = €150,000 exactly). With Help to Buy the cap falls to 20% — €100,000 — leaving €50,000 still to find. That interaction is the single most important planning point in the scheme: stacking both supports is not always better than maximising one.
Sources: First Home Scheme (firsthomescheme.ie) scheme rules: equity share bands, minimum share of the greater of 2.5% of the price or €10,000, service charge rates of 1.75% (years 6–15), 2.15% (years 16–29) and 2.85% (year 30+), and price ceilings by local authority area, current October 2026 — ceilings are reviewed and change, so confirm your area on the scheme site. Last updated: October 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Who can use the First Home Scheme?
First-time buyers of new homes in private developments, self-builders, "fresh start" applicants (divorced, separated or insolvent, with no remaining interest in a former home), and — since April 2023 — tenants buying the home they rent after being served a notice to quit. You need mortgage approval from a participating lender (the main retail banks), a deposit of at least 10%, and a home under your area’s price ceiling.
Why does using Help to Buy cut the equity cap to 20%?
Because the two schemes are deliberately stacked with a combined ceiling in mind: Help to Buy can contribute up to €35,000 (roughly 7–10% of a typical price) towards the deposit, so the equity share is capped 10 points lower to keep total state support proportionate. Run both combinations in the calculator — where the gap is large, skipping Help to Buy and taking the full 30% equity can close a purchase that the stacked version cannot.
What are the price ceilings in my area?
They are set for each local authority from median first-time buyer prices and are reviewed periodically — treat the bands in this calculator as the current published groupings, and confirm the exact figure for your area and property type (houses and apartments can differ) at firsthomescheme.ie before you rely on it. The highest ceilings, €500,000, cover Dublin, Cork City and Wicklow; the lowest, €375,000, covers a group of lower-priced counties.
Is the service charge interest on a loan?
No — there is no loan and no repayment schedule. The charge is a fee for keeping the equity share outstanding, calculated on the euro amount of equity you received (reduced by any partial redemptions), and it steps up the longer the share is held: free for five years, then 1.75%, 2.15% and 2.85% bands. It is payable annually from year 6 and any unpaid charges are added to what you owe at redemption.
Can I buy back part of the share at a time?
Yes — partial redemptions are allowed (subject to a minimum redemption amount and a valuation of the home each time, at your cost). Each buy-back is priced at the scheme’s percentage of the home’s market value at that date, and it reduces both the remaining percentage you owe and the base on which future service charges are calculated.
What formula does this first home scheme calculator — ireland calculator use?
Equity = min(price − mortgage − deposit, cap% × price), cap 30% (20% with Help to Buy); service charge = equity × band rate from year 6; redemption = equity% × future value With a €420,000 home, a €320,000 maximum mortgage and a €42,000 deposit, the gap is €58,000 — a 13.8% share, comfortably inside the 30% cap. That share costs €1,015 a year in service charges from year 6, and €22,620 in total if held 25 years. If the home is worth €500,000 when you buy the share out, redemption is 13.8% of €500,000 = €69,048 — you repay €11,048 more than you received, which is the scheme sharing your gain exactly as designed. The worked example on this page applies the formula step by step with real numbers, so you can verify the result by hand.