Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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153. To ask the Minister for Finance the number of applications received for the help-to-buy scheme in the Tipperary revenue district; the number of applications processed and approved to date; the current processing time for applications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11444/17]

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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159. To ask the Minister for Finance the number of applications to date for the help-to-buy scheme as announced in budget 2017; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11631/17]

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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160. To ask the Minister for Finance the number of applications for the help-to-buy scheme that have been deemed valid to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11632/17]

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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161. To ask the Minister for Finance the number of successful or pending applications for the help-to-buy scheme with in each categories (details supplied) in tabular form; and the total potential cost of the scheme in each catagory. [11633/17]

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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162. To ask the Minister for Finance the total anticipated cost of the help-to-buy scheme based on the applications to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11634/17]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 153 and 159 to 162, inclusive, together.

The Deputies will be aware that a two-stage process is employed for the Help To Buy (HTB) incentive, under which individuals submit an application for the incentive to receive an indication of the level of tax relief that may be available to them, and subsequently submit a claim for a tax refund.

I am advised by Revenue that the number of HTB applications received up to the end of February 2017 was:

The data indicates that around one-third of applications received are approved automatically, while the remainder are generally allocated a status of pending.  Pending means that the applicants either have to file an outstanding return or address a compliance issue, the application is to be reviewed by a Revenue caseworker, or the applicant needs to finalise his or her application.

The processing time for pending applications depends on the time it takes an applicant to resolve any outstanding matters and Revenue is encouraging prospective applicants to file any necessary tax returns and resolve any outstanding issues before making the HTB application.  The bulk of applicants to date are PAYE taxpayers and if a Form 12 tax return is outstanding it can be filed online very quickly by using "PAYE Services" in myAccount.  If there is a tax liability outstanding it can be paid using the 'Payments' facility in myAccount.  A HTB application can be approved automatically, and very quickly, on the online system where there are no outstanding issues.

Once an application is successful, the time taken for the claim to be submitted depends on the claimant.  If he or she has the necessary evidence, which is a signed contract, mortgage agreement, deposit details, details of the property for first-time purchasers or, in the case of first-time self-build claimants evidence of drawdown of the first tranche of the mortgage, the claim can be submitted.  More detailed information and guidance regarding these requirements is available on the Revenue website.

Information about the loan-to-value ratios is not available at the application stage, as such figures are not usually finalised at that stage of the process. However, this information is required from successful applicants to finalise their claims. I am advised that the categorisation of claims by the requested loan-to-value ratios as of end February 2017 was:

The purpose of the application stage of the HTB process is such that would-be first-time buyers can determine whether, and to what extent, they qualify for the incentive.  As the data from the application stage are only an indicator as to possible take-up of the incentive, for example, an applicant may not proceed to claim stage or may not get mortgage approval, the application statistics are not collated by County.

Successful applicants are required to provide information on the location of the qualifying residence in finalising their claims, and therefore Revenue is in a position to provide certain details on the location of HTB claims made.  However, to protect the confidentiality of taxpayer information, I can only provide a breakdown based on properties situated in Dublin and in provincial locations. Up to the end of February 2017, Revenue has processed 449 claims and the relevant breakdown is as follows:

The number of applications and claims for the incentive continue to be too small to materially affect the previously estimated cost of the scheme. In this regard, the Deputy may wish to note that at Budget time, it was estimated that the Help to Buy incentive would cost €40m per annum, but €50m in 2017 due to the backdating of the relief in respect of properties which became eligible for the scheme since 19 July 2016.