Written answers
Tuesday, 24 January 2023
Department of Finance
Tax Reliefs
Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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116. To ask the Minister for Finance the number of persons who received assistance under the help-to-buy scheme in 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3056/23]
Peter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Independent)
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145. To ask the Minister for Finance the number of persons that claimed the help-to-buy scheme since its inception to purchase a home; the value of these claims, broken down by county; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2935/23]
Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 116 and 145 together.
The Help to Buy (HTB) incentive is a scheme to assist first-time purchasers with the deposit they need to buy or build a new house or apartment. The incentive gives a refund of Income Tax and Deposit Interest Retention Tax (DIRT) paid in the State over the previous four years, subject to limits outlined in the legislation. The incentive is accessed via an online-only application process which has been available since 3rd January 2017, currently coveringthe period 19 July 2016 to 31 December 2024.
In respect of Deputy McAuliffe's question, I am advised by Revenue that in 2022, 17,596 Help to Buy applications were approved, which resulted in 5,109 fully verified claims and an additional 188 await verification by the developer/solicitor in order to release rebate funds. Of this total of 5,297 claims, 82% relate to PAYE taxpayers, 5% relate to Self-Assessed taxpayers and 13% are a combination of both. Some €175 million was paid out in 2022 in approved HTB applications, of which 73% were new properties bought from developers and 27% were self builds.
In response to Deputy Fitzpatrick's question, Revenue have advised that 37,300 claims for the Help to Buy scheme have been approved to date since inception, with the number of applicants associated with these claims totalling 68,600. The value of the approved claims broken down by county is outlined in the table below.
| County | €m |
|---|---|
| Carlow | 6.4 |
| Cavan | 6.3 |
| Clare | 11.8 |
| Cork | 100.6 |
| Donegal | 10.1 |
| Dublin | 174.1 |
| Galway | 35.5 |
| Kerry | 8.7 |
| Kildare | 97.8 |
| Kilkenny | 11 |
| Laois | 14 |
| Leitrim | 1.8 |
| Limerick | 22.6 |
| Longford | 2.5 |
| Louth | 25.2 |
| Mayo | 13.6 |
| Meath | 82.9 |
| Monaghan | 7 |
| Offaly | 10.3 |
| Roscommon | 6.1 |
| Sligo | 5.2 |
| Tipperary | 11.1 |
| Waterford | 15.9 |
| Westmeath | 9.6 |
| Wexford | 20.6 |
| Wicklow | 31.8 |
| Total | 742.5 |
The Deputies may wish to note that further statistical information in relation to the Help to Buy scheme is available on the Revenue website at:
www.revenue.ie/en/corporate/information-about-revenue/statistics/tax-expenditures/index.aspx
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