Rates & sources
SDLT/LTT/LBTT bands vary between England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Use the appropriate calculator.
Source: HMRC / Welsh Revenue / Revenue Scotland — figures refreshed at the start of each tax year.
When to use this calculator
- Before buying, renting, refinancing, or reviewing a property investment.
- When you want to compare cash flow, yield, growth, and ownership costs side by side.
- When you need a fast estimate before speaking to an agent, lender, or adviser.
- When you are assessing whether a rental property still makes financial sense after a mortgage rate change.
- When you want to compare the total cost of renting against owning over a five- or ten-year horizon.
A realistic Ireland planning example
Use these sample inputs as a quick scenario test, then change one variable at a time to compare outcomes.
New Property Purchase Price (€)
€350,000
Total Income Tax & DIRT Paid — Last 4 Years (€)
€45,000
Your Deposit (excl. HTB) (€)
€70,000
Mortgage Amount (€)
€280,000
After entering these figures, review htb rebate, total effective deposit and deposit as % of price together rather than in isolation — each metric tells a different part of the story. Then rerun the tool with one input adjusted to see which variable has the biggest effect on all three outputs before you settle on a plan.
How to read your results
HTB Rebate
Use this metric to compare scenarios side by side and understand how changes in the key inputs drive the final outcome. If the figure surprises you, isolate one variable at a time and rerun the calculation to identify which assumption is responsible.
Total Effective Deposit
This is the headline outcome of the calculation, but it is most useful when read alongside the supporting metrics below it rather than in isolation. Try changing one input at a time and watching how this total moves to understand which driver has the biggest impact.
Deposit as % of Price
Use this metric to compare scenarios side by side and understand how changes in the key inputs drive the final outcome. If the figure surprises you, isolate one variable at a time and rerun the calculation to identify which assumption is responsible.
Mortgage LTV
Loan-to-value helps you compare product eligibility and understand how much lender risk you are carrying at this deposit level. Crossing key LTV thresholds — typically 90%, 85%, or 75% — can unlock materially better interest rates.
Maximum You Could Claim
Use this metric to compare scenarios side by side and understand how changes in the key inputs drive the final outcome. If the figure surprises you, isolate one variable at a time and rerun the calculation to identify which assumption is responsible.
Method & assumptionsAuthoritative sources
This calculator applies the 2024 Help to Buy (HTB) scheme rules as administered by Revenue Ireland. The rebate is calculated as 10% of the purchase price, subject to a hard cap of €30,000 and further limited to the total income tax and DIRT paid by all applicants in the four tax years immediately prior to the application year. Both eligibility tests — property price at or below €500,000, and a mortgage-to-price ratio of at least 70% — must be satisfied for any rebate to be issued; if either condition is not met, the result shown will be zero. The effective deposit figure combines your personal deposit with the estimated HTB rebate, and the deposit percentage shows how this total stands against the purchase price. These are estimates only: the actual rebate amount is determined by Revenue based on verified tax records submitted through myAccount or ROS, and may differ if your tax history includes years of self-employment, partial-year employment, or foreign income.
For self-build applicants, the 70% LTV test is applied against the approved valuation of the completed property rather than the site cost alone, which can affect eligibility calculations significantly. The HTB scheme has been extended to 31 December 2025 under Budget 2024, but the rules, caps, and thresholds are subject to annual review. Always check the current scheme terms on Revenue.ie before proceeding, and consider taking independent mortgage or financial advice to understand how HTB interacts with your full mortgage application, including your lender’s own minimum deposit requirements and stress-test criteria.
Common mistakes
- !Comparing rent and ownership costs without including taxes, fees, and maintenance.
- !Using purchase price alone without testing the impact of financing or vacancy assumptions.
- !Relying on yield or growth in isolation instead of reviewing the full property case.
- !Forgetting Stamp Duty Land Tax (or its Scottish and Welsh equivalents), which can add thousands to the true cost of purchase.
- !Using optimistic rental growth figures without also testing a flat or declining rent scenario to check downside resilience.
What to do next
- Run a second scenario with a higher rate or lower rental yield to check downside resilience.
- Compare the result with a buy-versus-rent or stamp duty calculator before making an offer.
- Use the related guides below to understand agent fees, legal costs, and ongoing maintenance budgets.
- If you are assessing a buy-to-let, check the gross yield against the net yield after mortgage interest, voids, and management fees.
- Note down the key figures from this scenario to share with your solicitor or mortgage broker so they are working from the same assumptions.
Frequently asked
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