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Budget 2027 · for home buyers

Budget 2027 for home buyers: what changed

Help to Buy rises to €35,000 from 7 October 2026, and the Rent a Room limit to €16,000 from January. Stamp duty, mortgage interest relief and the First Home scheme aren’t in the Budget. Every figure here is checked against the Budget documents.

Updated 14:30, 6 Oct · Budget 2027 Tax Policy Changes ↗

What changed

Each measure before and after, from when, and where the figure comes from.

  • Help to Buy

    Confirmed in the Budget
    Before:
    A refund of up to €30,000 (10% of the price, and no more than your tax paid in the last 4 years) on a new or self-built home of up to €500,000
    After:
    Up to €35,000. The other limits (10% of the price, tax paid in the last 4 years) are unchanged
    From:
    7 Oct 2026

    On a new build of €350,000 or more, up to €5,000 more towards the deposit, if you've paid that much tax. Second-hand homes still don't qualify. First-time buyer schemes →

    Department of Finance: Budget 2027 Tax Policy Changes, §3.3 ↗

  • Stamp duty

    Not in the Budget
    Before:
    1% up to €1 million, 2% from €1m to €1.5m, 6% above
    After:
    No change. It isn't in the Budget's tax measures or the Minister's speech

    Every house page shows the stamp duty on the price it's likely to sell for, not just the asking. Stamp duty calculator →

    Department of Finance: Budget 2027 Tax Policy Changes ↗

  • Rent a Room relief

    Confirmed in the Budget
    Before:
    €14,000 a year tax-free from renting a room in your home
    After:
    €16,000 a year (€1,333 a month), one limit per household for tax. Also extended to new detached auxiliary dwellings (32 to 45 m²) installed after 27 July 2026
    From:
    1 Jan 2027

    On a home with a spare room, a lodger at the tax-free maximum covers half the repayment on most 3-bed homes for sale. Every 3+ bed house page now shows its own share. Homes where a lodger covers half →

    Department of Finance: Budget 2027 Tax Policy Changes, §3.2 ↗

  • Mortgage interest tax credit

    Not in the Budget
    Before:
    Up to €625 for 2026 (50% of the rise in interest over 2022), for mortgages of €80,000 to €500,000 held on 31 Dec 2022
    After:
    Not in the Budget, so as things stand there's no credit for 2027

    It only ever covered mortgages held at the end of 2022, so it doesn't help with a home you buy now. ECB rates and your repayment →

    Department of Finance: Budget 2027 Tax Policy Changes ↗

  • First Home scheme

    Not in the Budget
    Before:
    Shared equity on new builds: the State and banks take a stake of up to 30% (20% with Help to Buy), under county price ceilings
    After:
    No change in the Budget's tax measures or the Minister for Finance's speech

    New builds only. On a second-hand home you're bidding against other buyers, so the likely sale price matters more. First-time buyer schemes →

    Statement by Minister Harris on Budget 2027 ↗

  • Income tax bands and credits

    Confirmed in the Budget
    Before:
    20% rate up to €44,000 (single), €53,000 (couple); personal and employee credits €2,000 each; USC 2% up to €28,700
    After:
    20% rate up to €46,500 (single), €55,500 (couple); personal, employee and earned income credits €2,125; USC 2% up to €30,300
    From:
    1 Jan 2027

    Department of Finance: €691 a year more for a single PAYE worker on €50,000, after the PRSI rise already due. Lenders lend on gross income, so it doesn't change how much you can borrow. Your take-home after Budget 2027 →

    Department of Finance: Budget 2027 Tax Policy Changes, §2.1 ↗

  • Rent tax credit

    Confirmed in the Budget
    Before:
    Up to €1,000 a year (€2,000 for a couple)
    After:
    Up to €1,150 (€2,300 for a couple), for 2027 and 2028
    From:
    1 Jan 2027

    If you're renting while you save for a deposit, claim it in myAccount for this year and the years before. Budget 2027 calculator →

    Department of Finance: Budget 2027 Tax Policy Changes, §3.1 ↗

What it means on a house you're looking at

Rent a Room. Under the new €16,000 Rent a Room limit (Budget 2027), a lodger can pay up to €1,333 a month tax-free. Of the 10,479 homes with 3 or more bedrooms for sale today, that would cover at least half the repayment on 8,075 and all of it on 2,635. See them by area →

Help to Buy. On a €400,000 new build, the refund goes from up to €30,000 to up to €35,000, if you’ve paid that much tax over the last four years. On a second-hand home, nothing changes.

Stamp duty. Unchanged: 1% on a home up to €1 million, worked out on what you pay, not the asking. Every house page shows it on the price the home is likely to sell for.

Indicative, not tax advice. Whether a scheme applies to you depends on its conditions; check the source linked for each one.

What to do now

  1. 1
    Check which Help to Buy limit applies to you

    The €35,000 maximum applies from 7 October 2026. If you're buying a new build, ask your solicitor how your contract and claim dates fit that.

  2. 2
    Claim the rent tax credit while you're renting

    If you rent while you save, claim the rent tax credit in Revenue's myAccount for this year and the years before. It's not paid automatically.

  3. 3
    If a lodger is part of your plan, read the conditions

    It has to be your own home. Short-term guests and letting to your own child don't count, and if the year's takings go over the limit (€14,000 now, €16,000 from 2027), all of it is taxed.

  4. 4
    Bid on the likely price, not the asking

    Stamp duty, the deposit and the repayment all follow the price you pay. Every house page shows what the home is likely to sell for.

Looking at a house? Its page on Cara shows the likely sale price, the stamp duty, the cash to have ready, the repayment and, with 3 or more bedrooms, what a lodger would cover. Find it by county →

What people ask

Does Budget 2027 change stamp duty?

No. Stamp duty isn't in the Budget 2027 tax measures. It stays 1% up to €1 million, 2% from €1m to €1.5m and 6% above.

How much is Help to Buy after Budget 2027?

Up to €35,000, from 7 October 2026. The other limits don't change: it's still the lowest of €35,000, 10% of the price, and the income tax and DIRT you paid in the four years before you apply, for first-time buyers of new or self-built homes.

What is the Rent a Room limit for 2027?

€16,000 a year from 1 January 2027, up from €14,000. Rent from a room in your own home is free of income tax, USC and PRSI up to that; go over and all of it is taxed. It's one limit per taxpayer unit (a jointly assessed couple shares it), and it now also covers new detached auxiliary dwellings of 32 to 45 m² installed after 27 July 2026.

Is mortgage interest relief extended for 2027?

No. It isn't in Budget 2027, so as things stand the credit ends with 2026 (up to €625). It only covered mortgages of €80,000 to €500,000 held on 31 December 2022, so it never applied to a home you buy now.

When do the Budget 2027 changes start?

Help to Buy's €35,000 applies from 7 October 2026. The tax bands, credits, USC and Rent a Room changes start on 1 January 2027. They become law through the Finance Bill.

Coming up

How this is worked out

The 'after' figures are from the Department of Finance's Budget 2027 Tax Policy Changes and the Minister for Finance's speech (6 October 2026); a measure in neither is marked 'not in the Budget'. Before the speech this page showed RTÉ's reports of the morning, labelled as such. The 'before' figures are from Revenue and the scheme's own pages. The Rent a Room share uses the house pages' repayment: a 90% mortgage over 30 years at the Central Bank's average new rate.

Maintained by John McEnroe at Cara, Dublin. Last checked 14:30, 6 Oct. Spotted something wrong? admin@usecara.ie

Checked by John McEnroe, Cara · Updated 14:30, 6 Oct