Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 February 2017
120. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance to set down 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. [8086/17]
View answer121. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance to set out 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. [8087/17]
View answer122. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance to set out in tabular form the number of successful or pending applications for the help-to-buy scheme in categories (details supplied); and the total potential cost of the scheme in each category. [8088/17]
View answer123. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance to set out 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. [8089/17]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 120 to 123, inclusive, together.
The Deputy may be aware that a two-stage process is employed for the Help to Buy 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. This refund is generally payable to the contractor at the deposit stage in the case of a home purchase, or in the case of a self-build, is paid to the applicant when they have drawn down the first tranche of their mortgage.
I am advised by Revenue that the number of Help to Buy (HTB) applications received up to Friday 17 February 2017 was:
|
No. of Applications |
Successful applications |
*Pending |
|
2,951 |
872 |
2,079 |
*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 Revenue Commissioners are encouraging prospective applicants to file any necessary returns and resolve any outstanding issues before they make their HTB application. Applicants can, of course, also use Revenue's website to carry out other requests, for example to file a Form 12 or apply for tax clearance. PAYE taxpayers can use myAccount and the bulk of the applications so far have been submitted via myAccount. Business taxpayers can use ROS Revenue's Online Service.
Information about the loan-to-value ratios is not available when individuals submit their applications, as such figures are not usually finalised at that stage of the process. However, this information is necessary for successful applicants to finalise their claims. I am advised that the categorisation of successful claims by the requested loan-to-value ratios as of 17 February 2017 was:
|
Loan-to-value (LTV) |
90% |
85% to 90% |
80% to 85% |
Below 80% (and above 70% minimum LTV) |
|
Total (307) |
84 |
119 |
57 |
47 |
The number of applications and claims for the incentive are 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 €40 m per annum, but €50 m in 2017 due to the backdating of the relief in respect of properties which became eligible for the scheme since 19 July 2016.
