Michael McGrath
Question:214. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the definition of "first-time buyer" used by the Central Bank and the Revenue Commissioners, respectively. [24791/18]
View answerTuesday, 12 June 2018
Questions (214)
Written answers
The Central Bank has advised that, for the purposes of the Central Bank mortgage lending rules, a first-time buyer is defined (in SI 47 of 2015) as "a borrower to whom no housing loan has ever before been advanced". The statutory instrument also provides that "where the borrower under a housing loan is more than one person and a housing loan has previously been advanced to any one of those persons, none of those persons is a first-time buyer".
In respect of the Revenue Commissioners, I am advised that a “First time buyer” is defined in the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 for the purposes of both the Help to Buy scheme and the DIRT Refund scheme, as follows:
1. Section 477C (Help to Buy) provides for the definition of first-time buyer for the purposes of the Help to Buy scheme, as follows:
“first-time purchaser” means an individual who, at the time of a claim [for Help to Buy] has not, either individually or jointly with any other person, previously purchased or previously built, directly or indirectly, on his or her own behalf a dwelling."
2. Section 266A (Repayments of DIRT to first-time purchasers) provides a definition of first-time buyer for the purposes of any repayment of DIRT arising, as follows:
“first-time purchaser” means a person, being an individual who, at the time of a relevant purchase or on the relevant completion date, as the case may be, has not, either individually or jointly with any other person or persons, previously purchased or previously built directly or indirectly on his or her own behalf any other dwelling.".