Deposit and Mortgage Guide for First-Time Buyers in Ireland 2026: Central Bank Limits, Schemes and Rates, Decoded

The most important numbers in the Irish housing market are not house prices. They are the four rules that decide what you can borrow, what deposit you need, and whether a lender will say yes: 10% of the price (on the first €500,000) is the minimum deposit for a first-time buyer, 20% above that, your mortgage is capped at 4× gross income (3.5× if you have bought before), and you must pass a stress test at the lender’s standard variable rate plus 2%. Everything else in this guide — Help to Buy, the First Home Scheme, fixed versus variable, auctions, fees — is detail layered on top of those four rules.

This is the deposit-and-mortgage chapter of our buying guide series — the article the best-areas-to-buy hub assumes you have read. It is written for first-time buyers in 2026 with one consistent set of dated numbers (all pulled 5 September 2026), and it ends with a printable budget worksheet, a working FTB mortgage calculator you can embed on the page, and the free 12-point Before-You-Bid checklist every first-time buyer should run before they view anything.

1. The numbers that matter: Central Bank lending limits in 2026

Ireland’s Central Bank mortgage measures are the single biggest constraint on what you can buy. They have applied since 2015 in various forms, were last recalibrated in 2023, and in 2026 the only amendment on the table exempts certain “principal home bridging loans” from the income cap — which barely touches a normal first-time buyer (Central Bank of Ireland). The rules that matter to you:

Source: Central Bank of Ireland, mortgage measures (limits effective 1 January 2023; amended 2026 for bridging loans). (Central Bank explainer)

Three consequences flow from this, and first-time buyers misunderstand all three:

1. The 4× cap binds before the deposit does. A couple earning €90,000 combined can borrow €360,000 — and unless they have an unusually large deposit, the €360,000 loan is what limits them to roughly a €400,000 home (€360,000 ÷ 90% loan-to-value). The deposit is the second constraint, not the first.
2. The 10%/20% deposit split means bigger homes need proportionally more cash. The deposit on a €500,000 home is €50,000. On a €600,000 home it is not €60,000 — it is €70,000, because the top €100,000 needs a 20% deposit (author calculation under the Central Bank LTV rules).
3. The stress test is the invisible filter. Lenders must check you could still pay if the rate jumped two percentage points above their standard variable rate at drawdown — roughly 5.85–6.7% on today’s SVRs (CCPC). A couple stretched to the 4× limit on a €100,000 income can borrow €400,000, but their payment at the stress rate is about €400–450 a month higher than at the current fixed rate — and the lender’s net-income model has to absorb that.

What that means in euro: deposit and income needed by price band

Deposit = 10% of the first €500,000 plus 20% above; income needed = mortgage ÷ 4. Author calculations under the current Central Bank limits.

Work it backwards from your own income: borrow 4× your gross household income, then divide by 0.9 (if that gives you a price of €500,000 or less) to find your ceiling. A couple on €80,000 → €320,000 loan → €355,000 max price; a couple on €112,500 → €450,000 loan → €500,000 max price — the exact level where the deposit rule starts biting harder (author calculations). With Dublin’s median home at €500,000 and bidding typically running 5–8% over asking, the typical FTB ceiling lands in the €330,000–€450,000 band — which is precisely why Dublin 12 (median €324,000), Dublin 11 (€246,000) and Dublin 10 (€226,000) dominate the first-time-buyer tables in our best areas to buy in Dublin guide (CSO RPPI, June 2026; Dublish).

2. Where the deposit comes from: savings, Help to Buy, the First Home Scheme, gifts

There are five honest sources for a first-time-buyer deposit, and the two state schemes are the reason new-build homes look suddenly affordable in 2026. The rules were confirmed again in Budget 2026, so the numbers below are current (MDM Solicitors, Budget 2026 FTB guide).

Savings — and the six-month history lenders want to see

Plain savings remain the base. Lenders want to see six months of regular saving in your own bank account — the money should build up there, not arrive as a lump on the day you apply. Rent paid on time is treated as positive evidence of repayment capacity by most lenders and many credit unions, not as a reason to lend you less.

Help to Buy (HTB) — up to €30,000 back on a new build

Help to Buy refunds income tax and DIRT you paid in the four previous tax years toward the deposit on a newly built home. The relief is the lower of €30,000, 10% of the purchase price, or the tax you actually paid — and the enhanced caps now run to at least 31 December 2029 (Citizens Information — Help to Buy).

• New builds only, priced at €500,000 or less; self-builds qualify if built after 2016. Second-hand homes never qualify.
• You must be a first-time buyer (or a “fresh start” in limited cases) and live in the home for five years.
• USC and PRSI do not count toward the refund — only income tax and DIRT.
• A €300,000 new build can return the full €30,000 — effectively the entire 10% deposit for a couple who have paid enough tax over four years (illustrative; Revenue assesses each claim).

First Home Scheme (FHS) — the State takes an equity stake, up to 30%

The First Home Scheme bridges the gap between your deposit plus mortgage and the price of a new home. The State and participating banks take a share in the property — up to 30% of the market value, or 20% if you are also using Help to Buy — and you can buy that share back at any time, in full or in part (Citizens Information — First Home Scheme).

• New builds and self-builds only — like HTB, it excludes second-hand homes. Price caps are €500,000 across the Dublin region (Dublin City, Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Fingal, South Dublin and Wicklow).
• The minimum FHS contribution is 2.5% of the price or €10,000, whichever is higher.
• Service charges start in year six on the outstanding equity stake — budget for them.
• You must first borrow the maximum your lender will offer (up to 4× income): FHS is a top-up, not a replacement, for a mortgage. The scheme has approved more than 8,000 buyers since 2022, with over €273 million in support drawn (Irish Property Guide — FHS calculator).

Stacking example (author calculation, verified on our scheme calculator): a couple on €85,000 combined buying a €420,000 new-build apartment. HTB refunds €30,000 (their four-year tax is comfortably above the cap). FHS tops up with 20% — €84,000 — because HTB is in use (the standalone 30% cap drops to 20% when stacked). Deposit €42,000, FHS €84,000 → mortgage of €294,000, comfortably inside their €340,000 (4× €85,000) limit. Total state support: €114,000 on a €420,000 home. (Dublish scheme calculator)

Gifts and inheritance

Parents can gift part or all of a deposit — most lenders accept this with a signed gift letter confirming it is a gift, not a loan, and that the donor has no interest in the property. There is no legal ban on gifted deposits under the Central Bank measures. Inheritance or an early inheritance advance works the same way, though your solicitor should check whether capital acquisitions tax (CAT) applies above the group thresholds — small parental gifts of a deposit are typically well within the €400,000 parent-to-child threshold. The one thing lenders dislike is a loan dressed up as a gift, because it quietly doubles your debt; be honest about the source.

The schemes that don’t apply to you (yet)

The Local Authority Home Loan (up to 90% LTV for FTBs, income-capped) and the Local Authority Affordable Purchase scheme are separate state routes for new homes in designated developments — Affordable Purchase cannot be combined with FHS, so if you qualify for both you choose one (Citizens Information — affordable housing). We walk the full Help to Buy versus First Home Scheme decision in a dedicated guide in this category.

3. The lender landscape in 2026: who lends what to a first-time buyer

The Irish mortgage market shrank to three pillar banks after Ulster Bank and KBC left, but the options for a first-time buyer have quietly widened again. This is the cast, as of September 2026 (bonkers.ie; Park Financial; JCFC):

Two practical takeaways. First, broker-only lenders (Haven, ICS) and credit unions reward the 15 minutes it takes to involve a broker or visit your local branch — the pillar banks’ online quotes are only the visible tip of the market. Second, over 93% of new Irish mortgages are now fixed (Central Bank data, June 2026, via Switcher.ie) — which is why the fixed-versus-variable decision below matters more than the lender decision for most FTBs.

4. Fixed versus variable: the September 2026 rate snapshot

The rate environment

The European Central Bank’s main refinancing rate sits at 2.15% in a “stabilisation phase,” and Irish mortgage pricing has settled into roughly 3.0–4.5% for fixed products and 3.5–5.2% for variable — above the eurozone average because Irish lenders carry heavier capital requirements and face a concentrated market (bonkers.ie). Expect gradual softening toward 3.5–4%, not a return to the 1–2% era.

What the main lenders quote — snapshot, 5 September 2026

Best published “from” rates. FTB loan-to-values are ~90%; green rates require a strong BER (typically B3 or better, A for the deepest discounts). Rates move — re-verify on the lender’s site on the day you apply (AIB rates; PropertyData.ie comparison; Park Financial):

“From” rates carry conditions — LTV band, BER rating, loan size — and the cheapest headline rate is rarely the cheapest deal once cashback, fees and APRC are compared. The honest read of the September 2026 market: an energy-efficient (BER A/B) new build with a 10–20% deposit can fix in the low-to-mid 3s; a typical second-hand 90%-LTV purchase fixes in the high 3s to low 4s.

What a 0.25% difference is worth

Per €1,000 borrowed over 30 years, capital-and-interest, author calculations:

On €300,000, fixing at 3.85% instead of 4.50% saves roughly €4,000 over five years in payments alone — and about €41,000 in interest over a full 30-year term (author calculations). That is why the rate, not the cashback, is the headline number: a 2% cashback on a €360,000 mortgage is €7,200 once; a rate 0.5% too high costs more than that every four years.

Fixed, variable, and the breakage trap

• Fixed: your payment is locked for the term — typically 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 or 10 years in Ireland. You can usually overpay up to 10% of the balance a year without penalty.
• Variable: your rate follows the lender’s SVR. Today SVRs run ~4.15–4.70% — above most fixes — so variable only makes sense if you expect to sell or clear the loan within a couple of years (Park Financial).
• Breakage is the hidden cost of fixing. If you end a fixed rate early — because you sell, or switch lender — you pay a break fee, the lender’s estimate of the interest it loses between your rate and today’s rates over the remaining fixed term. With rates drifting down in 2026, break fees on recent fixes can run to thousands of euros. Ask for the break-fee quote in writing before you fix for seven or ten years; if you might move within five, a shorter fix is usually the cheaper insurance.
• When a fix ends you revert to the lender’s SVR unless you re-fix or switch — set a calendar reminder for three months before the term ends. The 93%-fixed market exists because borrowers who let a fix roll onto SVR pay a quiet penalty of 0.3–0.9% for years.

5. Approval in Principle: the document that lets you bid

Approval in Principle (AIP) is the lender’s written statement of how much it is prepared to lend you, based on a genuine check of your documents. It is not a loan offer and it is not a guarantee, but most estate agents will not seriously entertain your bid without one — and agents who know you have AIP treat you as a buyer rather than a browser (Switcher.ie).

What you will need for the application (lists differ slightly by lender — Engage Financial Services):

• Photo ID and proof of address; PPSN
• Three to six months of payslips and your most recent P60 (or six months of accounts plus tax clearance if self-employed)
• Six months of bank statements for every account — lenders scrutinise gambling, overdrafts and unexplained deposits
• Proof of savings and deposit source (including the gift letter if a parent is helping)
• Details of any existing loans, credit cards or child maintenance — they reduce what you can borrow

Validity: most AIPs run six months, and several lenders (Bank of Ireland among them) issue house-hunter approvals valid up to twelve months (Bank of Ireland FTB page). Expiry is not a disaster: you refresh with recent payslips and bank statements to show nothing has changed.

AIP versus full approval (loan offer): AIP is based on the documents you submitted and, usually, no property in mind. Once you are sale-agreed, the lender orders a valuation of that specific home, re-checks your circumstances, and issues a binding loan offer — the document your solicitor needs before you sign contracts. The gap between the two is where surprises live: a home that values below the agreed price, a job change between AIP and offer, or a second property that changes your first-time-buyer status. Keep your finances frozen from AIP to drawdown — no new car loan, no credit-card splurge, no job change without telling the lender.

6. Buying at auction: AMV, no cooling-off, and the deposit you must have ready

A growing share of Dublin’s second-hand stock — especially properties in the €250,000–€450,000 FTB band — sells by auction, advertised with an AMV (advised minimum value) rather than an asking price. Auctions are a different species from private treaty, and FTBs get burned in exactly three places (Truehome; O’Donnellan & Joyce):

1. The sale is binding the second the hammer falls. You sign the contract on the day and pay the deposit. There is no cooling-off period — no “I’ll sleep on it,” no rescuing your deposit if you change your mind. Private-treaty buyers get a solicitor’s three-to-five-week window to raise queries; auction buyers do their legal and structural homework before bidding day.
2. The deposit must exist as a bank draft. Expect to hand over 10% of the purchase price on the day (typically 10% for a first-time buyer; some vendors’ conditions require more), usually by bank draft — personal cheques and cash are not accepted. If you are the successful bidder and cannot pay, you lose your deposit and can be sued for the balance. Your AIP is not money; your bank draft is.
3. The survey happens before the bid, not after. Arrange a structural survey and have your solicitor review the contract and title before the auction. The few hundred euro a survey costs is the cheapest insurance in the building — buyers who skip it have discovered dry rot, pyrite risk or planning issues only after the hammer made the house theirs.

The private-treaty contrast: most Dublin homes still sell by private treaty — an asking price, a bidding window run through the agent, then sale-agreed with a booking deposit (refundable if you withdraw during the legal period in most cases). That route gives you the cooling-off and the survey window; the trade-off is that under €500,000, bidding about 10% above asking is common, so set your ceiling before the agent opens the bids (Owen Reilly 2025 agency data; Daft.ie market heat via Herbert & Lansdowne). Our full bidding-strategy playbook lives in the buying guide category.

7. The fees breakdown: what buying actually costs on top of the deposit

The deposit is the headline, but it is not the total. Budget 3–6% of the price above the deposit for the costs below (CCPC fee ranges; author calculations for totals — CCPC):

Worked totals (author calculation): on a €450,000 purchase — stamp €4,500, solicitor mid-range ~€2,100, survey ~€550, valuation ~€200, BER and incidentals ~€400 → roughly €7,750 above the €45,000 deposit. Across price bands, expect roughly €4,700–€7,100 of purchase costs on a €300,000 home, €6,200–€8,600 at €450,000, and €7,200–€9,600 at €550,000 (author calculations from the ranges above). Add €25–€105 a month in insurance once you move in.

8. The affordability worksheet: work out your real ceiling in ten minutes

Do this on paper before you look at a single listing. Every figure is an author calculation under current Central Bank limits; fill in your own numbers.

The rule of thumb that catches most over-reachers: if your current rent is close to your actual repayment at the fixed rate but well below your stress repayment, you are fine while rates stay put and stretched if they rise. Lenders underwrite on the stress number. So should you.

For a quick interactive version, use the FTB mortgage calculator embedded in Section 11, or our Help to Buy + First Home Scheme calculator at dublish.ie/scheme-calculator to model the new-build stack before you talk to a lender.

9. Common pitfalls: the six ways first-time buyers lose money

1. Over-bidding without a ceiling. Under €500,000, homes routinely sell ~10% over asking (agency data). Decide your absolute maximum — including what the stress test says you can actually carry — before the agent opens the bids, and walk when it passes. The agent’s “it’s going to go way over” line is a script, not a fact.
2. Skipping the survey to save €400–€700. On a 1960s-or-older house, the survey is the single highest-return expense in the entire purchase. A €500 survey has saved buyers €20,000+ in structural work — and on auction purchases it is the difference between a bargain and a liability you legally own the moment the hammer falls.
3. Viewing without an AIP. You will be outbid by buyers who have one, you will not be taken seriously by agents, and you risk falling in love with a home you cannot finance. AIP first, viewings second — always.
4. Forgetting the fees. A €400,000 budget that assumes a €40,000 deposit and nothing else becomes a €392,000 bid when stamp duty, solicitor and survey arrive. Budget 3–6% above the deposit and search below your ceiling.
5. Chasing Help to Buy on the wrong property. HTB and FHS only apply to new builds under €500,000. Buyers who assume the €30,000 applies to a second-hand terrace discover the error after signing — and the reverse mistake is assuming FHS works without first maxing the mortgage. You also cannot combine FHS with Local Authority Affordable Purchase.
6. Ignoring the stress test and the break fee. Two separate traps: borrowing to the 4× limit on the assumption your fixed rate is your real rate (the lender tests higher), and fixing for seven or ten years when there is a realistic chance you will move — the break fee can swallow years of the rate advantage. Fix for your minimum expected stay, not your maximum hope.

10. Frequently asked questions

1. What deposit do I need as a first-time buyer in Ireland in 2026?
At least 10% of the price on the first €500,000, and 20% on anything above. On a €400,000 home that is €40,000; on a €600,000 home it is €70,000, because the top €100,000 needs 20%. Help to Buy and the First Home Scheme can reduce the cash you need to find yourself on a new build.

2. How much can I borrow as a first-time buyer?
The Central Bank caps FTB mortgages at 4× gross household income (3.5× for second and subsequent buyers). A couple on €90,000 can borrow up to €360,000 — before the lender’s own affordability and stress-test checks, which can reduce it further. Self-employed applicants face the same caps but a tougher evidence bar: lenders typically want two-plus years of tax-clearanced trading history and more documentation, so allow a longer timeline and use a broker who knows which lenders count which income.

3. What is the mortgage stress test in 2026?
Lenders must check you can still afford repayments if the rate rises two percentage points above their standard variable rate at drawdown — roughly 5.85–6.7% today. You qualify on the stressed payment, not the advertised fixed rate, which is why borrowing to the absolute 4× limit is rarely comfortable.

4. Can I use Help to Buy and the First Home Scheme together?
Yes — it is the standard new-build play. Stacking them reduces the FHS equity share from 30% to 20%, but HTB (up to €30,000) plus 20% FHS plus your mortgage can still cover a new build with a minimal cash deposit. Neither scheme can be combined with Local Authority Affordable Purchase.

5. Do Help to Buy and the First Home Scheme apply to second-hand homes?
No. Both are new-build/self-build schemes (price capped at €500,000 for HTB; regional caps up to €500,000 for FHS). If you are buying second-hand, the deposit is entirely yours (or a gift’s) — which is why FTB demand concentrates in affordable second-hand districts like Dublin 12, 11 and 10.

6. How long does mortgage approval in principle last?
Typically six months; several lenders issue house-hunter AIPs valid up to twelve months (Bank of Ireland among them). Renewal is usually a refresh of payslips and bank statements rather than a full reapplication. AIP is not a loan offer — you still need the lender’s valuation and full approval once you are sale-agreed.

7. What happens if I win an auction and change my mind?
Nothing good. Auction contracts are signed and the deposit (typically 10%, by bank draft) is paid when the hammer falls; there is no cooling-off. Withdraw and you forfeit the deposit and can be sued for the difference on resale. Do your survey, legal checks and maximum-price maths before bidding day.

8. What fees do I pay on top of the deposit?
Roughly 3–6% of the price: stamp duty 1% up to €1,000,000, solicitor €950–€2,500 + VAT, survey €400–€700, valuation €150–€300, plus mortgage protection and home insurance from drawdown. On €450,000, budget about €7,700 above the deposit (author calculation).

9. Is a gifted deposit allowed?
Yes. Parents or relatives can gift a deposit; lenders ask for a signed gift letter confirming it is not a loan. Be aware of the capital-acquisitions-tax parent-to-child threshold (€400,000) and never present a repayable loan as a gift — lenders check statements and it can sink the application.

10. Should I fix for 10 years in 2026?
Only if you are certain you will stay. Ten-year fixes around 4.1% give outstanding certainty, but breaking one early to sell or switch can cost thousands in break fees. If there is any chance you move within five years, a three-to-five-year fix is usually the cheaper insurance — the September 2026 market prices longer certainty, and you pay for it.

11. Bottom line: your 2026 first-time-buyer number, and the tools to check it

The whole guide compresses to one sentence: borrow no more than 4× your gross income, bring a 10% deposit on the first €500,000 (20% above it), prove you could pay at SVR + 2%, and add 3–6% of the price for fees. Run that formula before you look at listings and you will never be the buyer who overbids, undersurveys or runs out of cash at closing.

The good news for 2026: rates have settled into the low-to-mid 3s for green new builds and high 3s to low 4s for typical purchases; Help to Buy and the First Home Scheme together can put €100,000+ of state support behind a new build; and FTBs are the engine of the market — 40.4% of all purchases in the year to June 2026 (CSO) — so lenders, agents and the State are all built around you (CSO).

• Download the FTB Before-You-Bid Checklist (PDF) — the free 12-point viewing-to-key-handover list every first-time buyer should run, from AIP to survey to bank draft.
• Run your numbers in the FTB mortgage calculator embedded below — then verify the scheme stack with the Help to Buy + First Home Scheme calculator at dublish.ie/scheme-calculator.
• Not sure where your ceiling buys in Dublin? The best areas to buy in Dublin guide ranks every shortlisted district by buyer type — start there before you book a single viewing. The dedicated Help to Buy vs First Home Scheme comparison and the Drimnagh & Crumlin district guide (publishing 28 September) complete the FTB reading list in our buying guide category.

All rates and scheme terms were verified 5 September 2026 and move — re-check the lender’s and scheme’s own pages on the day you apply. Figures labelled “author calculation” were computed by us under the Central Bank rules cited above.

FTB Mortgage Calculator — embed code

Where it goes: in WordPress, add a Custom HTML block and paste the snippet below. It renders the calculator in place, needs no plugins or external libraries, and follows the Section 8 worksheet logic: 4× income cap, 10%/20% deposit rule, Help to Buy applied to the deposit, First Home Scheme equity reducing the loan (never counted as deposit), and capital-and-interest repayments over the term.

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  <h3 style="margin-top:0;font-size:1.25rem;">First-time buyer mortgage calculator (Ireland 2026)</h3>
  <p style="font-size:.9rem;color:#4a5568;margin:.25rem 0 1rem;">Estimates under current Central Bank limits: 4× income, 10% deposit to €500,000 then 20% above. HTB counts toward the deposit; First Home Scheme equity reduces the loan. Author-calculation logic — confirm with a lender.</p>
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  <p style="font-size:.75rem;color:#a0aec0;margin:.75rem 0 0;">Not financial advice. Stress-test logic shown at the fixed rate + 2%. Your home is at risk if you do not keep up repayments.</p>
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      '<div><span style="color:#4a5568;">Ceiling by income + FHS:</span><br><strong>' + fmt(ceilByIncome) + '</strong></div>' +
      '<div><span style="color:#4a5568;">Ceiling by deposit (cash + HTB):</span><br><strong>' + fmt(ceilByDeposit) + '</strong></div>' +
      '<div><span style="color:#4a5568;">Overall affordability ceiling:</span><br><strong style="color:#2b6cb0;">' + fmt(ceiling) + '</strong></div>';
    if (price > 0) {
      rows +=
        '<div><span style="color:#4a5568;">Min deposit needed for target:</span><br><strong>' + fmt(minDep) +
          (depShort > 0 ? ' <span style="color:#c53030;">(cash short ' + fmt(depShort) + ')</span>' : ' <span style="color:#2f855a;">(covered)</span>') + '</strong></div>' +
        '<div><span style="color:#4a5568;">Loan needed (after deposit + FHS):</span><br><strong>' + fmt(loan) + '</strong></div>' +
        '<div><span style="color:#4a5568;">Repayment at ' + rate.toFixed(2) + '% (' + term + ' yrs):</span><br><strong>' + fmt(monthly) + '/mo</strong></div>' +
        '<div><span style="color:#4a5568;">Stress-test payment at ' + (rate + 2).toFixed(2) + '%:</span><br><strong style="color:#c53030;">' + fmt(monthlyStress) + '/mo</strong></div>' +
        '<div><span style="color:#4a5568;">Loan-to-value:</span><br><strong>' + (price > 0 ? Math.round(loan / price * 100) : 0) + '%</strong></div>';
    }
    rows += '</div>';

    var note;
    if (!price) {
      note = '<strong>Enter a target price to see the full breakdown.</strong>';
    } else if (loan <= 0) {
      note = 'Your deposit + Help to Buy + First Home Scheme equity cover the full price — no mortgage needed.';
    } else if (depShort > 0 && loan > maxLoan) {
      note = 'Two problems: you are short of the minimum deposit by ' + fmt(depShort) + ' (save more, or confirm HTB eligibility), and the loan needed exceeds your 4× income cap. Lower the target price, raise the FHS stake (max 30% alone / 20% with HTB), or wait for a bigger deposit.';
    } else if (depShort > 0) {
      note = 'You are short of the minimum deposit by ' + fmt(depShort) + ' — HTB only covers part of it on new builds; save, accept a gift, or lower the price.';
    } else if (loan > maxLoan) {
      note = 'The loan needed (' + fmt(loan) + ') exceeds your 4× income cap (' + fmt(maxLoan) + '). Options: lower the target price, raise the First Home Scheme stake (it reduces the loan), or increase income.';
    } else {
      note = '✅ Within Central Bank limits — verify affordability with a lender (they stress-test at SVR + 2%), and remember fees of roughly 3–6% of the price on top.';
    }
    el.innerHTML = rows + '<p style="margin:.75rem 0 0;padding-top:.75rem;border-top:1px solid #e2e8f0;font-size:.85rem;">' + note + '</p>';
  }
  ['ftb-income','ftb-cash','ftb-htb','ftb-fhs','ftb-rate','ftb-term','ftb-price'].forEach(function (id) {
    document.getElementById(id).addEventListener('input', render);
  });
  render();
})();
</script>

Calculator checks: max loan = 4× income; minimum deposit = 10% up to €500,000 then 20% above (FTB owner-occupier); Help to Buy counts toward that deposit; First Home Scheme equity is applied to the loan, matching the scheme’s “top-up, not replacement” rule; stress rate = fixed rate + 2% in line with the Central Bank affordability test; monthly figures are capital-and-interest over the term. See the Section 8 worksheet for the full budget logic.

Related guides

• Help to Buy vs First Home Scheme
• The True Cost of Buying in Dublin
• How to Win a Bidding War
• Houses Under €400k in Dublin