First-Time Buyer Costs · Updated 2026
Stamp duty Ireland first time buyer rules are simple: there is no exemption, so you pay 1% on the first €1,000,000 of the price and 2% on anything above it. For a typical first home that means roughly €2,500 to €5,000 in cash on closing day.
Find your purchase price
Use the agreed price in your contract. For a new build, use the price excluding VAT.
Take 1% of up to €1,000,000
For most first-time buyers this is the whole calculation. 1% of €400,000 is €4,000.
Add 2% of anything above €1,000,000
Only the portion over €1m is charged at 2%. On €1,250,000 that is €10,000 plus €5,000, so €15,000.
Set the cash aside before closing
Your solicitor collects stamp duty from you and pays it to Revenue. It cannot be rolled into the mortgage.
No. The government supports first-time buyers through other schemes, not through stamp duty. The help you can actually claim is the Help to Buy refund for new builds (up to €35,000), the First Home Scheme equity share and, in some areas, LDA affordable homes.
None of these pay your stamp duty directly, but a Help to Buy refund or a larger equity share frees up cash you can put towards it. Our budget calculator checks all three for you.
The rates are the same for both. The difference is the price you apply them to: on a new build, stamp duty is calculated on the price excluding VAT, which usually makes it lower than 1% of the headline price. On a second-hand home, you use the full agreed price. Your solicitor will confirm the exact figure before closing.
Yes. There is no first-time buyer exemption from stamp duty on a home in Ireland. You pay 1% on the first €1,000,000 of the price and 2% on any amount above that.
€3,500. At 1% on the full price, stamp duty on €350,000 is €3,500.
Yes, but it is worked out on the price excluding VAT, so it is usually lower than the same percentage of the headline price. Ask your solicitor to confirm the figure for your purchase.
No. Stamp duty is paid separately, in cash, through your solicitor. Budget for it alongside your deposit, legal fees and survey costs.
Help to Buy does not pay stamp duty directly. It refunds income tax and DIRT you have paid, up to €35,000 or 10% of the price of a new build, and that money can go towards your deposit and closing costs.
Source: Revenue.ie, stamp duty on buying a house ↗. Estimates only. Confirm your figure with your solicitor.
Check what you can borrow and which schemes you qualify for, then see the real cash you need on closing day.