Mortgage interest relief

Information

Mortgage interest relief is a tax relief based on the amount of mortgage interest that you pay in a given tax year for your principal private residence (your home).

Since 2002, it has been administered via Tax Relief at Source (TRS). This means that your mortgage lender gives you the benefit of tax relief on the amount of mortgage interest paid. They do this by reducing your mortgage repayment by the amount of tax relief you are entitled to in each tax year. Your mortgage lender then in turn claims this tax relief from the Revenue Commissioners. Any amendments in this tax relief - for example, if there is a change in interest rates - are made automatically by your lender on behalf of the Revenue Commissioners.

Normally, you do not claim mortgage interest relief in an annual tax return because it is given directly to you by your mortgage lender. Tax relief can still be claimed from your tax office for interest paid on non-secured loans used for qualifying purposes.

Recent changes

The Supplementary Budget of April 2009 discontinued mortgage interest relief from 1 May 2009 for mortgages that had attracted the relief for 7 tax years by that date (that is, mortgages taken out in 2002 or earlier). Partial relief was allowed for the first 4 months of 2009. For mortgages taken out in 2003, the relief expired at the end of the 2009 tax year - 31 December 2009.

Budget 2010 extended mortgage interest relief up to the end of 2017 for people whose entitlement was due to expire in 2010 or after (that is, people who took out mortgages in 2004 or later). The details of these changes are outlined in the Finance Bill 2010 (pdf). 

The time limits on mortgage interest relief were changed in both of these Budgets - see details of time limits for mortgage interest relief in 'Rules' below. The Finance Bill also proposes changes to rates and ceilings for mortgages taken out in 2012 - see 'Rates' below.

Mortgage interest relief will be abolished entirely after 31 December 2017.

Rules

For you to qualify for tax relief on mortgage interest repayments, the interest must relate to money that you have borrowed to purchase, repair or improve your sole or main residence. For example, you cannot claim mortgage interest relief for interest on a loan used to buy a holiday home or investment property, but you can claim it if the loan is to extend or improve your main home.

If your sole or main residence is in the UK (including Northern Ireland) and you work and pay taxes in Ireland, you can claim relief on the interest you pay on the mortgage. However, you cannot claim mortgage interest relief if your sole or main residence is in Ireland and you work and pay taxes in the UK (including Northern Ireland).

Relief is also subject to upper limits, which will depend on your personal situation and whether you are a first-time buyer - see 'Rates' for details.

Time limits for mortgage interest relief

Your entitlement to mortgage interest relief depends on the start date of your mortgage.

• If you took out the mortgage in 2003 or earlier, your entitlement expired in 2009 under the provisions of the Supplementary Budget of April 2009.
• If the start date of your mortgage is between 1 January 2004 and 31 December 2011, the Finance Bill proposes that your entitlement to relief will continue at the current rates until the end of 2017.
• If you take out a mortgage between 1 January 2012 and 31 December 2012, the Finance Bill proposes lower rates of relief and lower ceilings on the amounts of qualifying interest.
• For mortgages taken out after 31 December 2012, no mortgage interest relief will be allowed.

For details of the Budget changes, see 'More about this topic'.

Rates

Rates of mortgage interest relief

There are different rates for first-time buyers and for people who are not first-time buyers. Also, the rates of relief for first-time buyers (but not for other buyers) are reduced over the lifetime of the mortgage.  Budget 2010 changed some of the rules, but did not change the rates from what they were in 2009. The Finance Bill 2010 proposes to reduce the rates and ceilings for mortgages taken out in 2012.

First-time buyers

You are a first-time buyer for the purposes of mortgage interest relief if you are in the first 7 tax years of receiving the relief. For example, if you first received tax relief on a mortgage in 2004 or since then, you are still a first-time buyer in 2010.

Since 1 January 2009, mortgage interest relief for first-time buyers is 25% for the first and second tax year in which you pay mortgage interest. You will get relief of 22.5% in tax years 3, 4 and 5. You will get relief of 20% for tax years 6 and 7. For any remaining qualifying tax years, the rate will be 15% - the rate applicable to non-first-time buyers - as you will no longer be considered to be a first-time buyer. 

The amount of interest on which you can get relief is subject to upper limits, depending on whether you are single, married or widowed.

The following are the maximum amounts allowable for first-time buyers for tax years 2009 and 2010:

	Single	Widowed/Married
First-time buyer	€10,000	€20,000

 

To calculate what this is worth to you each year, get the correct percentage of the rate above that applies to you.

For example, married first-time buyers on the second tax year of their mortgage get relief at 25% of €20,000. Therefore, the maximum amount by which their yearly mortgage interest can be reduced is €5,000.

After the 7th tax year, you get the standard relief of 15%. However, if you had been getting the relief for 7 years or more by 2009, the relief was only allowable up to 1 May 2009 - see 'More about this topic'.

Non-first-time buyers

Since 1 January 2009, mortgage interest relief is 15% if you are not a first-time buyer. The relief is subject to upper limits, depending on your personal situation. From 1 May 2009 onwards, tax relief is no longer allowable if you had already claimed relief on the mortgage for 7 or more tax years by that date.

The following are the maximum amounts allowable for non-first-time buyers for tax years 2009 and 2010:

	Single	Widowed/Married
Non-first-time buyer	€3,000	€6,000

To calculate what this is worth to you each year, get 15% of the rate above that applies to you.

For example, married non-first-time buyers on the second year of their mortgage get relief at 15% of €6,000. Therefore, the maximum amount their yearly mortgage interest can be reduced by is €900.

Measures proposed in Finance Bill 2010

• Mortgages taken out between 1 January 2004 and 31 December 2011 will continue to qualify for mortgage interest relief at current levels up to the end of 2017.
• For mortgages taken out in between 1 January 2012 and 31 December 2012, the Finance Bill proposes a 15% rate of relief for first-time buyers and a 10% rate for non-first-time buyers. The maximum amounts of interest that will qualify for relief will be €6,000 for married or widowed people and €3,000 for single people. These ceilings will be the same for first-time buyers and non-first-time buyers.
• Mortgages taken out on or after 1 January 2013 will not qualify for mortgage interest relief.
• Mortgage interest relief will be abolished completely after 31 December 2017.

How to apply

If you take out a new mortgage you must complete a TRS1 form (pdf). Your completed form should be submitted to the Revenue Commissioners as soon as you have made your first mortgage repayment.

This form is also available from your mortgage lender, or by contacting the Revenue Commissioners at the address below. If you have any difficulties completing this form, contact the TRS helpline at 1890 46 36 26.

 

Where to apply

Revenue will provide you with more information about Tax Relief at Source (TRS) for Mortgage Interest Relief.