Ireland · https://decisionscalc.com/ie/tools/home-buying-cost-calculator/
Home Buying True Cost Calculator
The mortgage is just the beginning. See your complete Year 1 cost — stamp duty, LMI, council rates, insurance, and maintenance — broken down by item, percentage share, and monthly equivalent.
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Full Year-One Cost Breakdown
The deposit is not the cash you need
The costs on top of the deposit are substantial and, unlike the deposit, cannot be borrowed. Transfer or stamp duty, legal fees, searches, surveys, mortgage arrangement fees and moving costs all have to be paid from savings on completion.
How much varies enormously by country — under 1% of the price in some markets and well over 5% in others, with transfer tax the main reason for the spread. Buyers who budget only for the deposit find this out late, which is when it is most expensive to discover.
The first year after you move
Two things catch new owners out. The first is furnishing an empty house, which is a larger number than expected when appliances, curtains and flooring are all needed at once.
The second is maintenance, which no longer has a landlord attached to it. A common planning figure is around 1% of the property value a year, though it does not arrive evenly — several quiet years then a boiler or a roof. Older properties run higher, and a survey is the cheapest way to find out which sort you are buying.
The survey is the cheapest money you will spend
A full structural survey costs a few hundred to around a thousand and is the only step in the process that can save five figures. A lender's valuation is not a survey — it establishes that the property is worth what is being lent against it, and nothing about its condition.
Findings are also negotiable. A survey identifying significant work frequently pays for itself several times over in a reduced price, and occasionally does something more valuable by stopping the purchase.
What lenders look at beyond the deposit
- The loan-to-value band. Rates step down at thresholds — often 90%, 85%, 80%, 75% — so a small increase in deposit that crosses a band can cut the rate meaningfully, while a larger increase that does not cross one changes little.
- Affordability, not just the deposit. Lenders stress-test against a higher rate than the one you are offered, which is what usually sets the ceiling on borrowing.
- Mortgage insurance. Where the deposit is below a threshold, an insurance premium is added, and in some countries it is substantial enough to change what you should buy.
- Committed outgoings. Car finance, loans and credit limits reduce what you can borrow, sometimes by more than their monthly cost suggests.
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What changes in Ireland
- Central Bank rules cap first-time buyers at 90% loan-to-value and four times gross income. The income multiple, not the deposit, is what blocks most Dublin purchases — and exemptions are rationed by each lender.
- Stamp duty is 1% up to €1 million and 2% above, which is remarkably low internationally. The Irish barrier is the deposit and the income cap, not the transaction tax.
- Help to Buy refunds up to €30,000 of income tax and DIRT you have already paid over the previous four years — but new builds only. On a €300,000 new build that can cover the entire 10% deposit.
- The First Home Scheme can bridge up to 30% of the price as shared equity, reduced to 20% when combined with Help to Buy. A service charge applies from year six, so it is patient capital rather than free money.
- Mortgage protection insurance and home insurance are conditions of the loan, not optional, and Local Property Tax is an ongoing banded charge on the property value.
Data reference (Ireland): CSO median dwelling €387,000 (Dec 2025); Revenue stamp duty 1%; LPT ~€345; new-mortgage rate ~3.9% · figures as of 2026-06 · Compiled from official public sources via AI-assisted research, current to 2025-26; latest available data, not individually verified - general information, not advice.. See our methodology for how every figure is sourced and dated.