Help to Buy, in one line
Help to Buy gives you back income tax and DIRT you've already paid, up to €30,000, to put toward the deposit on a new build. It's essentially your own money coming back to you. The refund is the lowest of three figures: €30,000, 10% of the purchase price, and the tax you actually paid over the previous four years. The home has to be a new build or self-build costing €500,000 or less. You can see your own figure on the Help to Buy calculator.
The First Home Scheme, in one line
The First Home Scheme is a shared-equity scheme. If your deposit plus the maximum mortgage you can get still doesn't reach the price of a new home, the scheme pays part of the difference, up to 30% of the price, in return for owning that share of your home. You can buy the share back whenever you like, and there's a service charge on it from year 6. Work out the gap it would need to cover on the First Home Scheme calculator.
The key difference
Help to Buy is money you keep: it's your tax back, and it lifts your deposit. The First Home Scheme is not free money. It's the State taking a stake in your home that you'll eventually pay back, and because the stake is a percentage of the home's value, the amount you repay rises if the property rises in value. One improves your deposit; the other bridges a funding gap and takes equity in return.
Using both together
On a new build, the two stack in a sensible order. Help to Buy boosts your deposit first, which shrinks the gap the First Home Scheme then needs to cover. There's one catch worth knowing: if you use Help to Buy, the maximum First Home Scheme share drops from 30% to 20% of the price. In most cases you're still far better off using both, because the Help to Buy money is yours to keep while the First Home Scheme equity is something you'll repay.
A worked example
A couple earning €80,000 combined, with €25,000 saved, want a €400,000 new build. At 4 times income they can borrow €320,000. With their €25,000 deposit that reaches €345,000, leaving a €55,000 gap. If they qualify for a €30,000 Help to Buy refund, that goes toward the deposit and cuts the gap to €25,000, which the First Home Scheme can cover comfortably inside the 20% cap. Between the two schemes, they get from "€55,000 short" to "sorted."
Frequently asked questions
Can you use Help to Buy and the First Home Scheme together?
Yes, and many first-time buyers of new builds do. Help to Buy lifts your deposit, the First Home Scheme bridges the remaining gap. Using both caps the First Home Scheme share at 20% of the price instead of 30%.
Which one is better?
They're not really rivals. Help to Buy is your own tax back and should be claimed if you qualify. The First Home Scheme is worth it when a gap remains after your deposit and mortgage, as long as you're comfortable with the State holding equity you'll repay later.