Help to Buy: ISA

Boost your spending power by 25%

Saving up for your first home isn’t always easy so HM Government has come up with a scheme to help first-time buyers. Saving money into a Help to Buy: ISA scheme means for every £200 you save, you’ll receive a Government bonus of £50.

The maximum Government bonus is £3,000, boosting your ISA savings of £12,000 to £15,000. But if there are two of you buying your first home together, you could both start up an individual Help to Buy: ISA meaning you will receive £6,000.

Can’t wait that long?

Don’t worry; you can still make use of the scheme because you can get paid £400 for locking away £1,600 for just three months. And if two of you are saving that means a bonus of £800 towards your first home even if you’ve begun the house-buying process.

You can also use the Help to Buy: ISA with other Government schemes, including the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme and shared ownership.

Help to Buy ISA: some key points

• The scheme will be available from a range of banks and building societies. See www.helptobuy.gov.uk/help-to-buy-isa/providers-in-the-scheme for more details.
• The scheme is available to each first-time buyer, not per household.
• Save up to £200 a month into your Help to Buy: ISA. In the first month, you can deposit a lump sum of up to £1,200.
• The minimum Government bonus is £400, meaning that you need to have saved at least £1,600 into your Help to Buy ISA before you can claim your bonus. The maximum Government bonus you can receive is £3,000 – to receive that you need to have saved £12,000.
• The bonus is paid by the Government directly to your solicitor when the process of handing over deposit and other fees for the house purchase is underway.

Am I eligible?

To qualify for the Help to Buy: ISA scheme you must:

• be 16 years of age or over and be a first-time buyer
• have a valid National Insurance number and be a UK resident
• not have another active cash ISA in the same tax year. If you’ve opened a cash ISA this tax year, you can open a Help to Buy ISA but will have to take further steps. See www.helptobuy.gov.uk/help-to-buy-isa/faq/ for more details.

To qualify for the Government bonus, the property you’re buying has to:

• be in the UK and cost up to £250,000, or up to £450,000 if you’re buying in London
• not be a buy-to-let property, a second home or be rented out after you buy it
• be bought with a mortgage.

Help to Buy: ISA Terms and Conditions

If you apply for Help to Buy: ISA scheme you will have to abide by the Scheme Rules set out by the Government and also whichever provider you use. You can get a copy of the Scheme Rules on www.helptobuy.gov.uk/isa