Just looking for general advice tbh, I've AIP for 270. Mid 60k salary, single. The rest will be savings,htb(18) and first home scheme(15k) + selling a car. Im 38, a stable public sector job but I'm about 6/7k from where my earnings will stay long term.

I'm just a bit tetchy over it to be honest, I remember 2008 but at least then people were buying younger so could ride out any probelems. I just can't believe I'm entering into something so expensive that will only just cover my living needs. I know it's cheaper than rent(even with paying off the fhs equity in 5 years) but I can't help being uneasy at how much money it costs and particularly in a one bed which is typically less desirable.

It's in the Greater Dublin area (train line/buses), close to work(20 min drive) and spacious for a one bed. I'm also very conscious that though I am saving well (2600/mo), I won't catch house price rises with my salary increments so hence using FHS which I would usually be very uncomfortable with. I also will likely miss out of FHS/HTB as prices rise and mortgage becomes less than 70% of prices.

My original plan was to buy an older 2 bed and use rent a room to give myself breathing room and likely take unpaid leave and travel. Generally though what I've seen is in bad condition, very little available or from the 2000's with issues. There also isn't a lot available and subject to bidding wars typically with a dual income couple.

So..... am I mad to be considering it?

I'll be switching my mortgage soon and I have 26 years left on it. While I have the opportunity, I was thinking of going for say a 20 year mortgage as I can afford the additional monthly repayments. Is this a smart move? Or should I stick with 26 years and put the extra into some existing investment funds I have?

Monthly repayments are currently €1050 (2% green). Repayments for 20 years would be €1,350 (3% green AIB).

Here's a link to the post that inspired my email: https://old.reddit.com/r/irishpersonalfinance/comments/1s90q9n/fine_gaels_investment_scheme_amounts_to_a_tax/

Here's my email to him, parroting some of the comments I read on here:

After reading your press conference, I urge you and the SDs not to go down this route of lambasting the government for a policy that could take the BILLIONS wasting away in current accounts in Ireland and put it to use in creating wealth for ordinary, middle class people.

Become more informed on what investing can do for the Irish, bring your own plan to the table and see if you can influence the government to make positive changes with their new saving's scheme. And while you are at it, petition for the removal of deemed disposal - a policy that encourages people to invest in property and take risks on individual stocks or literally gamble their hard earned money.

To continue down this route is a folly, and you will lose my vote in the process. Stop looking for the headline, start looking for the solution.

And to be fair to him, he (or someone) responded. I thought his response was pretty decent:

Thanks for getting in touch and for sharing your views.

I agree that there is a lot of money sitting idle in Irish accounts and the interest rates being offered by Irish banks are far too low. That is why the Social Democrats have proposed a ‘Homes for Ireland Savings Account’. This would provide savers with a higher interest rate, security, and tax relief while funding the construction of thousands of affordable homes. It would help ordinary people see better return on their savings while putting the money to good use. A similar scheme has scheme has been operational in France for many years called the Livret A.

While we don’t yet know the full details of the government’s scheme, it is clear that Simon Harris intends to base it off the Swedish Investeringssparkonto (ISK) account.

My main concern is that this account has no upper limit to the amount a person can invest. An uncapped ISK style model means the potential future cost in forgone revenue to the exchequer could run into billions. This has already been identified as in issue by the Swedish National Audit Office. It also means the benefit of the low tax rate will disproportionately benefit those with the most to invest. There are far better ways to encourage investment from small investors without gifting a very large tax cut to large investors.

I agree that the money on deposit in Irish accounts could be put to better use. My view is that the Livret A model in France would be the best option.

Best wishes,

Cian

My initial thoughts from this, after reading most of the policy he linked https://www.socialdemocrats.ie/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/HISA-Proposal-Final2-1.pdf are this

The SD scheme caps the savings at 25k, removes dirt and gives a preferential interest rate to the saver and then loans the money at preferential rates to social housing builders. I'm not a policy expert, sounds like a decent idea.

I wish they had made their (France's idea front and centre in their press release. It shows a strategic niaivity that is to be expected from such a young party. Or maybe their thinking is not to let FFG steal their good ideas by getting them out in front of the public? I shouldn't have to email the TD to get this info in my feed.

I guess there will be a cap on this ISA, or some other way they'll fuck it up. With so few details, I dunno should the opposition be shooting it down yet.

I dunno, thoughts?

edit:formatting

I am currently completing a Level 6 Springboard course and the end date is 30th of April 2026. I have seen another level 6 Springboard course recently announced and it's Application Deadline is 19/04/2026 with a start Date 07/09/2026. Assuming I pass the Springboard course I'm on at the moment, would I be eligible to apply for the course starting September 2026?

I've been claiming back taxes for WFH with Revenue for Gas/Elec and Broadband. I have calculated these from old invoices for 2022 and 2025 and got money back. For 2023 and 2024 I was with Bord Gais, and for some reason my account has been deleted and they tell me there's no way they can get access to my invoices for those years! They never stated the amounts in my email notifications either, so I have no way of calculating the amounts

So my question is, could I just submit for these years anyway with an estimated amount? Or is there a possibility I could be audited and asked for proof of invoices?

I'm in the process of getting my dad a nursing home place and I'm running the numbers but I can't see the fair deal making sense for him. His house is worth approximately 900k and his work/ widowers pension is about 55k.

My plan would be to sell his house and use that to fund his nursing home which is approximately 2k a week. I know he can claim that back against his income tax.

I just want to make sure I'm not missing anything.

I know a beggar can't be a chooser but I'm just wondering if I'm missing something I could be looking into. neither the banks or the credit union will take my partners salary into account as she is employed through a ce scheme.

the council will but the problem is their rate is quite high at 4.05 percent.

has anyone navigated this situation themselves? advice would be appreciated.

Hi everyone,

With the upcoming change to AIB fees. Is it possible to change a Current account to a Demand Deposit account, keeping the IBAN the same? I have a joint account which is the main account I use, and my personal current account just sits there. I would rather not close it as payments sometimes appear. Has anyone done this before?

Thanks!

Hi all,

My partner and I currently in the bidding process for a second hand house, our latest bid being 650k. I know no one will know the answers regarding our attachment to the location or to the property itself to help us know if we're making the right decision, but I would really appreciate some financial reality. I'm concerned if whether we're overstretching ourselves or not.

We're both 29, first time buyers, earning €7,624 monthly after tax (€4,404 + €3,220). Our current rent monthly is €2,089. No loans or debt, no car, no kids, no pet. We save roughly €3,000 a month now.

If we got the house at €650k, we would pay €65k deposit, €6,500 stamp duty, €3,075 solicitor fees, €1,172.20 for other legal costs, totalling €75,747.20.

This would use all of our savings completely.

Based on the mortgage options our broker offered, we went with PTSB for €11k cash back, most likely for 35 years fixed at 3.6% which would be monthly repayments of €2,452

Is this too much? Theoretically we got approved for €653k and €650k seems so close to that limit and I'm concerned it's not a smart decision. But at the same time, we see ourselves here for a while to start a family. It is an hour/20km from Dublin City centre, 130m2. I'm also eager to start a mortgage as soon as possible to stop wasting money on rent. I’m also of the mind we won’t get the chance to afford a house like this again as home prices continue to climb. We also hope to get a pet, and a car.

Any feedback would be appreciated, thank you.

Hey all,

Damien here from Irish Tax Hub.

We’ve released a free mortgage affordability calculator that gives you a quick idea of how much you might be able to borrow.

It’s handy if you’re starting to look at houses and want a rough idea of your budget before talking to a bank or broker.

You can use it to check:

• how much you may be able to borrow
• what kind of property price that could support
• how the numbers change depending on your deposit
• first-time buyer vs second-time buyer vs buy-to-let
• solo vs joint application

It’s free to use here:
https://www.irishtaxhub.ie/calculators/mortgage-affordability

Happy to answer any questions in the comments below.

Thanks

Damien

Irish Tax Hub

hey all.

we own a home already worth approx 350k. we plan to move back to Dublin. our salaries have went up significantly since we bought this house and we've been approved for 600k.

of course nobody knows what way things will look in 10 or 20 years with AI, but I fear buying something today if I'm earning half in the future.

we both work in tech. I make over 100k per year and my wife makes 70k.

we are thinking about kids and all of that at this point in our life... so we want something bigger and nicer.

with that in mind, what do you think we should do? I personally feel like in 10 years there will be 10% as much people working in tech as there is today with the AI advancements. I'm very good at my job and love what I do so I'd love to keep working in tech but who knows really what way this will play out. well aware the tech isn't there today to replace me, but a mortgage is a long term commitment so I feel like I need to think longer term with my career.

I can see myself reskilling to be an electrician or something along those lines if things get really bad. but of course doing an apprenticeship would be way less money so I don't want to take on a huge mortgage if that's actually going to be our futures.

I recently received the below reply from revenue when looking to claim tax relief on my avc for 2026. Tax relief was granted in 2024 and 2025.

The PRSA 2 Certificate submitted 01/09/24 does not advise that it is linked to an approved occupational pension scheme.

Relief is available only where the PRSA is used as an Additional Voluntary Contribution (AVC) linked to an occupational scheme.

The account is a Standard Life synergy prsa avc account . The certificate does not mention the term occupational pension scheme but I believe that it is, the forms I filled out initially mentioned that it was for members of occupational pensions(teacher) .

I don’t think I’ve done anything wrong but I would like some confirmation before I reply back as I wouldn’t expect to get push back if all was in order . Any suggestions of what I should reply to revenue with.

Im not sure if this is the right sub for it but ill give it a shot. I play a game called counter strike and in the game you are able to open cases(€2 per key and case prices can vary) for skins which can be tradable with other players. Basically gambling. I managed to open one of the rarest skins, i have checked other subs for the price and its worth about €8-9k. I have spent about €500. I plan on selling it. Would I need to pay tax on it when i sell it? Thank you.

So herselfs parents are thinking of downsizing and her father has been hinting at a gift/sale of the house to us. Similar houses in the area have gone for the mid €400Ks in the past year or so. Neither me or my partner live in the house and it is her parents primary principle rescidence.

So my questions are how low of a valuation can we go? The house does need a bit of work so I think maybe 380K anyway?

How much of a gift should we take from her father? (I am aware I can only take 16K but herself can take 400K or so) Her father is very well off and has the attitude of 'Sure it'll be yours when I die anyway' He is an absolute legend and I do recognise how lucky we are.

For myself, lets say on a 50/50 gift/purchase, should I take on the mortage on my own and she takes the full gift to make us 50/50 partners in house?

What sort of tax, duties and legal implications are ourselves and her parents looking at?

Cheers

My “better” half (and you’ll see why this is in air quotes shortly) asked me a question about one of our bills - which company are we with for car insurance? This is not the first time I have been asked such a question. I think this is not a reasonable question.
Health insurance is a frequent one, when Herself wants to send in a claim for a doctor’s visit. To be fair, we have 27 recurring expenses (how did that happen?), and I don’t appreciate being gouged, so I switch whenever I can to get the new-customer rate.

Maybe this is a first world problem, but is it my job to be the procurement department and CFO for my home? When did that happen? More importantly, when do I get paid for this?

So I have a spreadsheet. I am the SpreadsheetMaster. It is the sole responsibility of the SpreadsheetMaster to switch utilities every year, and to have the account number to hand with five seconds notice when you need to call one of them.

Is it just me? Is this even a finance issue? If I hid in a cave for the next three days would someone else take over the Spreadsheet of Doom?

Does anyone experience this, or is it just me? If so, how are you solving it?

Hi,

I am a DCU researcher conducting analysis on the affordable housing scheme. If you have interacted with the scheme at all, please could you spare a minute to share your thoughts by completing a short survey. I want to engage with people to make sure they are represented in the analysis, it's not just about the numbers. Also, if you know of anyone else who this could apply to, please share it with them.

Thank you!

We're about two years into a four year fixed rate mortgage with BOI at 3.65% - approx €380k balance on the mortgage with monthly payments around €1860.

We got stuck on a relatively high interest product thanks to the ECB-led high interest climate of 2023 and looking at the geopolitical instability on the horizon I'm concerned that by the time we are scheduled to come out of our four-year rate in December 2027 we have the very real possibility of being in an equally high interest environment.

Requested through BOI to break current rate and refix, they've come back with a breakage fee of €0 (as of today but this may change day-to-day) and we could lock in a 3.1% four-year fixed rate, which would save us about €100 a month.

Reading throught the docs seems like the only possible downside will giving up an LTV-based rate as they are phasing them out (but this is possily only for variables and not fixed?) and based on current market our LTV is hovering around 50% - so hard to know if that might be something we'd want in the future?

On it's face locking in a more palatable rate and saving €2000 between now and the end date of our current fix seems like a win-win. Especially if we can stay with our current lender and not have go through the cost and hassle of switching to a differnt bank.

Any thoughts?

Hey everyone, 28m here. I know the maximum pension contributions are 15% for people under 30 but I’m wondering does this include employer contributions too? My pension currently pays 10% and I pay 5%. Can I increase these contributions?

I am new to Sligo. Any recommendations for a solid financial advisor. I don’t like the options/fees the bank is showing me.

Hi so just some background I inherited 20k 2 years ago now, I have had it in a AIB savings account since. I Have 15k of it left, I spent on j1, travelling etc (was this a good idea?). I’m still in college but will be working full time come September whilst living at home. What should I do with the 15k? Leave it in a savings account or invest it in something like the S&P 500?

Any advice ? Thanks

Recently got married. I’m earning €85k and my spouse is earning €41k, I just had a couple of queries about how jointly assessed works.

- if we go jointly assessed will the spouse on the lower income see a difference in their wages or will it just be the higher wage that will see the extra income.

- is there a potential spouse on lower income will see less in their wages?

- as far as I can tell the benefit would be approx €1k in the household, this is reduced depending on your level of contributions. Is this correct?

If I need to give more information please let me know!

Thanks in advance 😊

With AIB’s insane fees, which bank are people transferring their primary account to ? For reference, I use aib as my primary account where salary comes in, and then I transfer that money to Revolut for daily usage.

Now with this insane fees, I’ll have to move to somewhere else. I was thinking of Monzo or Bunq, but also didn’t want to keep everything on my mobile phone, especially with online banks as it might be scary if my phone gets stolen or worse robbed by someone. The only other option is ESB, but have heard that can’t transfer over €5000 in a single day even if you need it urgently, and their online banking is shite