Eligibility for Help to Buy

Scenario: married - both qualify as first time buyer
I pay here tax since 2005 - my wife left Ireland 2010 I believe and she returned November 2014


First question:

The incentive will take the form of a rebate of income tax paid over the previous four tax years as a contribution to the deposit needed to fund the purchase of a new home.

(...)
The amount of rebate available to an applicant is calculated based on their total income tax (including DIRT) paid over the previous four tax years. No refund of USC will be available.

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Is it enough that 1 person out of two has paid tax the previous 4 years to get the tax rebate?
I paid easily more than 20k tax in the past years.


Second question:
Mortage

In order to qualify, applicants must take out a mortgage of at least 80% of the purchase price, or in the case of a self-build, 80% of the valuation approved by the mortgage provider. Individuals who are in a position to avail of a mortgage at a lower loan to value ratio than 80% already have sufficient resources to more than meet the deposit requirements of the macro-prudential rules and thus are less in need of assistance from the Exchequer.

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It does not state that the mortage has to be taken in Ireland - so in case I could find a bank in Germany and take out there a mortage of 80% this requirement is still met?

Yes, it should be enough for you to have paid the tax.

I doubt you could raise a mortgage in Germany on an Irish home, so the issue does not arise.

Brendan

Thanks - I found it as well described later in the budget document that it is enough I paid the taxes for the past years.

The second questions remains though valid.
As I could not find something in the budget documentation yet that states it has to be a mortage with an Irish bank I believe it will be ok.