Mortgage interest tax credit

A mortgage interest tax credit is a tax relief based on the amount of qualifying mortgage interest you paid in a tax year for your home.

To qualify for a tax credit on mortgage interest repayments, you must have paid interest on money that you borrowed to purchase, repair, develop or improve your main residence.

There have been a number of mortgage interest tax credits over the years. A mortgage interest tax credit (MITC) was introduced for the 2023 and 2024 tax years to help mortgage holders who had seen significant increases in mortgage interest rates.

Budget 2026: Extension of the current mortgage interest tax credit

In Budget 2026, the current mortgage interest tax credit was extended for another 2 years, so it will be available for 2025 and 2026, as well as 2023 and 2024.

The credit will be available on the increased interest you pay on your mortgage in 2025 and 2026, compared with the amount you paid in 2022.

In 2025, the tax relief will be the same as it was in 2023 and 2024. This is 20% of the increase in mortgage interest up to a maximum of €1,250 per property.

There will be a reduced level of relief for 2026 and a maximum tax credit of €625 per property for that year.

To get this tax credit, you must meet certain conditions.

Your mortgage loan

• You must have had an outstanding mortgage balance of between €80,000 and €500,000 on 31 December 2022
• Your loan must be with a qualifying lender. A qualifying lender is a lender listed as a credit information provider by the Central Bank of Ireland.
• You must have paid interest on the loan in 2022 and the year you are claiming the credit for. For example, if you are claiming the tax credit for 2024, you must have paid mortgage interest in 2022 and 2024.
• The amount of interest you paid on the loan must be more than what you paid in 2022. So, for example, if you are claiming the tax credit for 2024, you must have paid more mortgage interest in 2024 than you did in 2022.

Your tax 

• You must have paid income tax to get the mortgage interest tax credit
• You must comply with your Local Property Tax obligations

Your property

• The property must be in the State
• The property should be your only residence or your main residence, or a residential property you, your spouse or civil partner use so you can go to work
• You must comply with any planning permission requirements granted on or before 31 December 2022
• You must not have bought the property from a connected party for much more than the property’s value

Paying mortgage interest for someone else

You may also be able to claim the credit if you are paying the mortgage interest on a qualifying loan for the main private residence of:

• Your former or separated spouse or civil partner
• A dependant relative who does not pay you rent

A dependant relative is your, or your spouse or civil partner’s:

• Widowed mother, widowed father or parent who is a surviving civil partner
• Relative who is not able to look after themselves due to old age or illness

The complete definition of a dependant relative can be found in the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997.

The mortgage interest tax credit is calculated on the increase in the interest you paid on your mortgage in 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026 when compared with the amount you paid in 2022. You can claim for each year, if you meet the qualifying criteria.

The tax credit is 20% of the increase, which is the standard income tax rate. In 2023, 2024 and 2025, the credit is capped at €1,250.

However, there will be a reduced level of relief for 2026 and a maximum tax credit of €625 per property for that year.

Here is an example of someone claiming MITC for 2023:

• John has a qualifying loan on a property
• On 31 December 2022, John had an outstanding mortgage balance of €200,000
• John’s loan was in place for all of 2022 and 2023

John’s mortgage interest tax credit

• Mortgage interest paid in 2022: €9,000
• Mortgage interest paid in 2023: €12,000
• Increase in interest paid: €3,000 (€12,000 – €9,000)
• Mortgage interest tax credit: 20% of €3,000 = €600

What if I didn't pay interest for a full year?

If you had mortgage interest payments for part of the relevant years, the credit and the cap will be applied on a pro-rata basis. You can find more information about how this is calculated on revenue.ie.

What if more than one person qualifies for the credit on a property?

There is only one credit available per property. So, if more than one person qualifies for the credit for a property, the credit is divided between them based on the amount of interest each of them paid. Revenue has more information on how the credit is calculated if there is more than one claimant.

Revenue has published information about the mortgage interest tax credit, including examples of how it applies in different situations.

You claim the mortgage interest tax credit by making an income tax return for the relevant years using Revenue’s MyAccount or ROS services.

There is a ‘mortgage interest tax credit’ option in the tax credits page when you are completing your income tax return for these years.

What documents do I need to claim the credit?

To claim the mortgage interest tax credit, you need to submit the following documents to Revenue when making your tax return for the relevant years:

• Your certificate of mortgage interest for 2022
• Your certificate of mortgage interest for 2023, 2024, 2025 or 2026 (depending on the tax year you are claiming for)
• Confirmation of your mortgage balance on 31 December 2022

You can upload and submit these documents online using Revenue’s MyAccount or ROS services.

Read Revenue’s guide to the MITC (pdf) for more information about how to claim the credit.

The Homeowner’s Once-Off Payment was paid by the Department of Social Protection to certain people who didn’t qualify for the mortgage interest tax credit in 2023 because they hadn’t paid enough income tax.

Applications for the payment for 2023 closed on 31 March 2025. The Homeowners Once-Off Payment is not available for other years.

To qualify for the Homeowner’s Once-Off Payment you must have:

• Met all the qualification criteria for the mortgage interest tax credit, apart from the condition about having paid sufficient income tax
• Have completed an income tax return for 2023 and applied for the mortgage interest tax credit

The Homeowner’s Once-Off Payment was 20% of the amount that your mortgage interest increased between 2022 and 2023. The payment was capped at €1,250.