There has been a lot of confusion about the changes that were made to Mortgage Interest Relief in the April Budget.

Hopefully, this post will clarify what is going on.

Firstly, it is important to note that both first time buyers and persons on their second or subsequent mortgage will continue to benefit from this relief.

Any person who has taken out a mortgage in the last 7 years, either to buy their first home, to move to a new home, or to undertake repairs to, extensions to or refurbishment of their home, will continue to be entitled to relief.

If, however, you changed your mortgage for some other reason, for example, to switch lender to benefit from a better rate, and 7 years has elapsed since you bought your first home, moved home, or upgraded/refurbished your home, you will no longer be entitled to relief, despite the fact that your current mortgage may still be less than 7 years old.

In addition, there will be a temporary moratorium on relief during the months of May and June to allow the Revenue Commissioners communicate with lending institutions to ensure that they have all necessary information in relation to individual mortgage accounts.

This moratorium will not apply to First Time Buyers or mortgage holders for whom the Revenue Commissioners have all relevant information. Any mortgage holder who is entitled to relief, but who is affected by the Moratorium, will be entitled to a full refund of the relief in July.

You can confirm this on the website of the Revenue Commissioners. Click here to access the relevant page.