Widower must repay €24k help-to-buy funding after leaving home due to death of spouse

A WIDOWER WHO felt that he could no longer live in the family home two years after his spouse died must now repay €24,000 in Help to Buy scheme payments obtained from the Revenue Commissioners by the couple.

This follows the Tax Appeals Commission (TAC) upholding a €24,000 Notice of Assessment issued by the Revenue Commissioners to the widower in March of this year.

The man appealed Revenue’s €24,000 bill to the TAC and in the ruling, Commissioner Conor O’Higgins said that he “wishes to acknowledge the tragic circumstances forming the background to this appeal and offers condolences to the Appellant on the passing of his spouse”.

O’Higgins found that the amount of tax payable as set out in the Notice of Assessment was correct and should stand.

The Commissioner said that he is aware that the outcome “may seem harsh” and he has “much personal sympathy” for the appellant.

However, O’Higgins pointed out that his function as commissioner is limited in strict terms to deciding whether an assessment made by Revenue is in accordance with the relevant legislation that underpins it.

He said that he has no power to require Revenue to vary an assessment that accords with that legislation and that to do so would be to step outside the bounds of his jurisdiction.

In the case, the widower on 27 November of last year ceased occupying the home he had built with his partner.

The TAC report stated that “he did so because he found that he could not continue to live in the place that he and his spouse had planned to be their family home”.

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In March 2023, the first-time house purchasers began the construction of their family home and later received a payment of €30,000 from Revenue in a Help to Buy scheme payment with €15,000 allocated to each.

Tragically, the man’s spouse died in September 2023 and in November 2024, the construction of the home was completed and the widower began occupying it on 9 November 2024, but vacated the home only one year and 18 days later.

In March of this year, Revenue issued the €24,000 bill in accordance with tax law which states that if a home – supported by the Help to Buy Scheme – is vacated within the second year from occupation, the claimant shall pay to the Revenue Commissioners an amount equal to 80pc of the amount of the Help to Buy payment received.

The widower appealed the €24,000 bill to the TAC, claiming that the repayment requirement should not apply to him in circumstances where he no longer felt capable of remaining in the house that he and his spouse had planned to be their family home.

He submitted that the legislation was silent on whether a clawback was required if the ending of occupancy within the prescribed five-year period was involuntary and occurred because of circumstances beyond their control.

He argued that where occupancy ceased within the five-year time frame on an involuntary basis, the appropriate payment previously received should not be repayable.

However, Revenue claimed at the TAC that the use of the wording “the claimant shall” makes clear the mandatory nature of the repayment provision.

In his assessment, O’Higgins states that the Help to Buy legislation makes clear that if a Help to Buy scheme home is vacated within the first five years then an appropriate payment previously received stands to be repaid.

O’Higgins states that the legislation indicates that the repayment requirement is triggered without regard to individual circumstance, including where cessation arises for reasons outside the control of a claimant or claimants.

O’Higgins further stated that it is clear that the intention of the Oireachtas was to make the parties to a joint application under Help to Buy liable not just for the portion of the appropriate payment allocated to them, but for the whole amount of the appropriate payment.