How does the Help to Buy ISA work?
The Help to Buy ISA let first-time buyers pay in up to £200 a month, plus an opening deposit of up to £1,200 when you first set the account up. The government topped that up by 25%, so every £200 you saved earned you an extra £50.
The bonus tops out at £3,000, which you reach once your savings hit £12,000. At the other end, you need at least £1,600 saved before you can claim the smallest bonus of £400. Your solicitor claims it for you when you buy, not at any point before then.
Key deadlines for existing account holders
The account closed to new applicants in November 2019, though if you already have one you can keep paying in until November 2029. You then have until November 2030 to claim the bonus. That leaves a one-year window after the savings deadline closes.
If you never put the savings towards a property, you can still take your own money out, but the government bonus will not be paid. So it is worth mapping your purchase around these dates if you want to hold on to the top-up. Our borrowing calculator can help you work out the deposit you need.
Property price limits
You can only put the Help to Buy ISA bonus towards a home costing up to £250,000 outside London, or up to £450,000 within London. Buy above those figures and the bonus is off the table, although your own ISA savings are still yours to use.
These caps have stayed put since the scheme launched in 2015, and they do not rise with inflation. Where local house prices have climbed, some buyers now find the homes they are looking at sit above the cap, even though they would have qualified back when they opened the account.