How much can you borrow?
The most a lender may advance under the Central Bank limits, the deposit that has to sit under it, and the price the two of them together reach.
Two rules rather than one, and they bind separately. Most people are stopped by their savings rather than their salary, and the answer says which one is stopping you. Nothing you type leaves your browser.
Before tax, and combined if you are buying with somebody else.
Including anything gifted towards the purchase. Leave it out if you would rather see the income limit on its own.
Optional. If you give one, the answer says whether it is inside the limit and by how much it is not.
The two rules
The loan to income limit. 4 times gross income for a first time buyer, 3.5 times for a second or subsequent one. It applies to the loan, so a couple buying together are measured on their combined income.
The deposit. At least 10% of the purchase price, in cash. A mortgage that could stretch to €400,000 is no use to somebody who has saved €20,000, because the deposit rule caps them at €200,000 whatever the income rule says.
Read from Central Bank of Ireland, which says: “The LTI limit restricts the amount of money you can borrow to a maximum of 4 times gross income for first-time-buyers” Checked 8 August 2026.
The 15% that breaks the rule, and why it is not yours
A lender may advance above the limits on a share of its lending each year. That share is finite, it is spent at the lender’s discretion, and it tends to go to applicants the lender already wants. Treating it as available is the most common way a buyer ends up bidding on something they cannot finance.
The guide on what you can borrow goes through how the exception is actually rationed.
Once you know the number
What the price actually costs
- Stamp Duty, paid on top of the price and out of savings rather than the mortgage.
- Help to Buy, which can go towards the deposit on a new build.
- What houses in that range actually sold for, rather than what they were advertised at.
- What renting the same town costs, if the sums are not working yet.
Questions people ask
- How much can I borrow for a mortgage in Ireland?
- Four times your gross income if you are a first time buyer, and three and a half times if you have owned before. That is the Central Bank limit on the loan. A separate rule requires a deposit of at least ten per cent of the price, so the price you can reach depends on both.
- Can I borrow more than four times my income?
- Sometimes, but not as of right. A lender may exceed the limits on up to fifteen per cent of its lending in a year. It is the lender's allowance rather than an entitlement, so it is not something to plan a purchase around.
- Does the deposit have to be ten per cent?
- At least ten per cent of the purchase price, and it has to be there in cash. Somebody on a strong salary with thin savings hits the deposit rule long before they hit the income rule.
- Is this what a lender will actually offer me?
- No. This is the regulatory ceiling. A lender also runs an affordability test on what you can repay, and on a large mortgage at a high rate that test often produces a smaller figure than the limit does.
- Does Help to Buy count towards my deposit?
- Yes, on a new build. The Help to Buy refund can go towards the deposit, which is why buyers who are short on savings are so often pointed at new builds rather than second hand homes.