872. Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance the take-up of the mortgage relief scheme; the average value of the relief paid; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [63905/26]

Finance Act 2023 introduced Mortgage Interest Tax Relief (MITR). MITR was originally made available for the 2023 year of assessment.

The relief is available to homeowners with an outstanding mortgage balance between €80,000 and €500,000 as of 31 December 2022. The relief extends to a qualifying property located in the State which is the sole or main residence of the individual’s former or separated spouse or civil partner or a dependent relative. Furthermore, the taxpayer must be compliant with Local Property Tax requirements. The relief operates by way of a credit offset against the taxpayer’s income tax liability.

In Finance Act 2024, the relief was extended to include the 2024 tax year. Subsequently, to continue to provide support to mortgage holders who have experienced increased interest rates since 2022, Finance Act 2025 provided for a further two-year extension of the relief.

The relief is available in respect of the increase in interest paid in 2023, 2024 and 2025 over interest paid in 2022. The amount qualifying for relief at the standard rate of tax (20%) is capped at €6,250 per property. This is equivalent to a maximum tax relief of €1,250 per property per annum. A reduced level of relief was applied in relation to the extension to 2026. Accordingly, the relief is available in respect of half of the increase in interest paid in 2026 over interest paid in 2022, and the value of the relief is equal to the lesser of 20 per cent of the eligible increase or €625, applying on a per property basis.

2023 is the first year for which MITR is claimable. In relation to 2025, data will not be available for analysis until mid-2027 as the filing deadline for self-assessed taxpayers in relation to 2025 is November 2026.

In 2023, 52,320 taxpayer units benefited from MITR at a total Exchequer cost of €35.4 million, with an average benefit of €675 per claimant. In 2024, the number of taxpayer units benefiting from the relief was 40,900 and the Exchequer cost was €29.1 million, with the average relief claimed of €712 per taxpayer unit. A taxpayer unit refers to individuals except in the case of couples who are jointly assessed, in which case the couple are counted as one taxpayer unit.