First-time buyer government schemes

Government schemes for first-time buyers help in three main ways: with the deposit, with the share of a home bought and with tax on the purchase. The main options in England are shared ownership, the Lifetime ISA, discounted-sale homes and stamp duty relief, and the devolved governments run their own schemes for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Some older schemes have closed to new buyers. The Help to Buy equity loan in England closed to new applications in 2023, and the Help to Buy ISA closed to new accounts in 2019, though existing accounts can still be used. Scheme rules and dates are set out on GOV.UK, which is the place to check before relying on any scheme.

A Lifetime ISA lets savers put in up to £4,000 each year, and the government adds a 25% bonus, up to £1,000 a year (GOV.UK, accessed 20 Oct 2026). The first payment must be made before the saver turns 40. The savings and bonus can be used towards a first home, with limits on the property price and the timing.

Withdrawing for anything other than a first home or later life usually brings a government withdrawal charge, so the account suits savers who are sure of their plans. Lenders treat Lifetime ISA money as part of the deposit, and the conveyancer handles the withdrawal close to completion.

Shared ownership lets a buyer purchase a share of a home and pay rent to a housing provider on the rest. The deposit and mortgage are based on the share bought, so the cash needed can be lower than on an outright purchase. Owners can buy more shares later, which reduces the rent they pay.

Household income limits and affordability checks apply, and the homes are leasehold. Only some lenders offer shared ownership mortgages, and they add the rent and service charge to the monthly costs when they assess affordability. The shared ownership mortgages page explains shares, rent and staircasing in more detail.

In England and Northern Ireland, first-time buyers pay no Stamp Duty Land Tax on the first £300,000 of a home and 5% on the portion from £300,001 to £500,000. Above £500,000 the relief cannot be claimed and standard rates apply (GOV.UK, accessed 20 Oct 2026). Everyone buying must be a first-time buyer for the relief to apply.

Scotland and Wales have their own taxes, Land and Buildings Transaction Tax and Land Transaction Tax, with their own rules for first-time buyers. Stamp duty is paid from savings at completion. The tax on a particular price can be worked out with the stamp duty calculator, which includes first-time buyer relief.

Low-deposit mortgages let buyers borrow most of the price, with a deposit as small as a twentieth of it on some products. A government guarantee scheme supports lenders offering these loans, though the mortgage itself comes from the lender and is assessed in the usual way, with checks on income, outgoings and credit history.

Higher loan-to-value mortgages usually carry higher rates than loans with larger deposits, and fewer lenders offer them, so the choice at each stage, from the first application to the remortgage at the end of a fixed period, can be narrower than for buyers with more saved. How the deposit size changes the choice of lender and the cost is set out in the low-deposit mortgages guide, which covers the main bands lenders use and the ways buyers build a deposit over time.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland run their own home ownership schemes, including shared equity and shared ownership options with their own eligibility rules and price limits. The schemes open and close at different times, so checking the devolved government's own pages gives the current position for a particular area, including price caps and who qualifies.

Each scheme works alongside a standard mortgage from a lender, and lenders have their own rules on which schemes they accept. A broker who arranges first-time buyer cases in the area can say which lenders work with a particular scheme and how long approval usually takes, and the first-time buyer mortgages guide covers the wider process.