Are there any restrictions when purchasing using a Help to Buy ISA?

There are several restrictions when using a Help to Buy ISA for your first purchase:

• the property price must not exceed £250,000 outside London or £450,000 in London. For a shared ownership purchase, the purchase price cap applies to the full market value of the property, not the price being paid for the share being purchased;
• it must be a residential property that you intend to live in as your only or main home (i.e. it cannot be used for a buy to let purchase), you must not own, or ever have owned, a property anywhere else in the world;
• the property must be bought with a mortgage, you cannot use a Help to Buy ISA bonus towards a cash purchase;
• the bonus must be claimed by your solicitor, you cannot claim it;
• the bonus can only be used towards the completion monies, not deposit monies;
• the bonus must be claimed within 12 months of closing the account so do not close the account until you are in the process of buying a property and ready to proceed;
• and, if you close your ISA to buy a property and the purchase falls through, you must return the funds to an ISA within 3 months to retain the benefits.