Mortgage Interest Supplement

Mortgage Interest Supplement (MIS) provides short-term support to help you pay your mortgage interest repayments.

Closed to new applicants

Since 1 January 2014, the Mortgage Interest Supplement scheme is closed to new entrants. No new applications have been accepted since this date.

This closure did not affect people who were getting Mortgage Interest Supplement before 1 January 2014. The scheme was wound down for these claimants over a 4-year period and it closed on 31 December 2017.

However, claimants who were getting MIS payments that were due to end on that date continue to get payments under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance from 1 January 2018.

The amount you get is equal to the MIS payment you were getting before 31 December 2017. This payment is made automatically, so you don’t need to re-apply to the Department of Social Protection.

The Mortgage Interest Supplement (MIS) scheme has been closed to new entrants since 1 January 2014. MIS was wound down for existing recipients over a 4-year period and closed on 31 December 2017.

However, claimants getting MIS payments that were due to end on that date, continue to get payments under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance from 1 January 2018.

If you were getting MIS before 1 January 2014

Your interest is assessed as your gross monthly interest less:

• Mortgage interest relief, and
• Any mortgage allowance or mortgage subsidy payable towards the interest part of your mortgage by the local authority

You will only get assistance with the interest portion of your mortgage repayments. You will not get help with the portion that pays off the actual loan and house insurance.

You should contact your lender to discuss repaying the actual loan. If you have a consolidated loan, only the interest portion of your loan that relates to the essential purchase, repair or maintenance of your home will be taken into account.

Minimum household contribution

You must pay a minimum contribution towards Mortgage Interest Supplement. The minimum contribution for MIS is:

• €30 per week for single people
• €40 per week for couples

Qualifying for Mortgage Interest Supplement

To qualify for Mortgage Interest Supplement, you must meet the following conditions:

• You must have made an application before 1 January 2014
• You must pass the means test (see ‘Means test for Mortgage Interest Supplement’ below)
• You must have entered into and complied with an alternative repayment arrangement with your mortgage lender for at least 12 months
• You must have been able to afford the repayments when your loan agreement was first agreed
• Only the portion of your loan that relates to the essential purchase, repair or maintenance of your home is taken into account
• The size of the arrears are not greater than what the DSP considers reasonable
• You are habitually resident in this State
• The amount of your mortgage interest payable is not more than what the Department of Social Protection (DSP) considers reasonable to meet your residential and other needs*

* In exceptional circumstances, you may be awarded a supplement where your mortgage interest payable is higher than what the DSP’s representative considers reasonable to meet your needs. This is payable for a maximum of 12 months from the date of the claim.

You can get MIS if your house is for sale. This means that people can engage in selling their home and continue to be eligible for MIS, subject to the other conditions of the MIS scheme.

Disqualified from getting Mortgage Interest Supplement

You won’t qualify for Mortgage Interest Supplement if:

• You or your spouse, civil partner or cohabitant works more than 29 hours a week (there are some exceptions – see ‘Employment and Mortgage Interest Supplement' below)
• You are involved in a trade dispute
• You are attending full-time education (there are some exceptions – see 'Education and Mortgage Interest Supplement' below)
• You are unlawfully in the State
• You have made an application for international protection and your application is awaiting final decision by the Minister for Justice
• You have made an application under the Aliens Act, 1935 to remain in the State and this application has not been determined
• You are admitted to an institution (for example, a hospital) for more than 13 weeks

Employment and Mortgage Interest Supplement

You will not qualify for Mortgage Interest Supplement if you are in full-time employment (if you are working for 29 hours per week or more).

In the case of couples, if one of a couple is in full time employment, both are excluded from claiming Mortgage Interest Supplement.

Special retention arrangements

There are special retention arrangements that may allow you to keep a proportion of your Mortgage Interest Supplement (for example, if you are participating in a Community Employment Scheme or getting Back to Work Enterprise Allowance).

Your gross household income must not exceed €317.43 per week. The below are not taken into account in the assessment of your gross household income:

• Back to Work Enterprise Allowance
• Working Family Payment (WFP)
• PRSI
• Any childcare allowance payable on certain training courses

Under these special retention arrangements, you will continue to get:

• 75% of your Mortgage Interest Supplement rate during your first year in employment
• 50% in the second year of employment
• 25% in the third and fourth years of employment

After the fourth year you will no longer be entitled to Mortgage Interest Supplement if you are in employment.

These retention arrangements also apply to people who have been unemployed for 12 months or more and who return to full-time employment and sign off their social welfare payment. In these cases, gross household income must not exceed €317.43 per week.

Education and Mortgage Interest Supplement

You won’t qualify for Mortgage Interest Supplement if you are attending full-time education.

However, if you are getting Mortgage Interest Supplement and qualify for the Back to Education Allowance (BTEA), you will keep an entitlement to Mortgage Interest Supplement.

When you apply for Mortgage Interest Supplement your means will be assessed. This will show how much of the mortgage interest you are able to pay.

A means test examines all your sources of income. However, some income is not taken into account in the calculation of your means.

You may qualify for Mortgage Interest Supplement if your income is below a certain amount and you meet the other conditions (see 'Mortgage Interest Supplement rules' above).

Income taken into account for Mortgage Interest Supplement

When calculating your Mortgage Interest Supplement, the following income is taken into account:

• Net income from employment (this is gross income less PRSI and reasonable travel expenses - a child dependant aged 17 and under in full-time education will not have their income from employment taken into account for Mortgage Interest Supplement)
• Social welfare payments (there are some exceptions - see 'Income not taken into account' below)
• Working Family Payment
• Cash income, such as maintenance payments (except child maintenance)
• All income and the value of all property of which you may have deprived yourself in order to qualify
• Capital (for example, savings, investments and property but not your own home)

The capital value of property (except your own home), savings and investments are assessed on a weekly basis as follows:

Redundancy payments

A redundancy or lump sum payment will be assessed as capital, unless it has been used to reduce the balance of your mortgage or other outstanding loans.

Income not taken into account when calculating Mortgage Interest Supplement

When calculating your Mortgage Interest Supplement, the following income is not taken into account:

• An amount equal to the Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) rate for your household circumstances
• Child Benefit
• Mobility Allowance
• Child maintenance payments
• Foster care payments from the Health Service Executive (HSE)
• Payments for accommodating children under the Child Care Act
• Income from Gaeltacht students
• Grants or allowances from schemes promoting the welfare of blind people
• Money received from charitable organisations, for example, St Vincent de Paul
• Compensation awarded by the Compensation Tribunal in respect of Hepatitis C contracted from certain blood products, to those who have disabilities caused by Thalidomide and to those receiving compensation under the Residential Institutions Redress Board
• Student Grants
• Domiciliary Care Allowance
• Carer's Support Grant
• Guardian's Payment (Contributory) and Guardian's Payment (Non-Contributory)
• Fuel Allowance and the Living Alone Allowance

Pensioners

There is an income disregard for people aged 65 and over. Any additional income equal to the difference between the maximum State Pension (Contributory) and the SWA appropriate to their circumstances is not taken into account. This also applies where one of a couple is of pensionable age.

Carers’ payments

The half-rate Carer's Allowance is never taken into account.

Any amount of Carer's Benefit in excess of the basic SWA rate for your situation (either the qualified adult rate or the personal rate of SWA) is not taken into account.

If you are getting Carer's Allowance, the amount of Carer's Allowance above the appropriate SWA rate for your situation (either the qualified adult rate for a couple, or the personal rate of SWA) is not taken into account.

So, if you are:

• One of a couple and getting Carer's Allowance, the amount of Carer's Allowance being paid less the SWA qualified adult rate is not taken into account
• Single or a lone parent, the amount disregarded is the rate of Carer's Allowance being paid less the personal rate of SWA

Rehabilitative earnings disregard

A certain amount of your income from rehabilitative work is not taken into account.

If you are getting Disability Allowance or Blind Pension, €120 from rehabilitative training or employment is not taken into account in the assessment for Mortgage Interest Supplement.

Any earnings over €120 from rehabilitative training or employment will affect your Mortgage Interest Supplement. If you are earning above €120, you can be assessed using whichever disregard is most in your interest: either the Rehabilitative earnings disregard or the Household income disregard (but not both).

Household income disregard

A certain amount of your household income above the appropriate SWA rate is not taken into account:

• €75 of any additional household income is not taken into account
• 25% of additional household income over €75 is not taken into account

There is no upper limit on the amount that can be disregarded.

Additional household income is income from part-time employment or part-time self-employment, Working Family Payment, Community Employment (CE), Back to Enterprise Allowance.

Maintenance, except child maintenance, is also assessed as additional household income (see ‘Maintenance and Mortgage Interest Supplement’ below).

Maintenance and Mortgage Interest Supplement

Maintenance is assessed as additional household income and maintenance payments up to €95.23 per week are assessed. However, from 4 June 2024, maintenance payments for a child are not included in the means test.

The household income disregard (see above) applies to maintenance payments above €95.23.

For example, if your only additional household income is maintenance, all of your maintenance payment (excluding child maintenance) up to €95.23 per week is assessed. The household income disregard of €75 applies to sums above this, so that any maintenance between €95.23 and €170.23 is not taken into account.

25% of all maintenance over €170.23 is also not taken into account.

Calculating your Mortgage Interest Supplement can be difficult. The Community Welfare Officer (CWO) decides whether you are eligible for Mortgage Interest Supplement and calculates the amount you get.

The CWO:

• Adds together any income taken into account in the means test
• Subtracts any income not taken into account
• Adds your remaining income and household contribution together to find your household contribution (see ‘Minimum household contribution’ above)

The Mortgage Interest Supplement payable to you is the difference between your actual mortgage interest and your contribution to mortgage interest, as long as the difference between them is a reasonable amount to meet your residential needs.

Generally, the CWO will ensure that your income after paying the interest on your mortgage does not fall below a minimum level. This level is the Supplementary Welfare Allowance minus €30 (or €40 for couples).

Since 1 January 2014, the Mortgage Interest Supplement scheme is closed to new entrants. No new applications have been accepted since this date.

Appealing a decision

If you are not satisfied with a decision made in relation to Mortgage Interest Supplement, you should request the reasons for the decision, in writing, from the CWO. You should provide any extra documentation to back up your case.

If the decision is not changed, you can appeal to the Social Welfare Appeals Office.

The income disregards set out above came into effect on 5 June 2007. Claims made before 5 June 2007 were assessed using the old income disregards (see below).

Existing claims were reviewed and assessed using both the new and old income disregards. People who would get more using the old income disregards continued to be assessed using those rules until they had a change in circumstances which triggered a review (such as a change in household income, or a break in their claim for more than 13 weeks).

Income disregards for Mortgage Interest Supplement claims before 5 June 2007

Income from the following sources was not taken into account in the assessment of Mortgage Interest Supplement claims made before 5 June 2007:

• Family Income Supplement
• Child Benefit
• Mobility Allowance
• Foster care payments from the Health Service Executive
• Payments for accommodating children under the Child Care Act
• Income from Gaeltacht students
• Grants or allowances from schemes promoting the welfare of blind people
• Money received from charitable organizations, for example, St Vincent de Paul
• Compensation awarded by the Compensation Tribunal in respect of Hepatitis C contracted from certain blood products, to those who have disabilities caused by Thalidomide and to those receiving compensation under the Residential Institutions Redress Board
• Maintenance grants paid by Local Authorities for Higher Education
• €60 of additional income from part-time employment, including Community Employment Schemes (if your earnings from employment were between €60 and €90, only half of your earnings between €60 and €90 were taken into account - for example, if you were earning €90, only €15 was taken into account)
• €60 of additional income from participation in approved training courses, such as FÁS skills training courses (if your earnings were between €60 and €90, only half of your earnings between €60 and €90 were taken into account – for example, if you were earning €90 only €15 was taken into account)
• €120 from rehabilitative training or employment if you were in receipt of Disability Allowance (any earnings over €120 from rehabilitative training or employment would affect your Rent Supplement)
• Income from employment with the HSE as a Home-Help
• Domiciliary Care Allowance
• If you were on a One-Parent Family Payment, up to €95.23 of maintenance payments was deemed to be for rent (half of any amount above this was taken into account as means and would affect your One-Parent Family Payment). The first €95.23 of any maintenance you got was taken into account when calculating your Rent Supplement, but maintenance above €95.23 euro up to a limit of €155.23 was disregarded; half of any maintenance you got between €155.23 and €185.23 was taken into account; all maintenance above €185.23 was taken into account when calculating your Rent Supplement.

Money and Advice Budgeting Service

MABS, the Money Advice and Budgeting Service, can advise you on dealing with mortgage arrears as well as other forms of problem debt.

You can call the MABS helpline on 0818 07 2000 from 9am to 8pm, Monday to Friday. MABS also has a nationwide network of centres, staffed by specialist money advisers.

Abhaile

Abhaile is the national Mortgage Arrears Resolution Service and is a support offered by MABS. Abhaile provides a dedicated adviser who will work with you and your lender to find the best solution for your situation.

You can call Abhaile on 0818 07 2000 from 9am to 8pm, Monday to Friday.

These services are completely free, confidential and independent.

You can read detailed information about Mortgage Interest Supplement on Gov.ie.