Help to Buy Repayment Calculator
The Help to Buy scheme closed in 2023 after helping first-time buyers and home movers onto the property ladder. However, the Help to Buy Wales scheme was extended to March 2025. Many of these homeowners are now looking to repay some or all of their equity loan, especially since the interest rate increases after 5 years.
There has been much speculation about its potential return but no official announcements.
How the Help to Buy interest rate works
There are no equity loan costs or fees on the government money you borrowed for the first five years. Starting in the sixth year, you'll pay a fee of 1.75% of the total loan amount.
This fee will go up each year based on inflation, which is calculated using the Retail Price Index (RPI) + 1% as set by the Office of National Statistics.
This is how your help to buy mortgage payments and interest rate is calculated:
Year 1-5 | 0% |
Year 6 | 1.75% |
From Year 7 | 1.75% + RPI + 1% |
Interest and management fees on a £40,000 equity loan (non-London)
Interest and management fees on a £160,000 equity loan (London)
Floating vs fixed
Most Help to Buy mortgages have an initial fixed rate, which means the interest rate won't change for a specific period. After that, the mortgage rate becomes variable and can go up or down.
SAM's Help to Buy interest repayment calculator
Make sense of your Help to Buy monthly interest payments
Our Help to Buy interest repayment calculator estimates your monthly interest payments. Enter the equity loan percentage, current market value, and how many years you've owned the property to get results. Keep in mind that this is just an approximation.
Help to Buy Repayments Calculator
SAM's Help to Buy mortgage repayment calculator
Your Help to Buy mortgage payments differ from the Help to Buy equity loan repayments. You can use our calculator above to estimate the interest repayments, but we also have a mortgage payments calculator available. You might wish to remortgage to consolidate into one monthly payment.
Has it been 5 years since you secured your Help to Buy loan?
Your 5-year interest-free period for the Help to Buy equity loan is over. You'll now start paying interest on the amount you borrowed. Use our calculator above to see how much this will add to your monthly payments.
How can you redeem your Help to Buy loan?
Repaying your loan by remortgaging
If you wish to stay in your home but want to clear the equity loan (often to avoid the escalating interest fees that begin in year six), you can remortgage. This involves taking out a new, larger mortgage to pay off both your existing mortgage and the government equity loan.
To settle the equity loan in full without selling the property, your Help to Buy conveyancing solicitor will guide you through this standard 9-step process:
- Help to Buy Valuation: Obtain a Homes England-compliant RICS Valuation. We have RICS valuers throughout England & Wales available to book today, and reports are typically sent within 5 working days.
- Application: Submit your Help to Buy Application Form, including your RICS valuation, and pay your Homes England administration fee.
- ID and Source of Funds: Provide your identification and proof of how you are funding the repayment to your solicitor.
- Mortgage Offer: Progress your new mortgage application. Once approved, the mortgage offer or further advance letter is sent directly to your solicitor. This typically takes 10 to 20 working days.
- Source of Funds Certificate: Your conveyancing solicitor reviews the mortgage offer. Once satisfied, they submit a Certificate of Source of Funds to Help to Buy within 3 working days.
- Redemption Statement: Help to Buy issues a Redemption Statement within 10 to 15 working days, confirming the exact final figure you need to repay.
- Completion Statement: Your solicitor prepares the legal file for completion and sends their legal undertaking to Help to Buy, requesting their Authority to Complete.
- Authority to Complete: Help to Buy replies with the formal Authority to Complete (normally after 15 working days).
- Completion: Your solicitor draws down the funds from your new mortgage and pays off the equity loan (and your old mortgage, if applicable). Once repaid in full, an e-DS1 form is submitted to HM Land Registry to formally remove the Help to Buy charge from your property title.
Repaying your loan by selling your property
You can sell your Help to Buy property on the open market at any time. When you sell, the equity loan is automatically repaid from the sale proceeds after your primary mortgage has been settled with your lender. Whatever equity remains belongs to you and can be used as a deposit for your next home.
The conveyancing process for selling a property remains the same, with draft contracts and replying to enquiries; however, here are the additional 7 steps when selling a Help to Buy property:
- Help to Buy Valuation: Obtain a Homes England-compliant RICS Valuation to establish the current market value (this determines your final repayment figure).
- Application: Submit your Help to Buy Application Form, including your RICS valuation, and pay your administration fee.
- ID Verification: Provide your identification documents to your conveyancing solicitor.
- Redemption Statement: Help to Buy issues a Redemption Statement, usually within 10 to 15 working days, confirming the exact amount to be repaid from the sale proceeds.
- Completion Statement: Your solicitor prepares the legal file for completion and sends their legal undertaking to Help to Buy, requesting their Authority to Complete.
- Authority to Complete: Help to Buy provides the Authority to Complete after processing the solicitor's undertaking.
- Completion: On the day your sale completes, your solicitor receives the purchase funds from the buyer, pays off your main mortgage, repays the Help to Buy equity loan in full, and transfers any remaining profit to you. An e-DS1 form is then submitted to HM Land Registry to remove the charge.
You can read our complete guide here: How to Sell a Help to Buy Property.
Repaying your loan using savings or a family gift
If you have built up personal savings or have been offered a financial gift from a family member, you can settle your Help to Buy equity loan without taking out a new mortgage. This is often the fastest route to redemption, as you do not need to wait for a mortgage offer.
However, because you are using private capital, your conveyancing solicitor must perform strict Anti-Money Laundering (AML) checks on the person providing the money. Here is the step-by-step process:
- Help to Buy Valuation: Obtain a Homes England-compliant RICS Valuation to determine the current market value and establish exactly how much you need to repay.
- Application: Submit your Help to Buy Application Form alongside your RICS valuation, and pay the Homes England administration fee.
- ID and Gifted Funds Checks: Provide your identification. Because the funds are a gift, your family member must also provide their ID, bank statements that prove the source of the funds, and sign a formal declaration confirming that the money is an unconditional gift, not a loan: this is called a Gifted Deposit Letter.
- Source of Funds Certificate: Once your solicitor has completed the mandatory AML checks on the gifted money, they will submit a Certificate of Source of Funds to Help to Buy.
- Redemption Statement: Help to Buy issues a Redemption Statement, typically within 10 to 15 working days, confirming the exact final figure required.
- Transferring the Funds: You or your family member will transfer the exact redemption amount into your solicitor's secure client account ahead of the agreed completion date.
- Completion Statement: Your solicitor prepares the legal file and sends their undertaking to Help to Buy to request the formal Authority to Complete.
- Authority to Complete: Help to Buy processes the undertaking and provides the Authority to Complete.
- Completion: Your solicitor transfers the funds to Homes England to settle the equity loan in full. An e-DS1 form is then submitted to HM Land Registry to formally remove the government charge from your title deeds.
Thinking about moving home?
Read our article on whether you can transfer your help to buy loan, next.
Help to Buy valuations
If you have an existing Help to Buy loan on your home, you will need a Help to Buy RICS valuation when repaying any of the loan; whether by cash, remortgage or sale of the property.
If you're selling, you'll need a current market valuation before paying off the whole loan from the sale proceeds; if you're just getting a new mortgage without paying off the loan, you don't need a valuation.
It is a current market valuation, but it must meet additional criteria to comply with the Help to Buy administrator's requirements.
- The Help to Buy surveyor must be registered with the recognised qualification of RICS.
- The Help to Buy surveyor must be independent of an estate agent.
- The report must be on headed paper, signed by the RICS surveyor and addressed to Help to Buy customer services.
- The Help to Buy surveyor MUST provide at least 3 comparable properties and sale prices.
- The comparables provided must be like for like in terms of property type, size, and age and within a 2-mile radius of the property that is being inspected.
- The Help to Buy surveyor must not be related or known to you.
- The Help to Buy surveyor must inspect the interior of the property and provide a full valuation report.
SAM's surveyors are all RICS-accredited and Help to Buy compliant.
Need a Help to Buy valuation survey?
Our current market valuation cost starts at £250 EXC VAT. Get a tailored quote for your Help to Buy Valuation from our nationwide panel of experienced, local RICS Valuers.
RICS Surveyors | Fixed Fees | Same week availability | Access arranged
Andrew Boast FMAAT is a qualified accountant, conveyancing specialist and author with over 25 years of experience in the UK property sector. Since beginning his career in 2000 within established SRA and CLC-regulated conveyancing solicitor firms, Andrew has overseen the legal journeys of more than 75,000 clients.
He is the self-published author of the first-time buyer guide: How to Buy a House Without Killing Anyone, and a frequent contributor to mainstream UK media on legislative updates, property law, first-time buyer guides, conveyancing best practices, and stamp duty changes. Andrew specialises in resolving complex title issues, property conflict disputes, and property tax options, streamlining the enquiry process to reduce transaction times and maintaining a client-friendly focus.
Amanda Ambler is a highly accomplished conveyancing specialist with over 15 years of dedicated experience across residential property law, legal compliance, and practice management. Having held senior roles, including Head of Legal Practice and Head of Conveyancing at established UK law firms, Amanda possesses a profound, hands-on understanding of the technical intricacies of the property market.
As the designated Legal Content Reviewer for SAM Conveyancing, Amanda ensures that every guide, legal update, and resource published meets the absolute highest standards of accuracy, regulatory compliance, and factual integrity. Her rigorous review process guarantees that complex property legislation and industry processes are communicated clearly, transparently, and safely for home buyers and sellers alike.
