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Find out more'Can my daughter still get her Help to Buy Isa bonus?'
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My daughter has a Help to Buy Isa and wants to use these savings to purchase her first home with her partner.
However, her partner is not a first-time buyer.
Can she still make use of this Isa and get the government bonus?
Ronnie from Shropshire
'It's not the Isa she needs to worry about - it's the stamp duty'
Mike Croxford, Which? Money expert, says…
Yes, your daughter can use her Help-to-Buy Isa savings and get the government bonus.
Help to Buy Isas were launched in 2015, and let you save up to £200 a month towards your first home.
You’ll then get a 25% bonus from the government on top of this, up to a maximum of £3,000, but only if you buy your first home for £250,000 or less (£450,000 in London), with a mortgage.
Help to Buy Isas are now closed to new applicants (they were replaced by Lifetime Isas), but existing customers can continue to save into their Isa until November 2029.
If you want to use the money to buy a property and secure the 25% bonus, this must be done by November 2030.
They won’t qualify for the lower stamp duty rates available to first-time buyers
While the fact that your daughter’s partner is not a first-time buyer won’t affect her ability to use her Help to Buy Isa for the house purchase, it will affect the stamp duty bill the couple face.
That’s because they won’t qualify for the lower rates available to first-time buyers.
In England, you don’t pay any stamp duty on the first £250,000 of your property (assuming it’s your main residence), but that figure rises to £425,000 if you (and anyone you’re buying with) are a first-time buyer.
You can use our stamp duty calculator to work out your daughter's potential bill. It covers all parts of the UK.
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