For solicitors

Is my customer’s purchase considered a qualifying property purchase?

To withdraw for a first-time home purchase, your customer must meet the following requirements:

  • Be a first-time home buyer;
  • Have a Lifetime ISA that has been open for at least 12 months when the withdrawal is made (this 12 months begins from the customer’s first successful deposit with us. If they transferred their Lifetime ISA to us then the start date is the date they opened their first Lifetime ISA);
  • Be buying a property in the UK which does not cost more than £450,000. (This applies to the full purchase price of the property, not just the share the customer is purchasing);
  • Be buying a property with a mortgage or regulated home purchase plan;
  • They must be living in the property at completion, or the earliest point that the property becomes habitable (exclusions apply to civil servants working overseas – please contact us for further information);
  • They must not have claimed, or intend to claim, a bonus from a Help to Buy ISA for the same residential property purchase.

If you are unsure on whether your customers’ specific situation meets this criteria set out by HMRC, please contact them directly for further guidance. Moneybox cannot provide you, or the customer, with legal or financial advice. You can find HMRC’s official guidance here.

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It's important you know

Capital at risk. All investing should be for the longer term. The value of your investments can go up and down, and you may get back less than you invest. Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and may be subject to change in the future.

A 25% government penalty applies if you withdraw money from a Lifetime ISA for any reason other than buying your first home (up to £450,000) or for retirement, and you may get back less than you paid into your Lifetime ISA.

Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.

Payments you make into your pension won’t be accessible until the minimum pension age (currently 55, increasing to age 57 from 2028). Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and may be subject to change in the future.

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