Many first-time buyers will benefit from new stamp duty exemptions but some still aren't sure if they qualify. Bernice Harrisonanswers their questions.

I'm divorced: do changes apply to me?

When we divorced my ex-wife kept the family home. I now have to buy a home of my own. Do the changes in stamp duty apply to me?

Divorced or legally separated people can be considered first-time buyers - and so exempt from stamp duty - in the following circumstances: if they have left their former marital home and do not retain any interest in the martial home; and, if immediately prior to the date of the decree of deed of separation, is not entitled to an interest in a house other than the marital home; and at the date of the decree or deed of separation, your separated or former spouse must be living in the house which was occupied by you both before your separation or divorce.

Do I pay duty if I rent out my first house?

I hope to buy an apartment but need to rent it out for perhaps the first two years to get a start on the mortgage. I am a first-time buyer, so will I have to pay stamp duty?

Renting out the apartment means that you are buying as an investor and so must pay stamp duty. The first-time buyer stamp duty exemption applies to people who are buying their home to live in - their principal private residence. If a first-time buyer rents the house within five years, Revenue will claim or "clawback" stamp duty.

A way around this might be for you to move in and to rent out the second bedroom (assuming you are thinking of a two-bed apartment!) - that way your income from the room, up to €7,620, will be exempt from income tax and you won't have to pay the stamp duty.

Will we still be considered first-timers?

Over a year ago my partner and I put down (first) a booking deposit on a house in a new development. Three weeks later we signed contracts and paid a deposit of €10,000. There was an 18-month completion time frame on the house but there is no way it will be completed by November. We now wish to pull out, as the changes in stamp duty mean we can probably afford a second-hand house in a more mature location. If we pull out of the sale, will we be still be first-time buyers?

It is unclear what you mean by pull out of the sale. Your solicitor is the best person to advise on the particulars of the contract you signed but it could be that, if the builder does not complete the house within the 18-month period, then the contract is effectively annulled or revoked, and you would be back to being a first-time buyer again.

Does inherited home rule me out?

Some years ago I inherited a house from my late father - so my name is on the deeds of a property. I now wish to sell up and buy something bigger. Am I a first-time buyer for stamp duty purposes, as I have never actually bought anything?

Yes. An inheritance is not regarded as a previous purchase and you will be considered as a first-time buyer for stamp duty.