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8 good reasons to save into an ASP account
1. The interest paid on an ASP account can be as high as 5%.
The deposit interest paid on an ASP account is 1%. In addition, you will get an additional interest of 4% for the year you start saving, as well as the next five years. An ASP account has the best deposit interest compared to any other savings account. The interest is exempt from tax. The condition for the tax-exemption and the additional interest is that you use your savings for buying a home and that you take out a home loan.
2. When you take out an ASP loan, you will be granted an interest subsidy from the state free of charge for 10 years.
The interest subsidy will hedge you against rising interest rates. If the interest rate level rises, the state will pay 70% of the interest exceeding 3.8%. One day, this may prove more valuable than you can imagine.
3. You will get a free guarantee from the state
Once you have saved 10% of the purchase price of the home, you don’t need other security for your loan than your home. Your parents, for example, don’t need to guarantee your ASP loan. The free state guarantee only applies to the ASP loan, but not to any additional loans.
Read more about the state guarantee for home loans
4. Customers aged 15-44 can open an ASP account
Age is not a problem. You can open an ASP account once you are 15 and start saving from your first summer job earnings. Even if you are 44, it’s not too late to open an ASP account.
5. You can deposit money received as a gift to your ASP account
Once you have reached the age of 18, your parents or relatives can support your home-buying project. If you have received larger donations, deposit them in your ASP account during the first 5 years of saving. This way you will get the maximum additional interest and you benefit the most. Please note, however, that the money you deposit before you turn 18 must be money you have earned yourself.
6. You can buy your first home alone or with a partner.
With the help of an ASP account, you can buy your own home by saving only 10% of its price. You can buy the home alone or together with someone else, as long as your share of the home is at least 50%. Both of you can have ASP accounts of your own in which you save, and you can take out the loan jointly or separately.
Read more about joint home loans
7. You decide the saving period
The minimum saving period is 2 years, which means you can buy your own home quite quickly. The condition is that you make a deposit of 150 to 4,500 euros at a time to your ASP account in at least eight calendar quarters and that you manage to save at least 10% of the home’s purchase price. There is no actual maximum saving period. You can open an ASP account when you reach the age of 15 and save gradually.
8. You won’t need to pay asset transfer tax
As a first-time home buyer, you don’t have to pay asset transfer tax, which is 2–4% of the home’s price. For example, if you buy an apartment worth 100,000 euros you will save 2,000 euros. The tax exemption applies to all first-time home buyers, not just ASP savers. Check from the Tax Administration’s website that you are eligible for the exemption.
