The preferential mortgage program for IT specialists began operating in May last year, and significant changes were made to it in 2023. We tell you who can get this loan and under what conditions and how much you can expect.

IT mortgage is a program for employees in the information technology industry, which launched in May 2022, amid an increased outflow of young professionals abroad. So the authorities decided to motivate in-demand personnel to stay in Russia.

The base rate of preferential mortgages for IT specialists is 5%, but many banks further reduce it through their own subsidies.

At the same time, the lending conditions were and remain quite strict, so not all of those who work in the IT field can take advantage of the program.

Requirements for borrowers

1. Citizen of Russia from 18 to 50 years old inclusive.

2. Place of work under an employment contract – in an accredited IT⁠-⁠company (the organization is no longer required to apply tax benefits). The employer’s compliance with this criterion can be checked at State Services. If accreditation is not yet available, the company can apply for it online.

3. The average salary of a borrower under 36 years of age does not matter from the fall of 2023: if other conditions are met, the loan will be given to any IT specialist of this age.

But borrowers aged 36 years and older must meet certain salary requirements. If such a specialist works in a Moscow company, his income (for the last three months, before personal income tax is deducted) should be from 150 thousand rubles.

In other regions, the requirements are softer: for companies in cities with a population of over a million – from 120 thousand rubles, for others – from 70 thousand rubles.

This amount includes not only the salary at the main place of work, but also income from part-time work. The main thing is that all employing companies are accredited by the Ministry of Digital Development.

The location of the organization is also taken into account: if an IT specialist works remotely for a company registered in Moscow, then his salary should be at least 150 thousand rubles and it does not matter that he lives and wants to buy an apartment in Kurgan. But if an employee works in an officially registered branch of an organization, the salary requirements will be related to the address of the branch.

The program has no regional restrictions: IT specialists from any part of Russia can get a preferential mortgage.

IMPORTANT

The program rules do not have requirements for the applicant’s specialty or education. That is, any employee with a suitable salary (programmer, analyst, marketer, accountant, etc.) can get an IT mortgage.

The program also does not stipulate a certain length of service, but we must remember that the banks themselves look at this parameter. Typically, the required period of work in the last place is three months.

Credit terms

1. The rate under the program is up to 5% , at the discretion of the bank it can be reduced. For example, at VTB the base rate is lowered to 4% when conducting a remote transaction. Bank “Dom.RF” gives a rate of 4.4% when confirming employment and income with an extract from the Financial Markets Service, and when receiving a loan for construction from a house kit, it reduces it to 3.7% per annum. Sberbank offers its clients a rate of 4.1%, taking into account the discount for electronic registration.

If a specialist quits during the loan repayment and does not get a job within six months in another accredited IT organization, the rate will be increased according to the formula “ current key rate of the Central Bank + 2.5% (when purchasing finished or under construction housing) or + 4.5 % (mortgage for building a house).” The bank’s discount on the rate will remain the same. The interest rate can be increased only in the first five years of loan repayment.

The loan term when the borrower changes his place of work (no matter which company he moves to) remains the same.

Until February 2023, the requirements were stricter: you had to work until the end of the contract term, and find a new job in an accredited organization within three months.

EXAMPLE

Sberbank approved an IT mortgage for a new building at 4.1% in April 2023 for tester Ivan. The bank’s discount from the base rate of the program was 0.9%. In August, Ivan changed his field of activity. His new rate: (KS 12.5% ​​- bank discount) + 2.5% = 14.1%.

2. Maximum loan size for IT⁠-⁠mortgage:

A rate of up to 5% applies only to an amount that does not exceed the preferential limits – 18 million and 9 million rubles. The amount in the contract may be greater, but the remaining portion will have to pay market interest.

BY THE WAY

Sberbank clients have a relaxation in this regard. In August 2023, the bank increased the IT mortgage limit to 21 million rubles.

The total cost of real estate in million-plus areas should not exceed 30 million, and in other regions – 15 million rubles.

3. Down payment – at least 15%.

Maternity capital can be used as LP (or part of it), and for further repayment of the loan, a subsidy of 450 thousand rubles for families with many children can be used.

4. The maximum loan term is not established by the rules. Banks typically approve mortgages for periods of up to 30 years.

5. The contract for the purchase of residential real estate must be concluded before December 31, 2024.

What kind of housing can you buy?

The benefit is valid only on the primary housing market ; you cannot buy secondary properties under this state program.

An IT mortgage can be taken out for:

1. Apartments in buildings under construction and finished apartments from developers under agreements for participation in shared construction (DDU), assignment of rights of claim under DDU or purchase and sale.

In all cases, the seller or contractor must be either a legal entity or an inidual entrepreneur. Neither self-employed nor iniduals are eligible.

IMPORTANT

If there are no new buildings where you live, you can buy an apartment in another region of Russia or acquire land to build a house.

Since the spring of 2023, the program has been extended to finished housing from closed-end mutual investment funds (closed-end mutual investment funds).

2. Townhouses and inidual residential buildings within the boundaries of low-rise residential complexes from the developer (under the DDU or purchase and sale agreement).

3. A plot of land for building a house under a contract.

4. Payment for inidual construction under a contract.

When constructing or purchasing a residential building using a preferential IT mortgage, a number of additional requirements arise:

• the contractor must be a legal entity or inidual entrepreneur;
• the house must be suitable for year-round living, have an area of ​​60 to 300 sq. m. m and existing utilities (water, electricity, heating, sewerage);
• the land plot must belong to the categories of “settlement land” or “agricultural land with the right of permanent residence or registration”;
• the plot must be registered as the property.

Which banks issue mortgages for IT specialists

Applications for mortgages for IT specialists are accepted by banks participating in the “Preferential Mortgage for IT Specialists” program. The current list can be checked on the website of the program operator JSC Dom.RF; there are currently 54 organizations on it.

As a rule, when applying for a mortgage, banks require a passport, SNILS, income certificate in form 2-NDFL, a copy of the work book and employment contract.

In the case of an IT mortgage, you will also need a certificate from the organization confirming that it is included in the register of the Ministry of Digital Development.

Please check with your chosen bank for a complete list of documents.

Particulars

• You can only get an IT mortgage once.
• If a preferential mortgage for IT specialists is taken out by several co-borrowers, then only one of them can be an employee of an accredited company.
• The purchased property must be located in Russia.
• The population size by region, on which the maximum loan amount depends, is taken into account at the beginning of last year. That is, when applying for a mortgage in 2023, statistics as of January 1, 2022 are taken into account.
• You can also get an IT mortgage if the borrower already owns a home.
• It is currently not possible to refinance an old loan using a preferential IT mortgage. It will also not be possible to combine it with other federal mortgage programs for the purchase of one property.
• The bank has the right to refuse the borrower even if he complies with all the conditions of the program.
• If your employer loses accreditation from the Ministry of Digital Development, the preferential rate will still remain.