How can I use my super to buy my first home?

The First Home Super Saver (FHSS) Scheme allows first home buyers to make contributions to their super, then withdraw those contributions for a deposit to buy or build a home to live in.

The scheme aims to make it easier to buy or build your first home, but there are rules around who can use the FHSS and when you can get your money out.

How FHSS works How FHSS works

If you're unable to buy a home in the 12-month period, you'll generally be given a 12-month extension by the ATO. If you don't buy a home within 24 months, you'll need to add the money back to your super or keep it and pay extra tax.

How much can you put towards your deposit?

You can add voluntary contributions or extra savings to your super and then take out up to $15,000 of contributions made in any one financial year (up to a maximum of $50,000 across all years starting 1 July 2017) when you're ready to buy.

And if you're buying together with someone else, they can also add to their superannuation and take out $50,000 towards the deposit – so up to $100,000 for a couple.

Be mindful that there are limits to how much you can contribute to your super each year, and if you go above these limits, you may pay extra tax.

How to use the FHSS Scheme

If you are eligible and want to withdraw money from your super for a home deposit, here's what you need to do.

  1. Make salary sacrifice or voluntary contributions (after-tax) to your super account
  2. Use your myGov account to apply to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) for a FHSS determination
  3. When you receive your determination, apply to the ATO to release your super
  4. The ATO will tell your super fund to release your super contributions
  5. Your super fund will send the ATO your money
  6. The ATO will withhold tax, then pay you the remaining amount
  7. You get a home loan and buy or build a home within 24 months (includes initial 12-month period and 12-month extension from the ATO, if applicable) from the date you made your release request
  8. You notify the ATO within 90 days of entering into contract. If you don't buy a home within 24 months, you'll need to add the money back to your super or keep it and pay extra tax.

Am I eligible?

Check these eligibility criteria to see if you can use the First Home Super Saver scheme. You must:

  • Be aged 18 years or older
  • Have not previously owned property or vacant land in Australia (including investment properties)
  • Have not already bought a house using this scheme
  • Be planning to live there as soon as possible after purchase for at least 6 of the first 12 months you own it
  • Have your name on the title of the property you purchase
  • Have made voluntary contributions to your super.

You must buy a property (or enter into a contract for construction of a property on vacant land) in Australia, not a mobile home (e.g. caravan, RV motorhome, houseboat, tiny house).

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Get advice

A financial adviser can help you understand how to use the First Home Super Saver Scheme in your personal circumstances and how to get the most from your super.

Find out more

How to make first home super saver contributions

There are two types of contributions you can put towards your home deposit with the super saver scheme:

  1. Salary sacrifice contributions
  2. Voluntary contributions from your take-home pay or savings.

Talk to your payroll office to start salary sacrificing, or use your BPAY® details in Member Online to make after-tax voluntary contributions.

The super contributions you put in the FHSS scheme will also increase by an interest rate set by the Government. These 'deemed investment earnings' are meant to represent investment returns on your contributions.

How much you can withdraw

The type of contributions you make will affect how much money you can withdraw from your account. You can withdraw up to:

  • 85% of eligible before-tax contributions
  • 100% of eligible after-tax contributions
  • 100% of the deemed earnings.

Get started with the first home super saver

Make voluntary contributions with your details from Member Online or contact your payroll office to set up salary sacrifice.


View your contribution details

What else to consider

While contributing to your super might help you save money for a house deposit, it may not be right for everyone.

  • Withdrawing super for a home deposit may impact your retirement savings in your super account.
  • Depending on whether you make before-tax or after-tax contributions, you might not be allowed to withdraw the full amount to use for your deposit.
  • Your contributions earn a deemed rate of interest set by the Government, rather than earning the full investment returns your super fund is making.
  • When the ATO sends you your FHSS money, they charge tax on your before-tax contributions and deemed earnings.
  • You will need to include the FHSS amounts you receive from the ATO as income when you fill in your yearly tax return.

Whether or not you are eligible for the first home scheme, your super is likely to be one of your main sources of income in retirement, so it's worth considering whether you could afford to make regular contributions to your super anyway.

To learn more the FHSS scheme, visit the ATO website.

Super saver FAQs Show all Hide all

We do not charge any additional fees for you to participate in the First Home Super Saver Scheme.

However, remember that you pay tax on salary sacrifice contributions, and that the ATO taxes your money again before they send it to you, so the amount you receive from the scheme is not the same amount you contributed to your super. This is due to the difference between the rates for contributions tax and income tax.

Your contributions to your super for your home deposit get taxed differently depending on how you make the contribution:

  • Salary sacrifice contributions (before-tax) get taxed at 15% when you contribute them to your super account.
  • Voluntary contributions from your take-home pay (after-tax) have already been taxed, so they don't get taxed again when you contribute them to super.

When the ATO sends you your super saver money, they charge tax on your before-tax contributions and deemed earnings at your marginal tax rate, less a 30% offset. (If the ATO can't estimate your expected marginal tax rate, they charge tax of 17% instead.)

No extra tax is charged on your after-tax contributions.

The ATO will send you a payment summary showing how much tax you paid. You need to include this amount, and the amount you received from them, in your annual tax return for the year you request your money.

No. Although the ATO would deduct money from your first home super saver amount if you had any "outstanding Commonwealth debts", this doesn't include higher education or trade support loans (e.g. HECS, HELP, SFSS, TSL).

Commonwealth debts that would be deducted include if you have not paid enough for your income tax, business tax, child support, or Centrelink debts.

Under the FHSS scheme, if you don't end up buying a home within the 12-month timeframe, you'll generally be given a 12-month extension by the ATO. If you don't buy a home within 24 months, you'll need to add the money back to your super or keep it and pay extra tax.

If you decide to keep the before-tax contributions, the ATO will charge a FHSS scheme tax. This is equal to 20% of your assessable amounts released under the first home saver scheme.

If you are eligible and you want to buy a home with someone else, you can apply to access your super contributions even if the other person is not eligible for the scheme.


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