How the scheme works in one pass
The First Home Super Saver scheme lets you make voluntary super contributions, salary sacrifice, personal deductible, or after-tax, and later release them (plus deemed earnings) for a first home deposit. The appeal is tax: pre-tax contributions are taxed at 15% going in instead of your marginal rate, and released amounts get a 30% offset against your marginal rate coming out. For someone in the 30% bracket, money makes the round trip at roughly 17% total tax instead of 32%: that difference is the deposit boost.
- Caps: $15,000 of eligible contributions per financial year, $50,000 total. Employer SG never counts.
- Releasable: 100% of after-tax contributions, 85% of pre-tax ones (the fund already took 15%).
- Earnings: deemed at the shortfall interest charge rate, currently 7.51%, not your fund's actual returns.
- Release tax: marginal rate + Medicare levy − 30% offset on the assessable amount, withheld by the ATO before you're paid.
Worked example
$15,000 a year salary-sacrificed for 3 years on a $90,000 salary, against a 4.5% savings account, using the same tested model as the calculator:
| Eligible contributions | $45,000 |
| Releasable at 85% | $38,250 |
| Deemed earnings (estimate) | $4,463 |
| Tax on release (2%) | −$854 |
| Net deposit released | $41,859 |
| Same net cost saved in the bank instead | $32,710 |
| FHSS advantage | $9,149 |
The advantage comes almost entirely from the tax wedge on the way in: sacrificing $15,000 only costs about $10,200 of take-home pay a year, yet $12,750 of it (plus deemed earnings) comes back out. The bank alternative saves those same after-tax dollars and earns interest that's also taxed. The higher your marginal rate, the bigger the wedge, and note that salary-sacrificed FHSS contributions still count toward your concessional cap and your HECS repayment income.
What this calculator assumes (read before relying on it)
- Deemed earnings are approximated. The ATO's calculation applies the daily SIC rate to each contribution from the day it lands; we compound annually treating each year's contributions as made mid-year, at the current 7.51% rate held constant. The rate resets quarterly, so a multi-year projection is an estimate by nature.
- Contributions are even and within one fund. Ordering rules (first-in first-out, non-concessional first when simultaneous) can change the split slightly for mixed strategies.
- The bank comparison taxes nothing on interest. In reality savings interest is taxed at your marginal rate, which makes the FHSS advantage larger than shown, we've kept the comparison conservative.
- Eligibility is on you: 18+, never held Australian property (individually assessed: a couple can each use it), one release per person, determination requested before any title transfers, and a contract signed within 12 months of release (or recontribute / pay 20% FHSS tax).
Frequently asked questions
Do I earn my fund's actual returns on FHSS money?
No. Deemed earnings apply regardless of what your super investments earned. In strong markets the deemed rate understates your fund's returns (the difference stays in super); in weak markets it can exceed them.
How is the released money taxed?
Only the assessable part is taxed: your concessional contributions plus all associated earnings. Non-concessional principal comes back tax-free. If the ATO can't estimate your marginal rate, it withholds 17%.
What happens if I don't buy a home after releasing?
You must either recontribute the amount into super or pay 20% FHSS tax on the assessable released amount. The 12-month window to sign a contract can be extended by the ATO by up to 12 more months.
Can my partner and I both use the scheme for the same home?
Yes, each up to their own maximums, and one partner having previously owned property doesn't disqualify the other.
Sources
Figures on this page come from the following primary sources. The date is when we last checked the page against the source.
- About FHSS release amounts (ATO), checked 25 August 2026.
- Eligibility for the FHSS scheme (ATO), checked 25 August 2026.
- Step 4: receiving your FHSS amount (ATO), checked 25 August 2026.
- Shortfall interest charge rates (ATO), checked 5 October 2026.
Related
Salary sacrifice calculator: the take-home cost of the contributions you'd make here. Sacrifice vs personal deductible contributions: which route to use for FHSS money. Concessional cap 2026-27: make sure FHSS contributions fit under it.
Figures current as at 5 October 2026. Scheme rules verified against the ATO's FHSS pages (published 8 July 2026) and the SIC rates page; see our methodology. General information only, not financial advice: the FHSS scheme has strict eligibility and timing rules, so check them against your situation before contributing.