Rates verified: 4 September 2026 · Sources: ATO
Australia · $15k/yr, $50k lifetime
Estimate your FHSSS releasable amount, including deemed associated earnings at the current SIC rate.
FHSSS estimate
Earnings are estimated by compounding each year's contribution at the SIC rate above from the year it was made. This is a simplified annual model, not the ATO's exact daily-compounding calculation — treat it as indicative.
Two limits apply together: no more than $15,000 of your voluntary contributions in any single financial year counts toward FHSSS release, and no more than $50,000 counts across your entire lifetime. Contributing $15,000 a year for four years reaches the $50,000 lifetime cap; contributing more than $15,000 in one year only has the excess ignored for FHSSS purposes, it isn't lost from your super, it just doesn't count toward this scheme. Employer Super Guarantee contributions never count — only your own voluntary contributions do.
Because your contributions sit inside your super fund, earning whatever return your fund's investment option actually delivers, the ATO doesn't track your real investment performance for FHSSS purposes. Instead, it applies a deemed rate — the shortfall interest charge (SIC) rate, which is the 90-day Bank Accepted Bill rate plus a 3% margin, compounded daily — to work out "associated earnings" on each contribution from the date it was made, per the ATO's First Home Super Saver scheme rules. You receive this deemed amount on release, not your fund's actual return, which can work in your favour or against it depending on how your fund performed.
Non-concessional (after-tax) contributions and their earnings come out of the scheme completely tax-free. Concessional contributions (salary sacrifice, or personal contributions you've claimed a deduction for) and their earnings are included in your assessable income when withdrawn and taxed at your marginal rate, but you get a 30% non-refundable tax offset against that amount. In practice, this means if your marginal rate is 30% or below, there's little to no extra tax on the concessional portion; above 30%, you pay the difference.
The scheme lets first home buyers use their own super contributions, plus a government-set deemed return, as a legitimate way to build a house deposit inside the concessional super environment. It's only available for a home you intend to live in — generally moving in within 12 months of settlement and living there for at least 6 months, with some extension provisions. It's not available for an investment property, and it's not a way to access your super early for any other purpose.
Contributing to FHSSS locks the money inside super until you're ready to buy (or until you meet another condition of release), and concessional contributions are taxed at 15% going in rather than your marginal rate, which is the scheme's core appeal for most people saving a deposit. Whether it beats simply saving outside super depends on your marginal tax rate, how soon you plan to buy, and whether locking funds away suits your situation. If you're also carrying a HECS debt, see the HECS-HELP Repayment Calculator for how that debt affects your take-home pay in the meantime.
Salary sacrificing $10,000 a year for three years, at a 7.43% SIC rate, gives eligible contributions of $30,000. Using this calculator's simplified annual compounding model, the first year's $10,000 grows for three compounding periods, the second year's for two, and the third year's for one — producing total associated earnings of roughly $4,680 on top of the $30,000 in contributions, for a gross releasable amount around $34,680. On withdrawal, if your marginal rate sits at or below 30%, the 30% offset against the concessional component leaves little to no extra tax; above 30%, you pay roughly the difference between your marginal rate and 30% on the concessional contributions and earnings.
You need to apply to the ATO for FHSSS determination before signing a contract for your home, not after — the ATO estimates your maximum releasable amount, then you request release, and funds are typically paid out within about 15-25 business days. Because of this lead time, most buyers apply for release well before they expect to need the deposit, rather than leaving it until the week before exchange.
See the Super Guarantee Calculator for your compulsory employer contributions, the Super Balance Projection Calculator for long-run growth, and the Stamp Duty Calculator for the upfront cost once you've saved your deposit.