Save your deposit inside super, where it goes in pre-tax at 15% instead of your marginal rate — then pull it back out to buy your first home. The 15% lever, borrowed for a few years before retirement.
1The idea
The catch with super is that it's locked until 60. The First Home Super Saver (FHSS) scheme is the one exception: you make extra, voluntary contributions, and later withdraw them — plus their earnings — to buy your first home.
Because those contributions go in before tax (taxed at 15%, not your 32%+ rate), more of every pay packet lands in the deposit pot than it would in a bank account. You're using super's tax shelter to save a deposit faster — without touching your employer super or existing balance.
Same engine as salary-sacrificing into super — just earmarked for a house instead of retirement.
2Who it's for
First-home buyers — you've never owned property in Australia (some exceptions for hardship).
You're a few years from buying — long enough for the tax saving to build, short enough that locking it up is fine.
You pay a marginal rate above 15% (earning over ~$45k) — the bigger the gap, the more you gain.
Buying as a couple? You each have your own limit, so together you can run two FHSS pots into the one purchase.
3The worked example
You salary-sacrifice $15,000 a year for 3 years at a 32% marginal rate, then withdraw for your deposit:
Deposit via FHSS~$40,170
Same pay saved in a bank account~$31,440
FHSS gets you~$8,730 more
Same money out of your pay — but the bank version is taxed on the way in and on its interest, while the FHSS version goes in at 15% and earns inside super. Slide your own numbers below.
4Try it on your numbers
First Home Super Saver vs the bank
Per year$15,000
Save for3 yrs
Your tax rate32%
You put in $45,000 over 3 years.
Deposit via FHSS (in super)$40,170
pre-tax in (15%), deemed earnings ~7%, withdrawal tax = your rate − 30%
Deposit in a bank account$31,464
after-tax in, ~4% interest taxed at your rate
FHSS gets you$8,706 more
You only withdraw these voluntary contributions + earnings (max $50k). Your employer super and existing balance stay locked — this isn't dipping into your retirement.
First home only · max $15k counted per year, $50k total · assumes salary-sacrifice (pre-tax) contributions · ATO deemed earnings (~7%), not actual market returns · request an ATO determination before you sign a contract, and you get one release.
5The honest caveats
Determination first, contract second. Apply to the ATO to release the money before you sign — get the order wrong and you can miss out. You get one release.
Caps apply. Only $15k of voluntary contributions counts each year, $50k in total — and these count toward your $30k concessional cap alongside employer super.
Earnings are "deemed", not real. The ATO credits a set rate, not your fund's actual return — so it won't track a hot market year up or down.
Change your mind and don't buy? The money stays in super (or comes out with tax). And it lifts your deposit, not your borrowing power — it won't fix an unaffordable price.
6How to action it
Confirm you qualify (never owned Australian property) and check your fund accepts FHSS contributions.
Set up salary sacrifice for the extra amount — or contribute personally and lodge a Notice of Intent to claim it.
When you're ready to buy, request the FHSS determination in myGov/ATO, then the release — before you sign a contract.
General educational information, not personal tax or financial advice. FHSS has strict eligibility, caps and ordering rules — confirm your specifics with a registered tax agent or at ato.gov.au before contributing or signing. Figures are estimates for FY2025-26.