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First Home Super Saver Scheme: The Complete 2026–27 Guide
The FHSS scheme lets eligible first home buyers release up to $50,000 of voluntary super, plus earnings, toward a first home. Here's who qualifies, what counts, and the exact order of steps to get the money out.
The First Home Super Saver (FHSS) scheme is one of the most useful tools a first home buyer has, and one of the most misunderstood. In 2024–25, 18,300 release requests were made under it, worth $364.4 million (ATO, 2025). Plenty more are eligible and never use it, often because the mechanics look confusing from the outside.
This guide walks the whole scheme end to end: who qualifies, what money counts, how much you save, and the exact order of steps to get it out. It's one pathway among several, so if you're weighing your options first, start with our guide to all the ways super can and can't fund a home purchase. If the FHSS is the one you want to understand properly, read on.
- The FHSS scheme lets eligible first home buyers release up to $50,000 of voluntary super contributions ($15,000 in any one year), plus deemed earnings, toward a first home (ATO, 2026).
- You must be 18 or older to request a release, have never owned property in Australia (unless hardship rules apply), and never have used the scheme before. Eligibility is per person, so a couple can each release their own $50,000.
- The order matters: contribute, request a determination, request one release, receive it in about 15 to 20 days, then sign within the 12-month window (the ATO extends it to 24 automatically).
- Only voluntary contributions count. Your employer's compulsory super and your existing balance never do.
How does the First Home Super Saver Scheme work?
In short: you make extra, voluntary contributions into your super, then later apply to pull most of them back out, plus a set amount of earnings, to put toward your first home. You can release up to $15,000 of eligible contributions from any one financial year and $50,000 in total across all years (ATO, 2026). These caps aren't indexed, so they're the same in 2026–27 as before.
The appeal is tax, not magic. Money salary-sacrificed into super is taxed at 15% going in, rather than your marginal rate, and the scheme was built so first home buyers could use that concession while saving. What comes out is your contributions plus an ATO-calculated earnings amount, taxed on the way out at a reduced rate (covered below).
One rule governs everything else here: only voluntary contributions count. Your employer's compulsory super and the balance you've already built up can't be touched. The rest of this guide is really about how to add the right money, then get it out cleanly.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Yearly contribution cap | $15,000 of eligible voluntary contributions |
| Lifetime cap | $50,000 (per person, so $100,000 for a couple) |
| Released amount | 100% of non-concessional + 85% of concessional contributions, plus deemed earnings |
| Tax on release | Your marginal rate, less a 30% offset |
| Time to receive | About 15 to 20 days |
| Time to sign a contract | 12 months from release, auto-extended to 24 |
| Notify the ATO | Within 90 days of signing |
Who is eligible for the FHSS scheme?
You qualify if you're 18 or older, have never owned property in Australia, and haven't used the scheme before. You must be 18 to request a determination or a release, though you can start contributing earlier (ATO, 2026). And you must plan to live in the home you buy.
The prior-ownership test is broad. "Never owned property in Australia" includes an investment property, vacant land, commercial property, some leases of land, or a company-title interest in land, not just a home you've lived in (firsthomebuyers.gov.au, 2026). There's one relief valve: if you qualify under the financial-hardship rules, past ownership needn't rule you out.
Two things surprise people. First, eligibility is assessed per person, not per couple. Couples, siblings or friends can each release their own eligible contributions toward the same property, and if one of you is ineligible through past ownership, it doesn't stop the others (ATO, 2026). Second, you don't need to be an Australian citizen or resident to use the scheme. The full set of edge cases, including how the hardship exception works, is in our FHSS eligibility guide.
There are property limits too. The scheme buys an established home or builds a new one in Australia; vacant land counts only if you contract to construct a home on it, and houseboats and motor homes don't qualify (ATO, 2026).
What contributions count, and what doesn't?
Only voluntary contributions are releasable, and they come in two forms. Salary-sacrifice contributions are pre-tax amounts you arrange with your employer, agreeing to divert part of your salary into super (firsthomebuyers.gov.au, 2026). Personal voluntary contributions are amounts you pay in yourself from after-tax money.
How much of each you get back depends on the tax treatment. You can release 100% of personal contributions you have not claimed a tax deduction for (non-concessional), and 85% of contributions you have claimed a deduction for, which includes salary sacrifice (concessional) (ATO, 2026). The 15% held back on concessional amounts is the contributions tax already paid going in.
What never counts: your employer's compulsory super guarantee contributions, and any spouse contributions (ATO, 2026). One timing detail catches people out: contributions count on the date they land in your super fund, not the date they show on your payslip (firsthomebuyers.gov.au, 2026). If you're contributing near 30 June to use a year's cap, that gap matters.
Your FHSS contributions also sit inside your normal contribution caps. From 1 July 2026, the concessional (before-tax) cap is $32,500, and salary sacrifice counts toward it alongside your employer's super (ATO, 2026).
How much can you actually save?
The saving is the tax difference, not a government top-up. Pre-tax contributions are taxed at 15% going in instead of your marginal rate. When you release the money, the assessable amount is taxed at your marginal rate including the Medicare levy, less a 30% offset (ATO, 2026). So on a 39% marginal rate, only 9% is withheld on the way out. The higher your income, the larger the wedge.
Because eligibility is per person, a couple can release up to $100,000 between them. What you can't do is turn a small balance into a large deposit: the scheme releases only what you voluntarily added, plus the ATO's calculated earnings, never your existing super.
We've kept the numbers light here on purpose. The worked FHSS tax examples by income show what the offset is actually worth at different salaries, and the FHSS calculator lets you run your own figures. For the honest verdict on whether it beats a savings account, see is the FHSS worth it.
How to apply, step by step
The sequence, in order: contribute, request a determination, sign or prepare to sign, request one release, then wait about 15 to 20 days for the money. Getting the order wrong is the main way people trip up, so here's each step.
- Contribute your voluntary amounts across one or more years, staying within the $15,000-a-year and $50,000-lifetime caps. Use your super fund's statements to track them, not your payslips (ATO, 2026).
- Request an FHSS determination through myGov, linked to the ATO. This tells you your maximum releasable amount. You must request it before your property contract is completed and ownership transfers to you (ATO, 2026). You can request more than one determination, but you only ever get one release.
- Request your release. You can have only one active release request (ATO, 2026). Your name must be on the title of the property you buy.
- Wait for the money. It should take approximately 15 to 20 days to receive your FHSS amount if there are no issues with the request (firsthomebuyers.gov.au, 2026). The ATO releases it to you, not to the seller.
The detailed walk-through of the determination and release screens, and what to check on each, is in our guide to how the FHSS determination and release work.
When must you buy, and by when must you tell the ATO?
Once you've received a release, you have 12 months from the release request to sign a contract to buy or build. The ATO generally grants a further 12-month extension automatically, so the effective maximum is 24 months (ATO, 2026). If instead you sign a contract first, you then have 90 days from the contract date to lodge your release request (firsthomebuyers.gov.au, 2026).
Here's a point where older guides are simply wrong. You must notify the ATO within 90 days of signing your contract. The often-quoted "28 days" now applies only to determinations made before 15 September 2024; for anyone applying today, it's 90 days (ATO, 2026). If a page still tells you 28 days or a "14-day" window, it predates the rule change. The traps around these deadlines, and what happens if you miss them, are covered in the FHSS deadlines and traps to know first.
The traps that catch people
The biggest one is irreversibility. Once the ATO begins processing your release, you can't cancel or amend the request, even to a lower amount (ATO, 2026). So request the amount you actually want, once you're confident you'll buy.
Two more worth knowing. The released amount can be offset against money you owe the Commonwealth, such as an overdue income tax debt, before it reaches you (ATO, 2026). And if you release the money but don't sign in time, even with the extension, you either re-contribute the assessable amount to super or pay FHSS tax of 20% on it (ATO, 2026). Neither is a disaster, but both are avoidable with a bit of timing.
Can you combine the FHSS with other schemes?
Yes. You can combine the FHSS with other federal or state home-buying schemes without affecting your FHSS eligibility (firsthomebuyers.gov.au, 2026). In practice, your released super can form part of the minimum deposit under the Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme, the program renamed from the First Home Guarantee on 1 October 2025 (firsthomebuyers.gov.au, 2026). Under that scheme, eligible first home buyers can buy with as little as a 5% deposit and no Lenders Mortgage Insurance, and your FHSS money can make up part of that 5%. It can also sit alongside state first-home grants and stamp-duty concessions.
The one thing to manage is sequencing, because release timing, contract dates and lender requirements all have to line up. We cover how to stack them in combining FHSS with the 5% Deposit Scheme and grants.
The bottom line
- The FHSS releases up to $50,000 of voluntary contributions plus deemed earnings; the benefit is the tax wedge, not free money.
- Eligibility is per person (18+, no prior Australian property bar the hardship exception, first-time user), so couples get two caps.
- Follow the order: contribute, get a determination, request one release, receive it in about 15 to 20 days, then buy inside the 12-month window.
- Use the current rules: 90 days to notify the ATO, not the outdated 28; no "14-day" window.
- Only voluntary contributions count, and a release can't be cancelled once processing starts.
If you're eligible and saving anyway, the FHSS is usually worth understanding before you commit money elsewhere. Confirm you qualify in the eligibility guide, then see what it's worth for you with the worked tax examples. And if you're weighing it against buying property through super another way, step back to every super-to-home pathway.
Frequently asked questions
Who is eligible for the FHSS scheme?
You must be 18 or older to request a release, have never owned property in Australia (unless the financial-hardship rules apply), and never have used the scheme before (ATO, 2026). Eligibility is assessed per person, so each co-buyer applies on their own record, and citizenship or residency isn't required.
How much can I release under the FHSS scheme?
Up to $15,000 of eligible voluntary contributions from any one financial year, and $50,000 in total across all years, plus an ATO-calculated earnings amount (ATO, 2026). The caps aren't indexed, so they're unchanged for 2026–27. A couple can each release their own $50,000 toward the same home.
How long does an FHSS release take?
Approximately 15 to 20 days to receive the money if there are no issues with your request (Housing Australia, 2026). The ATO releases the amount to you, not to the seller, so factor that timing into your settlement planning rather than relying on it at the last minute.
Can my employer's super contributions be released?
No. Only voluntary contributions count: salary sacrifice and personal contributions you make yourself. Compulsory employer super guarantee contributions and spouse contributions can't be released under the scheme (ATO, 2026), and neither can the balance you've already accumulated.
What happens if I don't buy a home in time?
You have 12 months from your release request to sign, and the ATO generally extends that by up to 12 more months automatically (ATO, 2026). If you still don't sign, you either re-contribute the assessable amount to super or pay FHSS tax of 20% on it. You won't lose the money, but you'll face one of those two outcomes.
Can I use the FHSS with the 5% Deposit Scheme (formerly the First Home Guarantee) or state grants?
Yes. The FHSS combines with other federal and state home-buying schemes without affecting your FHSS eligibility (Housing Australia, 2026). Your released super can count toward the minimum deposit under the Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme and sit alongside state grants and concessions.
Sources
- ATO, First home super saver scheme, retrieved 2026-07-22, https://www.ato.gov.au/individuals-and-families/super-for-individuals-and-families/super/withdrawing-and-using-your-super/early-access-to-super/first-home-super-saver-scheme
- ATO, First home super saver (FHSS) scheme – the essentials (NAT 75457-11.2025), November 2025, retrieved 2026-07-22, https://iorder.com.au/publication/Download.aspx?ProdID=75457-11.2025
- ATO, Eligibility for the FHSS scheme, retrieved 2026-07-22, https://www.ato.gov.au/individuals-and-families/super-for-individuals-and-families/super/withdrawing-and-using-your-super/early-access-to-super/first-home-super-saver-scheme/eligibility-for-the-fhss-scheme
- ATO, Contributions caps — key superannuation rates and thresholds, retrieved 2026-07-22, https://www.ato.gov.au/tax-rates-and-codes/key-superannuation-rates-and-thresholds/contributions-caps
- ATO, First Home Super Saver scheme data — usage, updated 14 October 2025, retrieved 2026-07-22, https://www.ato.gov.au/about-ato/research-and-statistics/in-detail/super-statistics/early-release/first-home-super-saver-scheme-data/usage-of-the-fhss-scheme
- Housing Australia, First Home Super Saver (FHSS) Scheme Fact Sheet (October 2025), retrieved 2026-07-22, https://firsthomebuyers.gov.au/first-home-super-saver-scheme
- Housing Australia, Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme (firsthomebuyers.gov.au), settings effective 1 October 2025, retrieved 2026-07-22, https://firsthomebuyers.gov.au/australian-government-5-percent-deposit-scheme
— Eleanor Hayes, Editor, knest.ai
This article is general information for Australian home buyers, not personal financial, credit, legal or tax advice, and not a property valuation. Rules and rates change; figures are current at 23 July 2026. Seek advice tailored to your circumstances from the relevant licensed professional, and verify tax specifics with the ATO or a registered tax agent. knest.ai is an AI property-intelligence platform that supports buyer judgment; it doesn't replace a broker, conveyancer or solicitor, building and pest inspector, valuer, or buyer's agent.
