First home super saver

Overview – First home super saver scheme

The First home super saver (FHSS) scheme was introduced by the Australian Government in the Federal Budget 2017–18.

The FHSS scheme allows you to save money for your first home inside your superannuation fund.

This will help first home buyers save faster with the concessional tax treatment of super.

About the First home super saver scheme

From 1 July 2017, you can make voluntary concessional and non-concessional contributions into super to save for your first home.

From 1 July 2018, you can then apply to release your voluntary contributions, along with associated earnings, to help you purchase your first home. You must meet the eligibility requirements to apply for the release of these amounts.

You can use this scheme if you are a first home buyer and both of the following apply:

Either live in the premises you are buying, or intend to as soon as practicable.
Intend to live in the property for at least six months within the first 12 months you own it, after it is practical to move in.

You can apply to have a maximum of $15,000 of your voluntary contributions from any one financial year included in your eligible contributions to be released under the FHSS scheme, up to a total of $30,000 contributions across all years. You will also receive an amount of earnings that relate to those contributions.

Important things to know

There are a number of important things you need to know if you plan to use the FHSS scheme:

You can only apply for release once.
Don’t sign your contract to purchase or construct your home until after we have released the first FHSS amount to you or you may be liable to pay FHSS tax.
After you have requested the release, it may take up to 25 business days for you to receive your money.
You have 12 months from the date the first FHSS amount is released to you, to do one of the following:
- sign a contract to purchase or construct your home – you must notify us within 28 days of signing the contract
- recontribute the assessable FHSS amount (less tax withheld) into your super fund and notify the ATO within 12 months of the first FHSS amount being released to you.
- If you don’t notify the ATO or you choose to keep the FHSS money, you will be subject to the FHSS tax. This is a flat tax equal to 20% of your assessable FHSS released amounts and not the total amount released.

Who is eligible

You can start making super contributions from any age. However, you can’t request a release of amounts under the FHSS scheme until you are 18 years old.

Also, you must have:

never owned property in Australia – this includes an investment property, vacant land, commercial property, a lease of land in Australia, or a company title interest in land in Australia (unless the Commissioner of Taxation determines that you have suffered a financial hardship)
not previously requested the Commissioner to issue a FHSS release authority in relation to the scheme.

Eligibility is assessed on an individual basis. This means that couples, siblings or friends can each access their own eligible FHSS contributions to purchase the same property. If any of you have previously owned a home, it will not stop anyone else who is eligible from applying.