First Home Super Saver Calculator

The First Home Super Saver Calculator estimates how much you can build and release under Australia's First Home Super Saver (FHSS) scheme by making voluntary super contributions. Enter an annual voluntary contribution, the number of years, your marginal tax rate, and a deemed earnings rate, and the tool shows total contributions after the scheme caps, the balance with deemed earnings, the estimated tax saved, and how much of the cap you have used.

How It Works

1. Apply the yearly cap. Only the first AUD 15,000 of voluntary contributions in each financial year counts toward the scheme, no matter how much you actually contribute.
2. Apply the total cap. Eligible contributions stop accumulating at AUD 50,000 in total. If your yearly amounts would pass that ceiling, later years are trimmed until the cap is reached.
3. Grow the balance at the deemed rate. Each year's contribution is added to the balance, then the balance is increased by the deemed earnings rate you enter. The default rate of 7.38 percent reflects the shortfall interest charge rate the ATO uses to calculate associated earnings on released amounts.
4. Estimate the tax saving. Concessional contributions are taxed at 15 percent inside super instead of your marginal rate, so the saving is your eligible contributions multiplied by the difference between your marginal rate and 15 percent.

Formula

$\text{Eligible per year}=\min(\text{Annual contribution},\ 15{,}000)$

$\text{Balance}=\text{Contributions accumulated year by year, each year increased by the deemed rate}$

$\text{Deemed earnings}=\text{Balance}-\text{Total eligible contributions}$

$\text{Tax saved}=\text{Total eligible contributions}\times(\text{Marginal rate}-15\%)$

Where a year-by-year contribution list is used instead, non-concessional contributions are released in full and concessional contributions are released at 85 percent of their eligible amount, reflecting the 15 percent tax already paid inside the fund.

Input Parameters

| Parameter | Unit | Typical range | What it means | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Annual contribution | AUD per year | Above 0, capped at 15,000 per year | Voluntary contributions you plan to make each year | | Years | Years | 1 and up | How many financial years you contribute for | | Marginal tax rate | Percent | Default 32.5 | Your marginal income tax rate, used for the saving estimate | | Deemed earnings rate | Percent per year | Default 7.38 | The rate applied to estimate associated earnings on the release amount | | Per-year contributions (alternative entry) | AUD per year, split | Concessional and non-concessional | A year-by-year list of before-tax and after-tax contributions for the detailed method |

Only voluntary contributions count: compulsory employer Superannuation Guarantee payments are not eligible for release under the scheme.

Worked Example

A saver salary-sacrifices AUD 10,000 a year for 3 years, has a marginal tax rate of 32.5 percent including the Medicare levy, and uses the default deemed rate of 7.38 percent.

1. Eligible contributions: AUD 10,000 a year is under the AUD 15,000 yearly cap, so all of it counts. Total over 3 years: AUD 30,000.
2. Balance growth: after year 1, AUD 10,000 grows to AUD 10,738. After year 2, AUD 20,738 grows to about AUD 22,269. After year 3, AUD 32,269 grows to about AUD 34,650.
3. Deemed earnings: about AUD 34,650 minus AUD 30,000 = about AUD 4,650.
4. Tax saved: AUD 30,000 x (32.5 percent minus 15 percent) = AUD 30,000 x 17.5 percent = AUD 5,250.
5. Cap used: AUD 30,000 of the AUD 50,000 total cap = 60 percent, so the cap is not yet reached.

Contributing AUD 20,000 a year instead would not help beyond the caps: each year is trimmed to AUD 15,000 and the total stops at AUD 50,000 after the fourth year, with an estimated tax saving of AUD 11,000 at a 37 percent marginal rate.

Interpreting the Results

The balance figure is the modelled maximum release amount in this tool's simple workflow: your eligible contributions plus deemed earnings. In the detailed per-year method, the release is the sum of 100 percent of eligible non-concessional contributions and 85 percent of eligible concessional contributions, plus associated earnings calculated by the ATO at release time using the shortfall interest charge rate.

The tax saving is the real prize of the scheme and comes from the rate difference, not from the earnings. A saver on a 32.5 percent marginal rate keeps 17.5 cents more of every concessional dollar than if it had been taxed as salary; a saver on a 45 percent rate keeps 30 cents more. If your marginal rate is close to 15 percent, the saving shrinks toward zero and the scheme is mostly a forced-savings device. Watch the cap percentage: once you reach 100 percent of the AUD 50,000 cap, extra voluntary contributions no longer increase your release amount.

Choosing the Right Tool

• Use the Mortgage Calculator once the deposit is released, to turn the home price, your deposit, and a loan term into monthly repayments.
• Use the Superannuation Calculator to see the long-term retirement effect of the same voluntary contributions if they stay in super instead of being released.
• Use the Salary Sacrifice Calculator to model how salary-sacrifice contributions change take-home pay and tax year by year, which is how most FHSS concessional contributions are made.

Limitations

Eligibility rules matter and are not checked here: you must be a first home buyer who has never owned property in Australia, be 18 or over, and meet the occupation and timing rules after release, including signing a contract within the required window. The deemed earnings in this estimate use the single rate you enter, while the ATO calculates associated earnings daily at the shortfall interest charge rate from the start of the financial year after contribution. Release amounts are also affected by tax withheld on the concessional portion when it is paid out. Caps, rates, and scheme settings change over time, so verify current figures with the ATO before contributing.

Questions

How much can I release under the FHSS scheme?

Up to AUD 50,000 of eligible voluntary contributions in total, counting at most AUD 15,000 per financial year, plus associated earnings. Concessional contributions are released at 85 percent of their eligible amount because 15 percent tax was paid inside the fund.

Do my employer's compulsory contributions count?

No. Superannuation Guarantee contributions your employer must make are not voluntary and cannot be released under FHSS. Only voluntary concessional contributions, such as salary sacrifice and deductible personal contributions, and voluntary non-concessional contributions count.

Is the tax saving guaranteed?

The saving depends on your marginal rate staying above 15 percent and on the contributions being concessional. If your income drops, or a contribution is not eligible for a deduction you claimed, the saving will be smaller than the estimate.

Sources and Methodology

The scheme settings modelled here - the AUD 15,000 per year and AUD 50,000 total eligible contribution caps, the 85 percent release of concessional contributions, and associated earnings at the shortfall interest charge rate - follow the First Home Super Saver scheme rules published by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). The default deemed rate of 7.38 percent is the rate used in the tool's calculation engine. Confirm current caps and your eligibility on the ATO website before relying on an estimate.