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The First Home Super Saver Scheme: caps and timing
FHSS caps are $15,000 a year and $50,000 in total. You need the determination before settlement and 90 days after signing to request release — not 14 days.
What the scheme releases, and what it does not
The First Home Super Saver scheme lets you release eligible voluntary superannuation contributions, plus deemed earnings on them, towards a first home deposit. Two caps apply: $15,000 of eligible voluntary contributions in any single financial year, and $50,000 in total across all years. Both are per person, so a couple can work towards $100,000 between them.
What you release is not the same as what you contributed. You can release 100 per cent of eligible non-concessional contributions, 85 per cent of eligible concessional contributions — because those were already taxed at 15 per cent inside the fund — plus associated earnings, which the ATO calculates as a notional amount at the shortfall interest charge rate rather than at your fund’s actual return.
The scheme does not release employer contributions and it does not touch the compulsory part of your balance. Only voluntary contributions count, and the annual limit is a hard edge: a $25,000 salary sacrifice in one year still only contributes $15,000 towards the scheme, with the excess locked in super until retirement.
The timing rule most guides still get wrong
Two changes took effect on 15 September 2024 and a great many published Australian guides still describe the position before them. You must request the FHSS determination before ownership of the property transfers to you, which generally means before settlement, rather than before you sign the contract. And where you sign first, you have 90 days from the contract date to request the determination, request the release and notify the ATO — not 14 days.
That is a genuine improvement for anyone buying at auction or on a short cooling-off period, because signing no longer disqualifies you on the spot. It is not, however, a licence to leave it late: once ownership of any real property has transferred to you, including vacant land, you can no longer request a determination at all.
After the release request there is a second deadline. You generally have 12 months to sign a contract to buy or build, and the ATO can allow up to another 12 months. Miss it without recontributing the money and additional FHSS tax applies to the amount released.
How the money actually arrives
The sequence is determination, then release request, then payment from your fund to the ATO, then from the ATO to your bank account with tax withheld along the way. It is a multi-party process and it does not run on your settlement calendar. Treat it as taking weeks rather than days, and never build a funds-to-complete position around FHSS money landing in the last week before settlement.
Contribution order matters too. The ATO applies contributions first-in first-out across financial years, and where a concessional and a non-concessional contribution arrive at the same time it treats the non-concessional one as made first — which maximises the release, because 100 per cent of it counts against 85 per cent of a concessional contribution. If you are planning contributions deliberately, know that before you set the salary sacrifice up.
The tax trade, in both directions
The appeal is the treatment on the way in. A salary sacrifice contribution is taxed at 15 per cent in the fund rather than at your marginal rate, so a taxpayer on 39 per cent including the Medicare levy is nominally ahead by the difference. On release, the concessional portion and the associated earnings are included in your assessable income with a 30 per cent tax offset applied against them.
The costs are advertised less. Voluntary concessional contributions count towards your annual concessional contributions cap, so check the current cap before you commit to an amount. Money inside super is not accessible if your plans change. And the interaction with study and training support loan repayment thresholds is a question for your tax agent, not your broker.
What a lender does with released FHSS money
Lenders care about two things: that the funds have arrived, and that the trail is clean. A release with ATO correspondence behind it and a matching, recognisably narrated credit in your account is straightforward evidence, and it is usually read as a positive signal, because it demonstrates a documented savings pattern rather than a windfall.
It does not automatically satisfy every lender’s genuine savings policy, and it does not change serviceability at all — a larger deposit lowers the loan and the loan-to-value ratio, but the assessment rate and the expense benchmark are unmoved. Where a government scheme deposit and FHSS money are being combined, the sequencing between the ATO, your solicitor and the lender is the part that most often goes wrong.
Using it alongside the other first home supports
FHSS is a federal superannuation measure and stacks with the other supports rather than competing with them. It can be used with the Australian Government 5 per cent Deposit Scheme, which since 1 October 2025 has had no income caps and no limit on places, and with Help to Buy. State stamp duty concessions are separate rules administered by state revenue offices and are unaffected by anything you do inside super.
The real planning question is usually whether the extra deposit is worth the illiquidity and the timing risk for your particular purchase date, not whether the scheme is generous. For a buyer twelve to thirty-six months out it frequently is. For someone hoping to exchange next month it usually is not.
Before you set up a salary sacrifice for this
Whether the scheme suits you depends on your marginal rate, your contributions cap headroom, your purchase timeframe and your other savings — a combination a registered tax agent or licensed financial adviser is the right person to weigh. What Azure Home Loans can tell you is how a lender will read the released funds and how the timing has to fit around exchange and settlement.
Everything above reflects the ATO’s published rules as at September 2026 and is general information, not tax or financial advice about your circumstances. Confirm the caps, the deadlines and your own eligibility on ato.gov.au before you contribute, because a contribution made on a wrong assumption cannot simply be withdrawn.
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FAQ
How much can I take out under the First Home Super Saver scheme?
Eligible voluntary contributions are capped at $15,000 in any single financial year and $50,000 in total, per person. Your release amount is 100 per cent of eligible non-concessional contributions, 85 per cent of eligible concessional contributions, and associated earnings calculated by the ATO at the shortfall interest charge rate.
Do I need the FHSS determination before I sign a contract?
No, and this is the rule most guides get wrong. Since 15 September 2024 you need the determination before ownership of the property transfers to you, which generally means before settlement. If you sign first, you have 90 days from the contract date to request the determination, request release and notify the ATO.
Is it 90 days to request an FHSS release, or 14?
Ninety days from the contract date to request the determination, request the release and notify the ATO. The 14-day rule applied before 15 September 2024 and still appears in a large number of Australian guides and lender explainers. Check the publication date on anything you read about this scheme.
How long does an FHSS release take to reach my bank account?
Longer than most buyers expect, because the money moves from your fund to the ATO and then to you with tax withheld along the way. Plan in weeks rather than days. Building a funds-to-complete position around FHSS money landing in settlement week is an avoidable way to miss a settlement.
Can I use FHSS with the 5 per cent Deposit Scheme?
Yes. They work through different mechanisms and are commonly used together — FHSS boosts the deposit while the government scheme supports a low-deposit loan without lenders mortgage insurance. Since 1 October 2025 the deposit scheme has had no income caps and no cap on places, though property price caps still apply by location.
What happens if I release the money and then do not buy?
You generally have 12 months from the release request to sign a contract to buy or build, and the ATO can extend that by up to another 12 months. If you neither buy nor recontribute the amount, additional FHSS tax applies to what was released. Work through that decision with a tax agent rather than alone.
Does FHSS money count as genuine savings?
It often helps, because the trail from voluntary contributions through to an ATO release is exactly the documented pattern lenders want to see. It does not automatically satisfy every lender’s genuine savings policy, and policies differ. Tell your broker early so the evidence is assembled in the right order.
Can I use the scheme if I have owned property before?
Generally no, though limited exceptions exist, including for people who previously lost property through financial hardship. Eligibility also turns on age, your intention to live in the property, and the type of property. Check your own position against the ATO’s eligibility conditions rather than assuming, because a mistaken contribution stays locked in super.