The First Home Super Saver (FHSS) scheme lets eligible first home buyers save extra money in super, then withdraw it to use toward a deposit on a home in Australia. The attraction is the tax treatment. Voluntary concessional contributions are usually taxed at 15% in the fund, which is often lower than the tax you would pay on the same money as salary. When the money comes out, an assessable released amount is added to your tax return, and you get a 30% FHSS tax offset on that amount.

It is not a separate first-home account. The contributions sit in your ordinary super fund, and they still count toward your concessional or non-concessional caps. The super guarantee your employer already pays cannot be withdrawn under the scheme.

This explainer sets out the ATO's contribution limits, who can apply, how a release is taxed, and the occupancy and timing rules after the money comes out. It sits with the Never Lose Interest guides to salary sacrifice into super, the super calculator, stamp duty and buying versus renting.

This is general information only. It is not personal advice and it does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Whether the scheme is worthwhile depends on your caps, cash flow, loan and the timing of a purchase.

How does the First Home Super Saver Scheme work?

You make voluntary contributions to super, on top of the 12% super guarantee. Those contributions can be:

  • concessional, meaning salary sacrifice or a personal contribution you claim as a deduction, usually taxed at 15% in the fund
  • non-concessional, meaning an after-tax personal contribution you do not claim as a deduction

When you are ready to buy, you request an FHSS determination from the ATO, which tells you the maximum amount that can be released. You then request a release. The ATO instructs your fund, withholds tax from the assessable part, and pays the rest to you.

You can withdraw:

  • 100% of eligible non-concessional contributions
  • 85% of eligible concessional contributions, because 15% contributions tax has already been paid in the fund
  • an amount of associated earnings on both types of contribution

Associated earnings are a notional amount, calculated by the ATO at the shortfall interest charge rate, not the actual investment return in your fund. The released total can therefore differ from what those contributions actually earned.

The determination must be requested before ownership of any real property transfers to you. In practice, that means before settlement. Once ownership, including vacant land, has transferred, you can no longer request a determination.

You do not need to be an Australian citizen or an Australian resident for tax purposes to use the scheme. You also do not have to notify the ATO or your employer when you start making voluntary contributions for this purpose, but you should check that your fund will release FHSS amounts, and whether any fees or insurance effects apply.

How much can I contribute?

The scheme limits are $15,000 of eligible voluntary contributions in any one financial year, and $50,000 in total across all years, for contributions made on or after 1 July 2017. Both concessional and non-concessional voluntary contributions count in full toward those limits, even though only 85% of a concessional contribution is later releasable.

Those scheme limits sit inside the ordinary contribution caps. In 2026-27 the concessional cap is $32,500 and the non-concessional cap is $130,000, as explained in the super calculator and salary sacrifice guides. A concessional contribution that is also an FHSS contribution still uses cap room, together with the super guarantee. Exceeding a legislated cap can also make the excess ineligible for FHSS release.

The super guarantee is not an eligible contribution. Neither are government co-contributions, spouse contributions, most mandated award contributions, or contributions to a defined benefit interest. If your award requires a minimum after-tax contribution, only the voluntary amount above that minimum is eligible. The ATO's Anh example makes that distinction.

If your circumstances change, you do not have to withdraw the money. Eligible contributions that you never release stay in super until you meet another condition of release, such as retirement.

Who is eligible?

Eligibility is assessed person by person. Couples, siblings or friends can each access their own eligible FHSS amounts to buy the same property. One person having owned a home does not stop another eligible person from applying.

To use the scheme you must satisfy all of the following, as the ATO sets them out:

  • you are 18 or older when you request the determination (eligible contributions made before you turned 18 can still be included)
  • you are a first home buyer who has never owned property in Australia, including an investment property, vacant land, commercial property, a lease of land, or a company title interest. There is a limited financial hardship exception if you have previously owned property
  • your name will be on the title of the property you buy
  • you do not already have a completed release request in relation to a determination made for you

Inheriting a share of a property, with your name on the title, generally counts as ownership. Being named on utility bills, without being on the title, does not.

You cannot use the scheme to buy a houseboat, a motor home, vacant land on its own, or premises that cannot be occupied as a residence. You can use it for the construction of a home on vacant land, provided ownership of that land has not already transferred to you before you apply for a determination, and you enter the building contract within the allowed period after the release request.

How is a withdrawal taxed?

The assessable FHSS released amount is, broadly, 85% of the eligible concessional contributions plus the associated earnings. Eligible non-concessional contributions come out without being added again as income, because tax has already been paid on that money.

You include the assessable released amount, and the tax withheld, in the tax return for the financial year in which you requested the release, even if the cash arrives in the next year. The ATO's Sue example makes the timing point. She requested a release on 26 June 2025 and received the money on 12 July 2025. The assessable amount still went in her 2024-25 return.

In that example, the maximum release was $14,350, made up of $5,000 of non-concessional contributions, $8,500 (being 85% of concessional contributions) and $850 of associated earnings. The assessable released amount was $9,350. Tax of $1,589 was withheld. Sue included $9,350 in her return, received a credit for the $1,589 withheld, and a non-refundable tax offset of $2,805, being 30% of $9,350.

The 30% offset reduces the tax on the assessable amount. It is not a refund of the contributions tax already paid in the fund, and it is not refundable if it exceeds the tax otherwise payable. The ATO recalculates the tax when you lodge, using your actual marginal rate for that year.

An assessable FHSS released amount is excluded from taxable income when the ATO works out income for Medicare levy surcharge purposes, and the ATO also says it is not included in assessable income for calculating family assistance and child support payments. Salary sacrifice contributions you make on the way in are still reportable super, and they can increase HELP repayment income in the contribution year. The released amount itself is not part of repayment income in the year you request the withdrawal. See the HELP repayment explainer.

If you have an outstanding debt with the ATO or another Commonwealth agency, the released amount may be offset against that debt, reduced, or delayed.

What do I have to do after the money is released?

You must genuinely intend to occupy the property as a home as soon as practicable after purchase, and you must occupy it for at least 6 of the first 12 months from when it is practicable to occupy it.

For determinations made on or after 15 September 2024, you generally need to sign a contract to buy or construct a home, or recontribute the required amount to super, in a window that starts 90 days before the release request and ends 12 months after the date of the request, or a longer period the ATO allows. The ATO may grant a further 12 months, up to a maximum of 24 months after the release request, without you having to apply. It will generally grant that extension unless it has reason to believe that would be inappropriate, and it will notify you if the extension is granted.

You must also notify the ATO. If you sign a contract, and the determination was made on or after 15 September 2024, you generally have 90 days from signing (or a longer period the ATO allows) to notify it. In the ATO's Kirra example, a contract signed on 9 November 2025 had to be notified by 7 February 2026.

If you do not buy or build, you can recontribute to super an amount at least equal to the assessable FHSS released amount, less any tax withheld. That recontribution must be a non-concessional contribution, you cannot claim a deduction for it, and you cannot use the scheme again. You must notify the ATO of a recontribution within 12 months of the release request. If you keep the money instead, FHSS tax applies, at a flat 20% of the assessable released amount.

Older determinations, made on or before 14 September 2024, have tighter notification and contract windows. If that applies to you, use the ATO's earlier timings or get advice.

Frequently asked questions

Can my partner and I both use the scheme for the same home?

Yes, if each of you is eligible in your own right. Each person has their own $15,000 annual and $50,000 total contribution limits.

Does the 12% super guarantee count?

No. Only eligible voluntary contributions made on or after 1 July 2017 count. Employer super guarantee cannot be released under the scheme.

Can I request a determination after I have signed a contract?

Yes, in many cases, but you must do it before ownership transfers, which is usually at settlement. In the ATO's Sushant example, a contract in February was followed by registration of title in April, and the determination had to be requested before that transfer of ownership.

Will this affect first home buyer stamp duty concessions?

The FHSS scheme is separate from state and territory concessions. Using one does not automatically cancel the other, but you still have to meet each state's own rules. Check the relevant revenue office, and see the Never Lose Interest stamp duty explainer.

What if I start contributing and then decide not to buy?

The money stays in super until you meet another condition of release. You are not forced to withdraw it.

General information warning

This article is general information only. It is not personal financial product advice or tax advice, and it is not a recommendation to use the First Home Super Saver Scheme. It does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Contribution caps, release timing, occupancy and the tax on a withdrawal can all change the outcome. Consider speaking with a registered tax agent or a licensed financial adviser before you contribute or request a release.

Sources

Last reviewed: November 2026.