First Home Buyer Grants 2026: What You Can Stack

Sarah, 29, is a junior accountant in Brisbane earning $72,000. Her partner Jake, 31, is a civil engineer on $80,000 — combined $152,000. They have been saving for a first home for two years. When they sat down to total up the government help available to them for a $650,000 new home in Brisbane, the number came to about $75,000. Neither of them had known most of it existed.

Federal help for first home buyers widened in late 2025: the 5% Deposit Scheme dropped its income caps and limits on places, and the Help to Buy shared equity scheme opened. Add the First Home Super Saver Scheme and state grants, and there are four separate kinds of help. Each has its own rules, and not all of them combine. Here is what each one is worth and who qualifies.

The 5% Deposit Scheme (First Home Guarantee)

The First Home Guarantee is now part of the Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme (formerly the Home Guarantee Scheme), which was expanded from 1 October 2025. The government guarantees up to 15% of the purchase price, so you can buy with a 5% deposit without paying lenders mortgage insurance (LMI). LMI on a $650,000 purchase with a 5% deposit is estimated at about $20,000 to more than $26,000, depending on the lender. The guarantee removes it.

Key changes from 1 October 2025:

• No limit on places — the annual cap of 35,000 places for first home buyers was removed
• No income cap — the previous $125,000 (singles) and $200,000 (couples) income limits no longer apply
• Higher property price caps — Sydney $1,500,000; Brisbane $1,000,000; Melbourne $950,000; Adelaide $900,000; Perth $850,000; Hobart $700,000. Caps for other areas are on the online tool at firsthomebuyers.gov.au
• Apply through a participating lender — the list of lenders is on firsthomebuyers.gov.au

You must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident, be buying a home to live in, and meet the scheme's first home buyer rules.

Sarah and Jake's example: On their $650,000 purchase with a 5% deposit ($32,500), LMI without the guarantee would cost about $20,000 or more. With the 5% Deposit Scheme, they pay none of it.

Help to Buy — The Shared Equity Scheme

Help to Buy opened on 5 December 2025. It is fundamentally different from the First Home Guarantee — instead of guaranteeing your loan, the federal government co-owns the property with you.

• Government contributes up to 40% of the purchase price for a new home, or 30% for an existing home
• You only need a 2% deposit — no LMI applies
• You pay no rent on the government's equity share while you live there
• You can buy out the government's equity share over time, in increments, as your finances allow
• Income caps (applications using 2025–26 income): singles $103,000; couples and single parents $165,000. The caps rise each year with wages
• Available in every state and territory, with property price caps per area and 10,000 places a year
• Open to first home buyers and to people returning to home ownership, as long as you don't own any other property

Help to Buy is designed for buyers who struggle to save a deposit at all. On a new $700,000 home, a 40% government share and a 2% deposit ($14,000) leave a loan of about $406,000, instead of the $686,000 you would borrow with a 2% deposit on your own.

Sarah and Jake's situation: At $152,000 combined, they are below the $165,000 cap for couples and qualify for Help to Buy. But they choose the First Home Guarantee instead — they want to own 100% of their home from day one, and under shared equity the government's share grows in value alongside theirs. For buyers who can put together 5%, the First Home Guarantee gives full ownership immediately.

Super-Powered Deposits — The First Home Super Saver Scheme

The First Home Super Saver Scheme (FHSS) lets you build part of a deposit inside super, where it is taxed at a lower rate.

How it works: you make voluntary contributions into your super fund, on top of your employer's super guarantee contributions. Pre-tax contributions are taxed at 15% inside super, instead of your marginal rate outside it (up to 47% including the Medicare levy). When you are ready to buy, you ask the ATO to release them, plus earnings the ATO works out at a set rate, to your bank account.

You can count up to $15,000 of contributions a year and $50,000 in total. For pre-tax contributions, 85% comes back, because 15% went in contributions tax. Someone on $90,000 who salary-sacrifices $50,000 over several years ends up about $7,650 better off than taking the same pay as salary and saving it, before earnings.

Sarah's FHSS numbers: Sarah salary-sacrificed $10,000 in 2024–25 and $10,000 in 2025–26. Each $10,000 cost her about $6,800 in take-home pay, because it would otherwise have been taxed at 30% plus the 2% Medicare levy. Inside super, the $20,000 became $17,000 after the 15% contributions tax. When she asks for it back, it is taxed at her marginal rate less a 30% offset, about 2% at her income, so she keeps about $16,660 plus earnings. Saved from her pay instead, the same $20,000 would have left her $13,460. The difference is about $3,200. With the $16,000 Jake has saved, they clear the $32,500 deposit (5% of $650,000).

State-by-State: Grants and Stamp Duty Concessions

State government help varies widely. Here is what is available for first home buyers in each state and territory:

Checked October 2026 against each state and territory's revenue office or government website. State programs change regularly, so confirm current conditions before signing a contract.

How to Stack the Schemes — Sarah and Jake's Full Breakdown

The key stacking rule:

• FHSS + First Home Guarantee — allowed. Use your FHSS withdrawal as part of your 5% deposit, then use the guarantee to avoid LMI.
• FHSS + Help to Buy — allowed. Use FHSS funds as your 2% deposit under the shared equity scheme.
• First Home Guarantee + Help to Buy — not allowed for the same purchase. Choose one.
• State grant + any federal scheme — generally allowed, subject to your state's individual eligibility rules. Always check with your state revenue office.

Sarah and Jake's full stack on their $650,000 Brisbane purchase:

• QLD First Home Owner Grant: $30,000
• Stamp duty exemption (QLD, new home, measured against general rates): $22,275
• LMI saving via First Home Guarantee (lower estimate): $20,000
• FHSS tax saving (Sarah's 2-year strategy): $3,200

Total benefit: about $75,000 — without counting FHSS earnings or the interest saved by borrowing less.

Three Mistakes That Cost First Home Buyers Thousands

Mistake 1 — Leaving the FHSS release too late. Since 15 September 2024 you can sign a contract before applying, but you must ask the ATO to release the money within 90 days of signing, and tell the ATO you've signed within the same 90 days. Payment can take 15–20 business days, so a late request can leave the money arriving after settlement. Miss the ATO's deadlines and a 20% FHSS tax can apply.

Mistake 2 — Buying an existing home when only new homes qualify for the grant. In every state that pays one, the First Home Owner Grant applies only to new, off-the-plan, or substantially renovated homes — not established properties. QLD's $30,000 grant is for new homes under $750,000. Buying an existing home in QLD can still get you the stamp duty concession, but not the $30,000 grant. Check your state's definition of "new home" before assuming eligibility.

Mistake 3 — Assuming Help to Buy has no income cap. Unlike the First Home Guarantee — which removed its income limits from October 2025 — Help to Buy still has income caps: $103,000 for singles and $165,000 for couples, for applications using 2025–26 income. At $152,000 combined, Sarah and Jake qualify; at $170,000 combined, they would not. Check your income against the current cap before applying.