Did you know you can now access your voluntary superannuation contributions to help when it is time to purchase your first home?
The First home super saver scheme (FHSS) allows individuals to access their voluntary superannuation contributions to purchase their first home.
To access the FHSS you:
- Are a first home buyer.
- Must be 18 years old or older.
- 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).
- Have never used the FHSS scheme before.
- The property is within Australia.
You also have to:
- 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.
One of the great advantages of the FHSS is that 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.
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.
After you apply for the FHSS you have 12 months to either use the money to purchase a property or to re-contribute that money back into your super.