$30,000 balance
$29,000
withdrawable for a first home · 4 years a member
- KiwiSaver balance
- $30,000
- Years a member
- 4 years
- Minimum to leave in
- − $1,000
- Withdrawable for a first home
- $29,000
Meets the 3-year rule — balance less the $1,000 minimum.
NZ first-home calculator · 2026/27
Know your
first-home deposit.
Estimates from published KiwiSaver and Kāinga Ora rules.
Built for New Zealand.
Rates current as at 24 July 2026.
$
You must leave $1,000 in the account.
$
Buying
$
$
Per
Your years in KiwiSaver
Three years minimum before you can withdraw.
$
Cannot be withdrawn for a first home.
$
Excluded if earned without NZ permanent residence.
$
$
Last 12 months. Sets the First Home Loan cap.
Dependants
Optional — shows the saving rate needed to be ready by then.
Deposit available
$59,000
8.4% of $700,000
$44,000KiwiSaver you can withdraw for a first home.
$15,000cash savings on top of KiwiSaver.
KiwiSaver is doing 74.6% of the work toward your deposit.
Where $59,000 comes from
- KiwiSaver
- $44,00074.6%
- Cash
- $15,00025.4%
5% deposit · $35,000Covered
Target met on these inputs.
10% deposit · $70,000$11,000 to go
Short by $11,000 · about 8 months at your current saving rate
20% deposit · $140,000$81,000 to go
Short by $81,000 · about 4 years 6 months at your current saving rate
- KiwiSaver you can withdraw
- $44,000
- Cash savings
- $15,000
- Deposit available
- $59,000
You earn above the $95,000 First Home Loan cap, so that 5% deposit route is not open to you. Kāinga Ora and lenders decide this, not us — confirm your withdrawable balance with your provider before going unconditional.
- Time to a 20% deposit at your saving rate
- 4 years 6 months
- Still to save for 20%
- $81,000
What each buyer can withdraw
- You
- $44,000
Previous owners may still qualify through Kāinga Ora's second-chance determination. The First Home Grant closed to new applications on 22 May 2024; the First Home Loan still exists.
- Minimum retained balance
- $1,000 · Kāinga Ora
- Minimum membership
- 3 years · Kāinga Ora
- First Home Loan deposit / income caps
- 5% · $95,000 / $150,000 · Kāinga Ora
- First Home Grant
- Closed 22 May 2024 · Beehive
Checked against the official sources above by FinLab editorial on 24 July 2026.
How this first-home deposit calculator works
This planner works out how much of your KiwiSaver you can put toward a first home, and the gap to a deposit at 5%, 10% or 20% of a purchase price. Enter your balance and how long you have been a member; add a partner, cash savings and any family gift to see the combined deposit.
You can withdraw most of your KiwiSaver for a first home — your own contributions, your employer’s, government contributions and the investment returns on all of them. Two things stay behind: at least $1,000 must remain in your account, and money transferred from an Australian scheme, plus some government contributions earned while overseas, cannot be withdrawn.
You must have been a KiwiSaver member for at least 3 years, and each buyer is assessed on their own, so in a couple one person may qualify before the other. The property must be in New Zealand and one you intend to live in.
Alongside your KiwiSaver, the First Home Loan lets eligible buyers purchase with a 5% deposit, subject to income caps of $95,000 for a single buyer with no dependants or $150,000otherwise. A lender’s mortgage insurance premium also applies — see Kāinga Ora for the current rate and eligibility. The First Home Grant closed to new applications on 22 May 2024 and has no replacement.
The planner also shows the gap between your deposit and a purchase price at three levels: 20%, which keeps you clear of high-LVR pricing; 10%, which is common but rationed by banks; and 5%, the minimum under the First Home Loan. On a $650,000 home those are $130,000, $65,000 and about $32,500. It adds your withdrawable KiwiSaver to any cash savings and a family gift to reach your total deposit, and if you enter a saving rate it estimates how long the gap takes to close. Each buyer in a couple is counted separately, so one partner’s balance can be withdrawable while the other’s is not yet. The three-year clock runs from when you first joined a scheme, not from your first contribution, and time in a complying superannuation fund counts toward it.
The figure is an estimate. It does not confirm your provider’s withdrawable amount, check the Kāinga Ora income or property tests, or cover the previous-home-owner second-chance assessment, which Kāinga Ora decides case by case. It assumes you are buying a home to live in, not an investment property. Confirm the exact amount with your provider before going unconditional.
Worked examples
Same rule. Two members.
Both use the same 3-year membership rule and the $1,000 minimum — the only difference is how long you have been a member.
$18,000 balance
$0
withdrawable for a first home · 2 years a member
- KiwiSaver balance
- $18,000
- Years a member
- 2 years
- Withdrawable for a first home
- $0
Below the 3-year rule — nothing is withdrawable yet, whatever the balance.
FAQRead the guides
Common questions
Short answers on withdrawals, membership, First Home Loan caps and the closed grant.
Want the full detail?
Confirm the withdrawable amount with your KiwiSaver provider before going unconditional. The guides walk through eligibility and how each rule is applied.
Using KiwiSaver for a first home · First-home rules · Methodology
Yes, if you have been a KiwiSaver member for at least 3 years and are buying a home in New Zealand to live in. You can withdraw your contributions, your employer's, government contributions and the returns on them, leaving at least $1,000 in your account.
Your withdrawable amount is your balance less the $1,000 you must leave in, and less any Australian-transferred funds or government contributions earned while overseas. On a $30,000 balance that is about $29,000. Confirm the exact figure with your provider.
At least 3 years of KiwiSaver or complying-fund membership. It is membership time that counts, not the balance. Each buyer is assessed separately, so in a couple one person may qualify before the other.
A 20% deposit avoids high-LVR pricing, 10% is common but rationed, and the First Home Loan allows 5%. On a $650,000 home that is $130,000, $65,000 or about $32,500. Your KiwiSaver and cash savings both count toward it.
$95,000 for a single buyer with no dependants, or $150,000 for a single buyer with dependants or two or more buyers. The minimum deposit is 5%. A lender's mortgage insurance premium also applies; Kāinga Ora publishes the current rate.
No. The First Home Grant closed to new applications on 22 May 2024 and has no replacement. The First Home Loan is separate and still available, letting eligible buyers purchase with a 5% deposit.
You cannot withdraw the $1,000 minimum that keeps your account open, money transferred from an Australian complying superannuation scheme, or government contributions you received while living overseas without New Zealand permanent residence.
Possibly. A previous home owner may still qualify through Kāinga Ora's second-chance route, if their realisable assets are within the regional limit. It is assessed case by case, so apply to Kāinga Ora before relying on it.