Calculate Your Home Loan Deposit And Upfront Costs

You do not always need a 20% deposit.

Depending on the borrower, property, lender and loan structure:

• 5% may be enough for some eligible buyers
• 10% reduces the amount you need to borrow but may still involve LMI
• 20% generally results in an 80% LVR and commonly avoids LMI on a standard home loan

Eligible buyers may also be able to use the Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme, subject to the scheme's eligibility requirements, property-price limits and participating-lender criteria.

Rather than looking only for the minimum deposit, it is useful to compare what different deposit sizes mean for your loan, buying costs and cash position after settlement.

A larger deposit can improve your lending position, but deposit size and borrowing capacity are not the same thing.

A larger deposit can:

• Reduce the amount you need to borrow
• Lower your LVR
• Increase the range of lenders or loan products potentially available
• Affect interest-rate pricing
• Reduce or remove LMI

Borrowing capacity is based primarily on whether a lender assesses that you can service the loan.

Lenders can consider factors such as:

• Income
• Living expenses
• Existing loans
• Credit-card limits
• Dependants
• Other financial commitments
• Loan term
• Assessment interest rate
• The lender's credit policy

Adding another $50,000 to your deposit therefore does not automatically mean a lender will let you borrow another $50,000.

It may increase your purchase capacity, while your assessed borrowing limit remains unchanged.

Not necessarily.

Suppose a lender assesses your maximum loan at $600,000.

In a simplified example:

• With $50,000 available towards the property, you could fund a purchase of up to $650,000 before buying costs.
• With $100,000 available towards the property, you could fund a purchase of up to $700,000 before buying costs.

Your purchase capacity increased because you contributed another $50,000.

The lender's assessed borrowing limit remained $600,000.

This distinction matters when using a deposit calculator. Having enough deposit does not necessarily mean you can borrow the remaining amount.

Yes, A larger deposit lowers your LVR, which generally makes lenders more comfortable and can increase your borrowing capacity. For a quick estimate, check out our How Much Can I Borrow calculator.

Yes but it's situational. The only way to get a home loan with no deposit is by using a guarantor. While the idea of a zero-deposit loan is attractive, lenders typically have strict lending criteria. Even with government assistance programs, a minimum deposit, usually around 5%, is required. Therefore, a low-deposit loan is a more common and accessible option for the majority of borrowers.

Another option can be a guarantor home loan, where acceptable equity in another property is used as additional security for the lender.

Yes. Many lenders accept a gifted deposit if you can provide a formal gift letter confirming the money does not need to be repaid. This can help boost your deposit size without impacting your existing savings.

A lender may ask for evidence showing:

• Where the money came from
• That the funds are genuinely a gift
• Whether the money needs to be repaid
• Whether you separately meet any genuine-savings requirement

If you plan to rely on gifted funds, it is worth checking the lender's requirements before making an offer.

Stamp duty increases your overall upfront costs, which in turn reduces the funds available for your deposit. As a tax imposed by state or territorial governments on property transactions, stamp duty is calculated based on the property's value and its location. Higher stamp duty means you need to budget more for these additional costs, impacting the amount you can allocate toward your deposit.

Suppose you have 100,000inavailablesavingsandexpecttoneed25,000 for stamp duty and other buying costs.

You should not automatically treat the full $100,000 as your property deposit.

In this simplified example, around $75,000 would remain available towards the property itself.

First-home buyer exemptions and concessions can change the calculation substantially, so your state or territory, property value and eligibility matter.

Instead of automatically aiming for 20% of the property price, start with the total amount of cash you expect to need.

A useful planning formula is:

Savings target = Property contribution + Buying costs you need to fund + Cash you want to retain after settlement − Eligible assistance

For example:

Estimated cash required: $85,000

Savings available for the purchase: $61,000

Remaining savings target: $24,000

Your target may change if you qualify for a lower-deposit loan, stamp-duty concession, government scheme, guarantor structure or LMI waiver.

• Stamp Duty
• Legal/Conveyancing Fees
• Property Inspections
• Lender Fees & LMI (if applicable)

You can accelerate your house deposit savings by establishing a strict budget, automating your savings contributions, and reducing unnecessary expenses. Additionally, consider leveraging government incentives and working to minimise your existing debts. These strategies not only help you build your deposit fund faster but also improve your overall financial profile, making you a more attractive borrower to lenders.

A home loan deposit calculator is a planning tool, not a loan approval or borrowing-capacity assessment.

It cannot fully determine:

• How much a lender will let you borrow
• Whether your loan will be approved
• The lender's final property valuation
• Whether the property is acceptable security
• Your final LMI premium
• Whether a lender will accept your income or deposit source
• Whether you meet government-scheme requirements
• Whether an LMI waiver is available
• What repayment level is comfortable for your household

Two buyers with the same property price and the same amount of savings can therefore end up with different loan options.

Your deposit is only one part of the assessment. Serviceability, lender policy, valuation and property type can be just as important.