Calculators
How much deposit do you need?
Your deposit is only half the story — transfer duty, conveyancing, inspections and loan fees all have to be paid in cash at settlement. This works out the full figure at a 20%, 10% or 5% deposit, tells you whether mortgage insurance applies, and puts a date on when you'll have it.
The purchase
Transfer duty and registration fees are set by each state.
Your deposit
$150,000 on a $750,000 purchase. Anything under 20.0% normally means mortgage insurance.
Include gifts and the First Home Super Saver amount you can release.
What actually lands in the savings account after everything else.
Upfront costs
Transfer duty and registration fees are calculated for you. These three are your own estimates.
Skip for off-the-plan; add a strata report for units.
Application, valuation and settlement fees, plus moving costs if you want them in.
Cash you need in the bank
$166,959
A 20.0% deposit on $750,000 is $150,000, plus $16,959 of upfront costs. About 4 yrs 6 mths away at your current savings rate.
Deposit at 20.0%
$150,000
Upfront costs
2.3% of the price — $10,925 of it is transfer duty
$16,959
Loan you'd need
80.0% LVR
$600,000
Lenders mortgage insurance
At or under 80.0% LVR
Nil
Savings you have
$60,000
Still to save
$106,959
How long to save it
At $2,000 a month
4 yrs 6 mths
Email me these resultsPlus a quick note on what a lender would actually do with them.
What the upfront costs are made of
- Transfer duty$10,925
- Transfer & mortgage registration$2,734
- Legal & conveyancing$1,800
- Building & pest inspections$700
- Loan & other fees$800
First home concession: full up to $700,000, then QRO's stepped rebate falls by $1,735 for every $10,000 until it reaches nil at $800,000. Queensland Revenue Office
20.0% vs 10.0% vs 5.0%
The same purchase at each deposit size. A smaller deposit gets you in sooner; it also means a bigger loan and, above 80.0% LVR, a mortgage insurance premium.
| Deposit | Deposit | Loan | LVR | LMI (indicative) | Cash needed | Time to save |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20.0%yours | $150,000 | $600,000 | 80.0% | Nil | $166,959 | 4 yrs 6 mths |
| 10.0% | $75,000 | $675,000 | 90.0% | $12,876 | $91,959 | 1 yr 4 mths |
| 5.0% | $37,500 | $712,500 | 95.0% | $24,075 | $54,459 | Have it |
“Cash needed” is the deposit plus every upfront cost, against the $60,000 you have today. The LMI figure is the middle of a wide indicative range — see the LMI calculator for the range and the alternatives.
Under the bonnet
Assumptions & how we calculate
We show our working so you can judge the number, not just read it. Every lender applies its own policy on top of maths like this.
- Transfer duty, transfer registration and mortgage registration fees come from the selected state's published scale, with the home or first home concession applied where the buyer and property type qualify.
- Legal, inspection and loan fees are the visitor's own estimates — the starting values are indicative only and vary by conveyancer, property and lender.
- The deposit is a percentage of the purchase price, and every upfront cost is treated as cash paid at settlement rather than added to the loan.
- Lenders mortgage insurance applies above an 80% LVR. The premium shown is the middle of a wide indicative range and is not a quote.
- Time to save is the shortfall divided by the monthly savings figure, with no allowance for interest earned or a change in the purchase price.
- First Home Owner Grants, shared-equity schemes and the First Home Guarantee are not modelled; any grant received reduces the cash needed.
The information on this website is general in nature and does not take into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on any information you should consider whether it is appropriate for you. Terms, conditions, fees, charges and normal lending criteria apply. Rates are subject to change.
FAQs
Questions people ask
How much deposit do I actually need to buy a house in Australia?
Most lenders will consider 5% of the purchase price, but 20% is the figure that avoids lenders mortgage insurance. The number that matters is not the deposit on its own — it is the deposit plus transfer duty, legal fees, inspections and loan fees, because all of that has to be cash at settlement. On a $750,000 purchase the costs alone are commonly $20,000 to $35,000 depending on the state and whether a concession applies.
Does the deposit include stamp duty and other costs?
No. Your deposit is the part of the purchase price you fund yourself; transfer duty and fees sit on top. This calculator keeps them separate so you can see both, then adds them together into the cash figure you need in the bank. If you are a first home buyer, a duty concession can cut that second number dramatically.
What counts as genuine savings?
Many lenders want to see that at least 5% of the price has been accumulated by you over three months or more, rather than arriving as a lump sum. Rent paid on time can sometimes count in place of savings. Gifts and inheritances are usually acceptable but may need to have been held for a period, and a gift letter is often required.
Can I use the First Home Super Saver scheme or a gift as my deposit?
Both are common. The First Home Super Saver scheme lets eligible first home buyers release voluntary super contributions plus associated earnings towards a deposit. A gift from family is also fine with most lenders, though it changes how genuine savings is assessed. Include either in the savings figure above once you know the amount you can actually access.
Is it better to wait for a 20% deposit or buy now with 10%?
It depends on what prices and rents do while you save, and on the size of the mortgage insurance premium. Buying earlier costs you the premium and a larger loan; waiting costs you rent and any price growth in the meantime. The 20% versus 10% versus 5% table is there so you can put real numbers against both sides rather than guess.
Next step
Numbers looking good? Let's turn them into a pre-approval.
A calculator can't read a payslip or a lender's policy. Sachin can — book a free call and we'll check these numbers against 70+ lenders, then tell you what's actually possible.
Free, no obligation. General information only — not credit advice.