Calculator
Deposit Calculator
Deposit Calculator
Loan Assumptions
Settlement & Schemes
State-based transfer duty, typically 3–5% of price; check your state's first home buyer concessions.
Loan-to-Value Ratio (LVR)
84.6%
Deposit Analysis
At 84.6% LVR you would pay roughly $4,400 of LMI unless you qualify for a scheme like the First Home Guarantee. Saving another $30,000 to reach the 20% line ($130,000) removes that premium entirely and lowers monthly repayments. Right now: $128,000 cash at settlement and $3,395.53/month repayments with LMI capitalised.
*LMI premiums are estimated from indicative lender tiers and vary by lender, loan purpose, state and borrower profile. Stamp duty is a user-supplied estimate and varies by state/territory and concessions. First Home Guarantee places are capped, subject to eligibility and lender participation. Educational only, not lending advice.
Why the Deposit Is the Hardest Part of Buying a Home
For most Australian buyers the deposit, not the repayments, is the barrier to home ownership. With dwelling prices around $800,000 nationally and well over $1 million in Sydney, a 20% deposit can mean saving $160,000 or more while rents and living costs absorb the income you need to build it. This is why the deposit decision deserves its own calculation: how much you have saved determines your loan-to-value ratio, whether lenders' mortgage insurance applies, which loan products you can access, and how much cash you need at settlement once stamp duty is added. The 80% lending-to-value (LVR) line is the key threshold. Above it, most lenders require LMI — typically several thousand to tens of thousands of dollars — unless you qualify for a scheme like the government's First Home Guarantee, which lets eligible first home buyers purchase with as little as 5% down without paying LMI. This calculator turns your price and savings into an LVR, an indicative LMI premium, the gap you still need to reach the 20% line, and the repayments that follow — so you can decide between saving longer, paying LMI now, or chasing a guarantee place.
From Savings to Settlement Figures
The deposit calculation runs in four steps. First, the loan amount is the purchase price minus your deposit; your LVR is that loan divided by the price. At 80% LVR or below no LMI applies, so the 20% deposit target is simply 0.20 × price and the shortfall is whatever gap remains between it and what you have saved. Second, the LMI estimate applies indicative premium tiers to the loan amount: roughly 0.8% of the loan at 85% LVR, 1.6% at 90%, 2.8% at 95%, rising with the risk — these are the same order of magnitude as published lender premiums, though every insurer prices differently. Under the First Home Guarantee (5% or more deposit, eligible first home buyer) the guarantee stands in place of LMI, so the premium falls to zero. Third, the monthly repayment follows from the standard P&I amortisation formula: payment = P × r / (1 − (1 + r)^−n), with P the loan plus any LMI you choose to capitalise, r the monthly rate and n the number of months over your term. Finally, cash needed at settlement adds your deposit, stamp duty (state-specific, so entered as an estimate), plus LMI if you pay it up front rather than adding it to the loan. This gives you the honest all-up number: not just the price, but everything required on the day you sign.
Expert Insights
LMI Is Usually Worth Avoiding, But Not at Any Cost
Paying $20,000 of LMI to buy two years earlier is often cheaper than waiting two years while prices rise — if the market gains 5% a year, a $700,000 home that costs an extra $35,000 while you save a $20,000 premium is a bad trade. Weigh the premium against expected price growth in your area and the interest cost of a larger loan before treating 20% as an absolute rule.
A Genuine Savings History Still Matters
Most Australian lenders want to see at least three months of 'genuine savings' (held in an account in your name) at 5% or more of the price, even with a family guarantee or scheme. Build the habit early: a consistent saving pattern recorded in your bank statements is an approval requirement in itself, not just a way to accumulate the deposit.
Stamp Duty Can Be the Second-Biggest Cheque
Transfer duty is often 3–5% of the price — on an $800,000 NSW purchase roughly $31,000 — and it cannot be borrowed in most cases. First home buyer concessions in several states can reduce or wipe it below a price threshold. Budget duty alongside the deposit from the start: buyers who forget it routinely discover the shortfall in the final week before settlement.
Actionable Tips
- 1
Use the FHSS Scheme to Supercharge Saving
The First Home Super Saver scheme lets you salary-sacrifice up to $15,000 a year (up to $50,000 total) into super, taxed at concessional rates, then withdraw it for a deposit. For someone on a typical income this can beat an after-tax savings account by thousands of dollars. Check the ATO requirements well before you plan to withdraw.
- 2
Price Your Target Before You Save Blindly
Enter your realistic purchase price here and work backwards: it tells you the exact 20% figure, the shortfall at your current savings, and the LMI shortcut. A saver targeting a round '$100,000 deposit' is often aiming at the wrong number entirely — the right target depends on the home and the scheme options available to you.
- 3
Check First Home Buyer Schemes in Your State
Stamp duty concessions and exemptions, the First Home Guarantee (10,000 places a year, income and price caps) and state-specific grants can each move your required deposit by tens of thousands. Run this calculator twice — with and without scheme benefits — to see whether the paperwork is worth it for your situation.
Real-World Examples
Chloe Paid the LMI and Beat the Market
Chloe had $70,000 against a $680,000 unit — a 90% LVR with roughly $17,000 of LMI. Her parents urged her to wait for the full 20%. She ran the numbers, paid the premium, and bought; eighteen months later the same complex was selling for over $740,000. The LMI cost less than the market moved while she would have kept saving.
Tom Used the Guarantee Instead of LMI
Tom, an eligible first home buyer with $32,000 saved, wanted a $590,000 townhouse. The calculator showed $14,000-plus of LMI at that LVR. He secured a First Home Guarantee place through his lender, put down just over 5%, paid no LMI, and kept the difference as a buffer for rates and stamp duty costs.
The Nguyens Saved to the 20% Line
Minh and Lan Nguyen had $120,000 and were chasing a $760,000 house, which would have meant about $11,000 of LMI at their LVR. The calculator showed they needed $32,000 more for the 20% line. They used FHSS releases and a family gift of $15,000 to close the gap in eight months, bought with no LMI, and started with a full emergency fund intact.
Glossary of Terms
- Deposit
- The portion of a property's purchase price you pay from your own funds, reducing the amount borrowed. In Australia typically 5–20% of the price.
- Loan-to-Value Ratio (LVR)
- The loan amount divided by the property value, as a percentage. Above 80% LVR lenders usually require LMI, unless a guarantee scheme applies.
- Lenders' Mortgage Insurance (LMI)
- A one-off premium protecting the lender when you borrow more than 80% of the property value. Paid by the borrower, often capitalised into the loan.
- First Home Guarantee (FHBG)
- A government scheme letting eligible first home buyers purchase with as little as 5% deposit without paying LMI, up to a capped number of places per year.
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about this topic.
Ivy Sinclair-Wren
Financial Chaos Analyst
Ivy Sinclair-Wren is a Financial Chaos Analyst covering investing, AI, wealth psychology, and the emotional consequences of opening finance apps during market crashes. Based in Melbourne, she specializes in demystifying the Australian tax code and helping users navigate the intersection of spreadsheet logic and human irrationality.