Plan your funds to complete
Is the 2% deposit all you need?
No. The deposit goes towards the price; legal work, duty, inspections, registration, settlement adjustments and insurance need their own budget. Your lender may require a larger contribution if you can reasonably afford it. Government equity fills the assessed funding gap, up to 30% for an existing home or 40% for a new home; those maximums are not an entitlement.
Check eligibility before relying on these illustrations: Australian citizenship, age 18+, income limits ($103,000 individual; $165,000 joint or single parent for 2026–27), property ownership, owner-occupation and the postcode price cap apply. Approval also depends on the participating lender's assessment. See the official scheme overview.
Hypothetical examples only. All amounts are Australian dollars. These are planning illustrations, not client outcomes, quotes, approvals or a promise of eligibility. Assume a $600,000 existing Victorian home, market value equal to the price, approval for the maximum 30% equity contribution and a buyer contributing exactly 2%. No grant is assumed.
| Funding source | Calculation | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Buyer deposit | $600,000 × 2% | $12,000 |
| Government equity | $600,000 × 30% | $180,000 |
| Home loan | $600,000 − $12,000 − $180,000 | $408,000 |
| Purchase price funded | Deposit + equity + loan | $600,000 |
Example A: eligible Victorian first-home buyer
At a dutiable value of $600,000, an eligible Victorian first-home buyer can pay $0 stamp duty. This requires the separate SRO eligibility and residence conditions. A reduced duty concession applies from $600,001 to $750,000. Help to Buy approval does not itself establish duty relief.
| Cash item | Example A: duty exempt | Example B: no duty relief |
|---|---|---|
| 2% deposit | $12,000 | $12,000 |
| Stamp duty | $0 | $31,070 |
| Conveyancing / legal allowance | $2,000 | $2,000 |
| Building / pest inspection allowance | $700 | $700 |
| Registration, settlement and lender / valuation fee allowance | $2,500 | $2,500 |
| Rates / strata adjustments allowance | $1,000 | $1,000 |
| Initial insurance allowance | $800 | $800 |
| Total illustrative cash | $19,000 | $50,070 |
These non-duty allowances total $7,000 and are invented budget inputs, not published fee schedules or market averages. Get property-specific quotes and lender fees; actual amounts can differ substantially. Moving costs, immediate repairs and an emergency buffer are extra. Ask your conveyancer about the contract deposit and payment timing: the amount needed when signing may differ from the final scheme contribution.
Example B: eligible for Help to Buy, but no duty relief
Someone returning to home ownership may qualify for Help to Buy without qualifying as a Victorian first-home buyer. Assuming no exemption or other concession, ordinary duty on a $600,000 dutiable value is $2,870 + 6% × ($600,000 − $130,000) = $31,070. That produces a $50,070 illustrative cash budget, even though the buyer's price contribution remains $12,000.
The Victorian examples use the SRO first-home duty rules and general duty rates. General rates apply to homes over $550,000 where no relief applies. Other states have different rules. Confirm the dutiable value and entitlement with your conveyancer.