Using KiwiSaver for your first home
After three years in KiwiSaver you can take out almost all of it toward your first home. Work out how much, for you or both of you.
KiwiSaver first-home withdrawal calculator
From IRD’s rules: at least three years in KiwiSaver, $1,000 left in the account, and money transferred from an Australian complying super scheme stays. Your own, employer and government contributions and returns can all come out. It must be a home you will live in, and it is a one-time withdrawal. Your provider and Kāinga Ora confirm eligibility; allow a couple of weeks before settlement. Balances move with the market, so the amount is set when the provider pays.
Then what can you borrow?
See what it could buy in the suburb you want. Or add the withdrawal to your savings in the borrowing calculator to see the price range it opens up, and read the steps to buying a first home.
Rules from IRD and Kāinga Ora as at 12 October 2026. Your KiwiSaver provider and Kāinga Ora decide eligibility.
Questions
Who can withdraw KiwiSaver for a first home?
Members of KiwiSaver for at least three years who are buying their first home to live in. People who have owned a home before may still qualify if Kāinga Ora agrees they are in a similar financial position to a first-home buyer.
How much can I withdraw?
Everything except $1,000, which must stay in the account. That includes your contributions, your employer’s, government contributions and returns. Money transferred in from an Australian complying super scheme cannot be withdrawn.
Can I use it for an investment property?
No. You must intend to live in the home. It is also a one-time withdrawal.
How do I apply, and how long does it take?
Apply to your KiwiSaver provider, usually with your lawyer’s help, once you have a sale and purchase agreement or before an auction. The money is paid to your lawyer for settlement. Allow at least a couple of weeks; providers publish their own timeframes.
Is the First Home Grant still available?
No. The KiwiSaver First Home Grant closed to new applications in May 2024. The withdrawal of your own KiwiSaver savings continues.
More home loan tools
Mortgage repayment calculator
Weekly, fortnightly or monthly repayments and the interest over the loan.
How much can I borrow?
An indicative borrowing limit and a readiness check, from your own figures.
What could your KiwiSaver buy?
Your balance as a price, and homes at it in the suburb you pick.
Home loan affordability by town
What a median home costs against local incomes, town by town.
Buying your first home
The steps from saving a deposit to settlement day.
First Home Loan and low deposits
Buying with 5–20% deposit, and what it costs.
Mortgage pre-approval
What it is, what to bring, and how long it lasts.
Pay off your mortgage faster
What extra repayments or a lump sum save.
Break fee calculator
A rough cost of breaking a fixed rate early.
Switching banks
Whether moving your mortgage pays, after every cost.
Today’s mortgage rates
Every lender’s advertised rates, side by side.
Find a mortgage adviser
Advisers and firms near you.