Last updated: July 2026.
Help to Buy vs First Home Guarantee vs 5% Deposit: Which NSW Scheme Gets You Into a Home in 2026?
There has never been more government help for first home buyers in Sydney, and there has never been more confusion about it. The rules changed materially on 1 October 2025, so half the advice online is out of date. Some schemes cut your deposit, one cuts your loan size, another wipes your stamp duty, and a fifth helps you save the deposit faster inside super.
The good news: you do not have to pick just one. Most first home buyers in NSW can stack two or three of these together. This guide lays every scheme side by side with the confirmed 2026 figures, shows who each one suits, and helps you work out which combination actually gets you into a home this year.
Quick answer: The First Home Guarantee lets you buy with a 5% deposit and no LMI, with no income caps and unlimited places since October 2025, and a Sydney price cap of $1.5 million. Help to Buy is a shared-equity scheme where the government takes up to a 40% stake to shrink your loan, but it has income caps and a lower $1.3 million Sydney cap. The First Home Super Saver lets you pull up to $50,000 of extra super contributions toward your deposit, and the NSW stamp duty concession removes duty on homes up to $800,000. Most buyers combine several of these rather than choosing one.
The five schemes at a glance
Here is every scheme a Sydney first home buyer can use in 2026, with the numbers we confirmed against Housing Australia, Revenue NSW and the ATO. Read this table first, then dig into the sections below.
| Scheme | What it does for you | Deposit or benefit | 2026 income cap | Sydney price cap | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Home Guarantee (FHBG) | Buy with a small deposit, government guarantees the rest, no LMI | 5% deposit | None (removed Oct 2025) | $1,500,000 | Buyers with a 5% deposit and strong income |
| Help to Buy (shared equity) | Government co-buys up to 40% of the home to shrink your loan | 2% deposit | $100k single, $160k couple/single parent | $1,300,000 | Buyers whose borrowing power falls short |
| Family Home Guarantee | Single-parent version of the guarantee, tiny deposit, no LMI | 2% deposit | None (removed Oct 2025) | $1,500,000 | Single parents with at least one dependent |
| First Home Super Saver (FHSS) | Save your deposit inside super and pay less tax on it | Up to $50,000 released | Uses your super contribution caps | Not applicable | Anyone still building a deposit |
| First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme (FHBAS) | Removes or reduces NSW stamp duty | Up to full duty exemption | None | $800k full, up to $1m concession | Every eligible NSW first home buyer |
The two schemes doing the heavy lifting for most Sydney buyers are the First Home Guarantee and Help to Buy. They solve different problems, so work out which problem is yours first: not enough deposit, or not enough borrowing power.
First Home Guarantee: the 5% deposit, no-LMI option
The First Home Guarantee lets you buy with a 5% deposit and pay no lenders mortgage insurance, because the government guarantees the gap between your deposit and the 20% a lender normally wants. On a $900,000 Sydney home, that is the difference between saving $45,000 and saving $180,000, and it skips an LMI premium that can run past $30,000.
The October 2025 changes made this scheme far more useful. Income caps were removed, so the old $125,000 single and $200,000 couple ceilings no longer shut out dual-income buyers. Places became unlimited, so you no longer race for a spot before the annual quota runs out. And the Sydney price cap lifted to $1.5 million, which finally reflects what a family home in the Hills District actually costs.
The trade-off is that you still borrow 95% of the price, so your repayments are higher and you carry more debt from day one. You need to show a lender you can service that loan. That is where your income and existing commitments matter, and where our borrowing power calculator gives you a quick read before you get attached to a listing. For the full breakdown of the caps, our First Home Guarantee 2026 guide goes deeper.
Help to Buy: shared equity when borrowing power is the problem
Help to Buy is a shared-equity scheme, which means the federal government buys a slice of your home alongside you and takes no rent or interest for its share. For an existing home the government contributes up to 30% of the price, and for a new home up to 40%. You need as little as a 2% deposit, and because the government owns part of the property, your loan is smaller, so your repayments are lower and you may not need LMI.
This is the scheme for buyers whose problem is borrowing power rather than deposit. If a lender says you can borrow $600,000 but the homes you want are $850,000, a government stake can close that gap. The catch is the eligibility is tighter than the First Home Guarantee. Income is capped at $100,000 for singles and $160,000 for couples and single parents, and the Sydney property price cap is lower at $1.3 million. When you eventually sell, the government takes its percentage of the sale price, so it shares in the capital growth too.
Whether that trade is worth it depends on your numbers and your plans. If getting in the door at all is the goal, giving up some future upside may be a price worth paying. We map this out for clients through our Help to Buy service, and our full Help to Buy scheme guide for Sydney walks through the buy-back mechanics.
Family Home Guarantee: 2% deposit for single parents
The Family Home Guarantee is the single-parent version of the deposit scheme. If you are a single parent or eligible guardian with at least one dependent, you can buy with a 2% deposit and pay no LMI, with the government guaranteeing the rest. You do not have to be a first home buyer to qualify, which helps parents getting back into the market after a separation.
Like the First Home Guarantee, the October 2025 changes removed the income caps and place limits, and the Sydney price cap sits at $1.5 million. A 2% deposit on an $800,000 home is $16,000, a genuinely achievable number, though you still need to service a loan covering 98% of the price. That serviceability test is the real hurdle, so model your position early rather than assuming the small deposit is the only barrier.
First Home Super Saver: build the deposit faster inside super
The First Home Super Saver scheme, or FHSS, is the one people forget, and it is the one that helps before you have even found a property. It lets you make extra voluntary contributions into your super, then withdraw them later for your first home deposit. Because those contributions are taxed at the concessional super rate rather than your marginal rate, you end up with more in hand than saving the same money in a normal bank account.
You can release up to $50,000 of eligible voluntary contributions in total, plus associated earnings, and only up to $15,000 from any one financial year counts. So the earlier you start, the more you can build. For a couple both using the scheme, that is up to $100,000 toward a deposit, taxed more kindly than your take-home pay would be.
The FHSS pairs with everything else here. You use it to build the deposit, then bring that deposit to a First Home Guarantee or Help to Buy purchase. Get the timing right, because you request a release determination from the ATO before you withdraw the funds, and the process takes weeks, not days. Our First Home Super Saver guide for 2026 explains the steps and the traps.
First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme: the NSW stamp duty saver
The NSW First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme (FHBAS) is the state-level piece, and it stacks on top of the federal schemes. If you buy a new or existing home valued at $800,000 or less, you pay no transfer (stamp) duty at all. Between $800,000 and $1 million you get a concessional, reduced rate. For vacant land you build on, the full exemption runs up to $350,000 with a concession up to $450,000.
On an $800,000 purchase, that exemption is worth roughly $31,000 you keep in your pocket. That is real deposit money, which is why almost every eligible NSW first home buyer should use it. Work out your exact saving with our stamp duty calculator, and for the full set of exemptions, read our guide on how to avoid stamp duty in NSW.
Can you stack these schemes? Usually yes
Most first home buyers in NSW can combine three of these at once. The federal deposit help and the state stamp duty relief are designed to work together, and the super saver runs quietly in the background while you save. A common Sydney stack looks like this:
- First Home Super Saver to build the deposit with less tax while you are still saving.
- First Home Guarantee (or Help to Buy, not both) to buy with a small deposit and skip LMI.
- First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme to remove or reduce the NSW stamp duty on the purchase.
The one rule to remember is that the two big federal schemes are mutually exclusive on a single purchase. You choose the First Home Guarantee or Help to Buy, then bolt on the FHSS and the stamp duty concession around whichever you picked. Getting the order and eligibility right across all three is exactly what a broker sorts in one sitting, and our home loan service exists to line them up so nothing gets left on the table.
Which scheme is right for you?
Work backwards from your biggest obstacle. That tells you which federal scheme to lead with.
- You have a 5% deposit and a solid, serviceable income. Lead with the First Home Guarantee. No income cap, no LMI, and a $1.5 million Sydney cap that fits most family homes.
- Your deposit is fine but a lender says you cannot borrow enough. Look at Help to Buy. A government stake shrinks the loan you need, as long as you are under the $100k single or $160k couple income cap and the $1.3 million price cap.
- You are a single parent with a dependent. Start with the Family Home Guarantee and its 2% deposit, then check whether Help to Buy stretches your budget further.
- You are still saving and a purchase is a year or two away. Turn on the First Home Super Saver now so the deposit you are building works harder before you even choose a property.
- Everyone buying in NSW. Claim the stamp duty concession if your price qualifies. It is free money you would be mad to skip.
None of this replaces getting your borrowing sorted properly: the schemes decide how you buy, but a lender still decides how much. For a checklist of the whole process, our first home buyer checklist for NSW covers the steps from deposit to settlement. And if you are buying in our patch, our Norwest mortgage broker team knows the local price caps and lenders inside out.
Ready to work out your scheme stack?
Picking the right combination of these schemes is worth tens of thousands of dollars, and the wrong combination can lock you out of the one that would have helped most. RyRo Loan Centre maps the whole stack for you, checks which caps and income tests you meet, lines up a lender that accepts the scheme you are using, and does it with no broker fees.
Book a free strategy call or get in touch and we will tell you exactly which schemes you qualify for and how to combine them, based on your deposit, income and the suburb you are buying in. If you want to read up first, start with our first home buyer checklist for NSW, then talk to us before you make an offer.
Quick answers
Frequently asked questions
No. On a single purchase you choose one or the other, because both are the government's way of getting you into that one property with a small deposit. The First Home Guarantee suits buyers who have a 5% deposit and can service a 95% loan, while Help to Buy suits buyers whose borrowing power falls short and who accept giving the government an equity share. You can pair whichever you choose with the First Home Super Saver and the NSW stamp duty concession.
There is no income cap. The federal government removed income caps for the First Home Guarantee from 1 October 2025, along with the annual limit on places. That opened the scheme to dual-income Sydney couples who previously earned too much to qualify. Help to Buy is different: it still applies income caps of $100,000 for singles and $160,000 for couples and single parents, so check which scheme you are looking at before you assume your income rules you out.
The First Home Guarantee and Family Home Guarantee both allow Sydney purchases up to $1.5 million since the October 2025 changes. Help to Buy uses a lower Sydney cap of $1.3 million. The NSW stamp duty concession is separate again: full exemption up to $800,000 and a reduced rate between $800,000 and $1 million. So a $1.2 million Sydney home can use the First Home Guarantee but will still attract full stamp duty.
It depends on the scheme. The First Home Guarantee needs 5%, while Help to Buy and the Family Home Guarantee need as little as 2%. On an $800,000 home that is $40,000 versus $16,000. Remember the deposit is not your only upfront cost. You also need funds for conveyancing, inspections, and a buffer, plus stamp duty if your price is above the $800,000 exemption threshold.
Yes, for a new home the government can contribute up to 40% of the purchase price, and up to 30% for an existing home. That contribution is an equity share, not a loan, so you pay no rent or interest on it. The upside is a much smaller mortgage. The trade-off is that when you sell, the government takes the same percentage of the sale price, sharing in any capital growth.
The FHSS lets you make extra voluntary contributions into super, then withdraw them for your first home. Because super contributions are taxed at a lower rate than your normal income, the money grows faster than it would in a savings account. You can release up to $50,000 of eligible contributions in total, counting a maximum of $15,000 from any single financial year, plus associated earnings. A couple using it together can put up to $100,000 toward a deposit.
Possibly. The First Home Guarantee and the NSW stamp duty concession are separate schemes with separate thresholds. If your home is $800,000 or under, the NSW concession removes stamp duty entirely. Between $800,000 and $1 million you pay a reduced rate, and above $1 million you pay the full rate even though your purchase may still qualify for the guarantee. Model it with our stamp duty calculator before you commit.
No. Every scheme here requires you to buy a home you will live in, at least to start with. Most also require you to move in within a set period and live there for a minimum time. If your longer-term plan involves investing, a broker can help you structure the first purchase so it does not close doors later.
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