Vineet Chaudhary

Loan Essentials

July 2020

If you’re looking to buy your first home, considering your next home or maybe looking to renovate, then you might be interested in learning more about the $25,000 HomeBuilder grant.

The HomeBuilder scheme is a tax-free grant program that is designed to help eligible owner-occupier (including first home buyers) with a $25,000 grant to help build a new home or renovate an existing one.

Who is eligible?

Owner-occupiers who are building or renovating a home and meet the following criteria:

  • You must be an individual – not a company or trust
  • You must be an Australian citizen, aged 18 years or over
  • You must meet one of the following two income caps:
    • Your annual income is less than $125,000 for individual applicants based on your 2018-19 tax return or later
    • Your annual income is less than $200,000 for a couple based on your 2018-19 tax returns or later.

When can you access HomeBuilder?

You must enter a building contract between June 4, 2020 and December 31, 2020 to either:

  • build a new home as a principal place of residence, where the property value does not exceed $750,000
  • renovate your existing home as a principal place of residence, where the renovation contract is between $150,000 and $750,000, provided that the value of your existing property does not exceed $1.5 million.

Construction must commence within three months of the contract date.

Which properties are eligible?

All dwelling types such as houses, apartments, house and land, and off the plan purchases are eligible for this grant as long as the owner-occupier is building a new home or renovating an existing one.

If renovating, property additions that are not connected to the main residence including pools, sheds, courts or garages will not be eligible for this grant.

New build or renovations for investment property will also not be eligible.

Next steps

Ready to build or renovate? We’re here to help!

If you’d like to know more about the HomeBuilders Scheme and discuss home loan options to suit your needs, get in touch with us to get started today.