Can You Withdraw KiwiSaver for a First Home?
Yes — one of the main benefits of KiwiSaver is the ability to withdraw most of your savings to buy your first home. This is known as a first home withdrawal.
The 3-Year Rule
You must have been a member of KiwiSaver for at least 3 years before you can withdraw funds. The 3 years don't need to be consecutive — if you've had gaps in contributions, that's fine.
Minimum Member Contribution
To be eligible, you need to have made the minimum member contribution for at least 3 of the last 4 years. For most people this means contributing at least 3% of your gross salary. If you're self-employed or not working, the minimum is $1,200 per year.
How Much Can You Withdraw?
- Most of your savings: You can withdraw your member contributions, your employer contributions, and any investment returns
- What you CANNOT withdraw: The Government Contribution (the $521.43 per year "kick-start" payments) — this must stay in your account for retirement
- KiwiSaver First Home Grant: Withdrawal and grant are separate — you can access both
Step-by-Step Process
- Check eligibility with your KiwiSaver provider or through the IRD website
- Get a solicitor or conveyancer — they will handle the paperwork
- Apply to your KiwiSaver provider for a "home withdrawal" — you'll need signed sale and purchase agreement (or an offer)
- Funds are transferred directly to your solicitor's trust account, not to you personally
- Funds used at settlement — your solicitor applies the KiwiSaver withdrawal toward your deposit and purchase
Important Rules
Owner-Occupier Requirement
You must intend to live in the property. Investment properties do not qualify for KiwiSaver withdrawal.
Previous Home Ownership
Generally, you cannot withdraw KiwiSaver for a home if you've owned property before. Exceptions exist if you're in a similar financial position to a first-home buyer.
Time Limit
Once your withdrawal request is approved, you typically have 3 months to settle the purchase. If the sale falls through, the withdrawal is cancelled and you can reapply.
Tax Implications
KiwiSaver first home withdrawals are tax-free in NZ. No income tax or GST applies.
Combining with Other Schemes
You can combine your KiwiSaver withdrawal with:
- First Home Grant — up to $10k/$20k non-repayable grant
- First Home Partner — shared equity with Kāinga Ora
- Regular bank lending — KiwiSaver funds boost your deposit
2026 Changes That Affect Your Withdrawal
The government contribution (sometimes still called the member tax credit) was halved from 1 July 2025: it now pays 25 cents for every $1 you contribute, up to a maximum of $260.72 per contribution year (1 July – 30 June), down from $521.43. To receive the full amount you need to contribute at least $1,042.86 of your own money each year. Members earning more than $180,000 a year no longer qualify for the government contribution at all.
The old $1,000 kick-start payment for new members was also removed in 2024, and the default contribution rate rises from 3% to 3.5% on 1 April 2026. None of these changes stop you withdrawing for a first home, but they mean your balance will grow more slowly than it once did, so save accordingly.
Minimum Contributions: What You Must Show
To be eligible for a first-home withdrawal you need to have been a KiwiSaver member for at least three years and to have made the minimum member contribution in at least three of the last four years. For employees this usually means contributing at least 3% of gross pay (rising to 3.5% if you are on the default rate from April 2026).
If you are self-employed or not in regular employment, the minimum is now $1,042.86 per year — the same amount needed to earn the full government contribution. Voluntary contributions above the minimum also help, since employer and government contributions do not count toward the threshold.
How Much Can You Withdraw? A Worked Example
Suppose your KiwiSaver balance is $60,000 after eight years, made up of $28,000 of your own contributions, $16,000 of employer contributions, $3,600 of government contributions and $12,400 of investment returns. For a first home you can typically withdraw everything except the government contributions — in this example about $56,400.
Combined with a partner's similar withdrawal, that can comfortably form a 10–20% deposit on a median-priced home (around $770,000 nationally in mid-2026, though prices vary by region). Withdrawals are paid to your solicitor's trust account at settlement, not to you personally, and you normally have around three months from approval to settle.
Timing Tips for 2026 Buyers
- Apply for withdrawal approval as soon as you have an accepted offer or signed agreement — approval can take several weeks.
- Coordinate with your mortgage pre-approval so the bank factors the KiwiSaver amount into your deposit.
- Keep contributing through the buying process: the contribution year runs 1 July–30 June, and the $1,042.86 threshold unlocks the full $260.72 government contribution.
- Remember you must intend to live in the home — investment purchases do not qualify.
What You Cannot Withdraw
"Withdraw your KiwiSaver" is misleading shorthand. Several parts of your balance are locked away from a first-home withdrawal:
- Government contributions. The annual government contribution — now capped at $260.72 a year after being halved from $521.43 on 1 July 2025 — cannot be withdrawn for a first home.
- The former $1,000 kick-start (removed in 2015) is likewise not available.
- A minimum balance must remain. You must leave at least $1,000 in your KiwiSaver account after the withdrawal.
What you can take is your own contributions, your employer's contributions, and the investment returns on them. For a member of six to eight years that is often $30,000 to $60,000, and for a couple, double it.
The Three-Year Rule: What It Is Really Measuring
Eligibility starts with three years of KiwiSaver membership. It is measured by your membership period, not by whether you contributed continuously, so a gap in contributions while you were overseas does not reset the clock — but new membership does. If you joined less than three years ago, you are not eligible yet regardless of balance, and no form will change that.
Two related tests also apply: you must intend to live in the home yourself (or in the land you are building on), and you must not have received a first-home withdrawal before — a KiwiSaver first-home withdrawal is a once-in-a-lifetime entitlement.
The Paperwork Your Provider Will Ask For
Providers vary slightly, but a first-home withdrawal application almost always needs:
- A signed sale and purchase agreement for the property, or the building contract if you are building.
- Confirmation from your solicitor that the withdrawal is for a first home and that you meet the owner-occupier requirement.
- A statutory declaration confirming you have not made a first-home withdrawal before and that the information is correct.
- Your IRD number and identification.
Timing and Where the Money Goes
A first-home withdrawal typically takes 10 to 15 working days to process once the complete pack is submitted. Crucially, the money is paid to your solicitor's trust account, not to your bank account, so it arrives as part of the settlement funds flow rather than as cash you can spend.