KiwiSaver First Home Grant Ended in NZ: What Replaced It and What You Can Still Get (2026)

The First Home Grant closed to new applications on 22 May 2024 and is gone for good. Here is what actually replaced it for NZ first-home buyers in 2026 — the First Home Loan, your KiwiSaver withdrawal, and the second-chance pathway.

If your first-home plan was built around the First Home Grant, it needs reworking. The grant closed to new applications on 22 May 2024 and has not come back. Plenty of people are still budgeting for money that no longer exists, often because older guides and forum threads have not caught up.

This article is general information only and is not personalised financial advice. It does not take into account your particular financial situation, goals or needs. Before acting, consider whether it's right for you and seek advice tailored to your circumstances.

The good news is that the grant was only ever one piece of the first-home support system, and the larger pieces are still in place. This guide sets out what ended, what remains in 2026, and how the parts that are left actually work.

TL;DR: The First Home Grant stopped accepting new applications from 1pm on 22 May 2024 and is gone¹. It used to pay up to $5,000 per buyer for an existing home or $10,000 for a new build³. What remains: the First Home Loan (5% deposit), the KiwiSaver first-home withdrawal, and a second-chance pathway for previous home owners⁴⁷⁹.

Is the KiwiSaver First Home Grant still available in 2026?

No. The First Home Grant stopped accepting new applications from 1pm on 22 May 2024, and as at the date this article was last reviewed it remains permanently closed¹. There is no replacement grant, and no announcement of one. If a budgeting spreadsheet, mortgage calculator or older blog still has a $5,000 or $10,000 line for the grant, that money is no longer there.

It helps to be precise about what the grant was, because it is often confused with the KiwiSaver first-home withdrawal, which is a separate thing and still exists. The First Home Grant was a cash top-up from the Government (administered by Kāinga Ora) paid to eligible buyers who had been contributing to KiwiSaver. Before it closed, it paid³:

Source: summaries of the former Kāinga Ora First Home Grant amounts as they stood until 22 May 2024³. These figures are historical — the grant is closed.

The KiwiSaver first-home withdrawal, by contrast, is your own money (plus your employer's and the Government's contributions and returns) coming out of your KiwiSaver account. That is covered further down, and it is unaffected by the grant closing⁷.

Why was the First Home Grant discontinued?

The grant was discontinued as part of the Budget 2024 savings decisions, with the funding redirected to social housing¹. From a buyer's point of view the reason matters less than the timing: applications closed at 1pm on 22 May 2024, the day of the announcement, with no phase-out period for new applicants¹.

That abruptness is why some people were caught mid-plan. There is more on what happened to in-progress applications in the next section.

If you were mid-application when it ended, what happened?

The transition rules depended on how far along you were on 22 May 2024²:

• Pre-approvals already issued before the cut-off remained valid for 6 months from the approval date. If you held a pre-approval, you could still complete on it within that window.
• Applications lodged before the cut-off continued to be processed.
• No new or repeat applications were accepted after 22 May 2024.

So a small group of buyers still received the grant after the closure date because they were already in the system. But for anyone starting fresh from that point on, the grant was simply not available, and those transition windows have long since passed. In 2026, the grant is not a live option for any new buyer.

What first-home support actually remains in 2026?

This is the part worth focusing on. The grant was one tool among several, and the others are still here. Here is the before-and-after at a glance.

First-home support in NZ: then vs now

Source: Kāinga Ora and Inland Revenue, as at the review date below¹⁴⁷⁹.

The headline is that the grant was the only piece that disappeared. The deposit pathway (First Home Loan), the bulk of your savings (the KiwiSaver withdrawal), and the route for previous home owners (the second-chance determination) all continue. For most buyers, those three were always doing far more of the work than the grant.

How the First Home Loan (low-deposit) still helps

The Kāinga Ora First Home Loan (formerly the Welcome Home Loan) is still available, and for many buyers it is the most useful piece of what remains. It lets eligible first-home buyers purchase with a deposit of as little as 5% of the purchase price⁴. Kāinga Ora underwrites the loan, which is why a participating lender can accept a deposit smaller than the 20% they would usually want.

It is income-tested. Your before-tax income over the last 12 months must be⁵:

Source: Kāinga Ora First Home Loan eligibility, as at the review date below⁵.

A few other conditions matter⁶:

• There is no longer a regional house price cap — those were removed in 2022 — so any purchase price is allowed provided you meet the income caps.
• The property must be your primary residence and less than 1 hectare.
• The lender must still be satisfied you can service the loan. Being eligible for a 5% deposit is not the same as a bank approving the mortgage; your income still has to cover the repayments at the lender's test rate.

It is worth being clear-eyed about the trade-off. A 5% deposit means you start out owing 95% of the home's value, with almost no equity buffer. That is a real benefit for getting onto the ladder sooner, and a real risk if your income stops, because the repayments do not. Whether a low-deposit loan suits depends on your wider position. You can read how the low-deposit pathway works in our First Home Loan low-deposit guide.

How your KiwiSaver first-home withdrawal still works

The KiwiSaver first-home withdrawal is separate from the discontinued grant and remains fully available⁷. This is usually the largest single source of a first-home deposit, so it does most of the work the grant never did.

The core rules:

• You must have been a KiwiSaver member (or a complying superannuation fund member) for at least 3 years to qualify⁷.
• You can withdraw most of your balance — your own contributions, your employer's contributions, the Government contributions, and the investment returns on all of it — but you must leave at least $1,000 in your account⁸.
• Any funds transferred from an Australian complying superannuation scheme cannot be withdrawn for a first home; that portion stays in on top of the $1,000⁸.
• You can only ever make one first-home withdrawal⁸. There is no second withdrawal at settlement, so whatever you take is what you have from KiwiSaver toward the purchase.

So the simple formula for your real, withdrawable deposit is:

Your balance − $1,000 − any Australian-super transfer = your KiwiSaver first-home deposit

It is common to over-estimate this by a four-figure sum, because the app shows the full balance while the rules carve a piece out. The exact process, paperwork and timing are covered in our first-home withdrawal rules and process guide, and you can model your real number alongside your deposit target in our house-deposit guide.

One thing the grant's closure does change indirectly: because there is no longer a $5,000 or $10,000 cash top-up filling the gap, your own KiwiSaver balance and savings have to stretch a little further. That makes getting your fund and contribution settings right more important, not less.

Who the second-chance pathway is for

A useful detail that survived the grant's closure: you do not have to be a first-time buyer in the strictest sense to use the KiwiSaver first-home withdrawal. Eligibility normally requires that you have not made a first-home withdrawal before and have not previously owned a home or land⁹. But there is an exception — if Kāinga Ora confirms you are in a similar financial position to a first-home buyer, you may still qualify under the second-chance (previous-homeowner) route⁹.

This matters for people who owned a home years ago, perhaps before a relationship breakup or a move overseas, and are effectively starting again. The determination is made by Kāinga Ora, not by your KiwiSaver provider, so it is a separate application step to factor into your timeline.

What to do now if you were counting on the grant

If your plan assumed the grant, the fix is mechanical rather than dramatic. Work through these in order:

1. Remove the grant from your budget. Delete the $5,000 / $10,000 line. Whatever number you had, it is now lower by that amount, and it is better to know early than at the solicitor's office.

2. Recalculate your real KiwiSaver deposit. Take your balance, subtract $1,000 and any Australian-super transfer⁸. That is your true contribution from KiwiSaver.

3. Check the First Home Loan income caps. $95,000 single with no dependants, or $150,000 with dependants or for two or more buyers combined⁵. If you are under, the 5% pathway may bridge part of the gap the grant used to fill.

4. Confirm your 3-year membership. The first-home withdrawal needs three years' membership; if you are short, you know your earliest possible date⁷.

5. Consider the second-chance route if you have owned before. A Kāinga Ora determination may still open the withdrawal to you⁹.

6. Review your fund and contribution settings. With no grant cushioning the deposit, fund choice near settlement and capturing the Government contribution carry a little more weight.

For the wider context on how Budget changes have reshaped first-home saving, see our guide to Budget 2025 KiwiSaver changes for first-home buyers.

Frequently asked questions

Is the KiwiSaver First Home Grant coming back? There is no indication it is. It closed to new applications from 1pm on 22 May 2024 as part of Budget 2024 savings, with funding redirected to social housing, and remains closed¹. No replacement grant has been announced.

What is the difference between the First Home Grant and the KiwiSaver first-home withdrawal? The grant was a Government cash top-up of up to $5,000 (existing home) or $10,000 (new build) per buyer, and it is gone³. The first-home withdrawal is your own KiwiSaver savings — your contributions, your employer's, the Government's, and returns — coming out of your account, and it still exists⁷⁸.

I had a First Home Grant pre-approval before it closed. Was it honoured? Pre-approvals issued before the cut-off remained valid for 6 months from the approval date, and applications lodged before 22 May 2024 continued to be processed². Those transition windows have since passed, so the grant is not a live option for any new buyer in 2026.

Can I still buy with a low deposit now the grant is gone? Yes. The Kāinga Ora First Home Loan still lets eligible buyers purchase with a 5% deposit, subject to income caps and the lender being satisfied you can service the loan⁴⁵⁶. A low deposit means a larger loan and less equity buffer, so it carries more risk if your income stops.

I owned a home years ago. Can I use any of this? Possibly. The KiwiSaver first-home withdrawal can extend to previous home owners if Kāinga Ora determines you are in a similar financial position to a first-home buyer — the second-chance route⁹. It is a separate determination from Kāinga Ora, so build that step into your timeline.

How much of my KiwiSaver can I actually withdraw? Most of it — your contributions, your employer's, the Government's, and the returns — but you must leave at least $1,000 in the account, and any Australian-super transfer cannot be withdrawn⁸. You can only make one first-home withdrawal ever⁸.

This article is general information only and is not personalised financial advice. It does not take into account your particular financial situation, goals or needs. KiwiSaver is a long-term savings scheme; government contributions, contribution rates, withdrawal rules and tax (PIR) settings are set by the Government and can change. Figures are correct as at the review date below — check current rules at ird.govt.nz, kaingaora.govt.nz and sorted.org.nz. Smiths Financial does not provide advice on mortgages; please consult an appropriately authorised professional. Craig Smith Business Services Ltd (FSP712931), trading as Smiths Financial, holds a Class 2 licence issued by the Financial Markets Authority and is a member of the Financial Dispute Resolution Service (FDRS). Written by Henry Smith, Financial Adviser; reviewed by Craig Smith, Principal Adviser. Last reviewed 9 December 2025.