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How to use the First Home Finance calculator
The First Home Finance calculator shows the once-off government subsidy your household income points to, on the scheme most people still call FLISP. Enter your gross household income, confirm a few facts about yourself, and it returns the amount and where you sit on the sliding scale.
First Home Finance is a once-off grant for first-time buyers in the middle-income gap, run by the NHFC. The amount slides with income: the less your household earns inside the qualifying band, the larger the grant. This tool reads that official scale and shows your place on it.
The subsidy is real money, up to R169,265, and a surprising number of buyers who qualify never claim it because they assume it is only for very low earners. The band runs all the way to R22,000 a month in household income. If you are buying your first home and earn under that, it is worth a check.
What you'll need
- Your gross monthly household income. Everyone buying together adds their pay before deductions, and a couple is assessed as one.
- Honest answers to the four eligibility facts: citizenship or permanent residence, being 18 or older, being a genuine first-time buyer, and never having taken a government housing subsidy before.
How to use it
Enter your gross household income. If you are buying with a partner, add both incomes, because the scheme assesses the household, not the individual.
Answer the four yes/no criteria honestly. They are facts about you that the income figure cannot capture, and all four must be yes for the amount shown to be one you could actually claim.
Reading your result
The headline is the subsidy your income points to, with a verdict: in the band, outside it, or in the band but with a criterion unmet. The sliding-scale bar shows where your income lands between the most anyone gets and the least.
Earn below R3,501 a month and you fall under the band, where a fully subsidised RDP home may apply instead. Earn over R22,000 and the subsidy no longer applies on income.
A worked example
A household earning R12,000 a month, buying their first home, all four criteria met.
That income sits in the R11,901 to R12,101 band and points to a subsidy of R108,418. Lower the income to R7,000 and the grant climbs to R144,636; raise it to R20,000 and it falls to R53,366. The scale rewards lower earners, sliding by about R7.24 of subsidy for every extra rand of monthly income.
What it does not do
It computes the income-based amount and checks the yes/no gates, but it cannot confirm your eligibility; only the NHFC can. It does not apply for you. The amounts are the NHFC scale as at June 2026, the table in force since April 2023, and the NHFC can change them. It is information, not a guarantee of an award.
For who qualifies and how to apply, read the First Home Finance guide. To see what a bank could lend you on the same income, use Bank Affordability. When you are ready, open First Home Finance.
Money Cat is an information tool, not financial or legal advice, and is not connected to the NHFC. Confirm the current band, amount and process with the NHFC before you rely on them.