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My parents are gifting me the deposit. Does that count as genuine savings?
Bayley Clarke · Mortgage broker on the road · Last checked 1 November 2026 · 3 min read
The short answer
For most banks, no. They know it's a gift. The money landed in your account in one lump from mum and dad, and it's money you didn't save yourself, so it doesn't count as genuine savings.
However, there are a couple of banks that will count it as genuine savings. It all comes down to how the bank you apply with treats a gift from family that's non-refundable and non-repayable under its policy. So it's a question of which bank you go to.
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Why most banks say no
The genuine savings test is the bank wanting to see that you can put money aside yourself, month after month, because that's the habit that pays a mortgage once you've got the keys. A gift from your parents is lovely, and it absolutely helps you get in, but it doesn't prove anything about your saving. It just shows up in your account one day.
So most lenders will happily take the gift as part of your deposit, they just won't let it tick the genuine savings box. That box generally has to be filled with money you built up yourself, held over a few months.
Where the banks split
This is one where the lenders genuinely don't agree. A couple of the big banks treat a non-refundable gift from family as a genuine contribution, with no holding period, and that includes loans under the 5% scheme. Several others will only count it once it has sat in your account for three months, so timing when your parents transfer it actually matters. And at least one major never counts a gift as genuine savings at all.
Pretty much everyone wants it in writing that it's a gift, not a loan. That normally means a signed letter or statutory declaration from your parents saying the money doesn't have to be paid back. If it does have to be paid back, it isn't a gift, it's a debt, and the bank will treat it like one.
When genuine savings even matters
Genuine savings generally only bites on bigger loans. Most lenders ask for it when you're borrowing above 90% of the property's value, a few from 85%, and some lenders want it on every 5% scheme loan regardless. If the gift gets your deposit to a point where you're under that line, the question can disappear altogether.
If the gift gets you all the way to a 20% deposit, you're out of lenders mortgage insurance territory and you don't need the 5% scheme at all. So before anyone moves money, it's worth knowing what deposit you'll end up with and which test you're actually up against.
The honest bit: don't move the money until you've got a plan
Where the gift lands, when it lands and what paperwork comes with it can change which banks are open to you. A gift that arrives the week before you apply might count at one lender and be useless at another that wants three months of history.
So have the chat before your parents transfer anything. It costs nothing to line it up properly, and it can save you an awkward conversation with a bank later.
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Guarantor or a cash gift from my parents: which one works better?Under the First Home Guarantee cap, a cash gift usually wins because it shrinks your loan.
Related answers
The full guide: You don't need a 20% deposit any more I'm using the 5% scheme. Do I still need genuine savings? Can I use money sitting in my parents' account as savings? Can my parents lend me the deposit instead of gifting it to me? How does a guarantor home loan actually work?Not your question? Book a call and ask it, or call 0437 189 939.