How Much to Deposit Calculator

Set a savings target and a date, and see how much you need to put away each week, fortnight or month to get there on time.

Want a more accurate result?

Calculator results are estimates only. If your target is a home deposit, a personalised review can show what that deposit could actually buy.
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What this calculator works out

Most savings calculators ask how long it will take. This one starts from the other end. You already know the date, a settlement, a wedding, a car, a deposit, and you need the amount that gets you there. It works backwards from the deadline.

The regular deposit you need

The amount to put in each week, fortnight or month so the balance reaches your target on the date you set, allowing for what you already have saved.

How much comes from you

The total of your own deposits over the whole period. This is the part you control, and on shorter goals it is almost all of the target.

How much comes from interest

What the account adds along the way at the rate you enter. Useful to see, because it is usually smaller than people hope over a few years.

How the maths works

Step 1. Grow what you already have

Your starting balance earns interest for the whole period. The calculator first works out what that balance alone would grow to by your deadline.
Future value of savings = S × (1 + i)n
S is your starting balance, i is the interest rate per period and n is the number of periods until the deadline. With monthly compounding, i is the annual rate divided by 12 and n is the number of months.

Step 2. Solve for the regular deposit

Whatever the starting balance will not cover has to come from regular deposits, which also earn interest once they are in the account.
D = (T − S × (1 + i)n) × i ÷ ((1 + i)n − 1)
D is the deposit each period and T is your target. This version assumes each deposit goes in at the end of the period. If the rate is zero, the formula simplifies to the gap divided by the number of deposits. For weekly or fortnightly deposits, the rate per period is converted from the monthly rate so every frequency is compared on the same account.

What the formula cannot see

It assumes one rate for the whole period and a deposit that never changes. Real accounts change rates, some pay a higher rate only in months you meet conditions, and interest is taxable. ASIC’s Moneysmart savings goals calculator makes similar simplifying assumptions, so treat the answer as a planning figure and leave some room.

Four things that move the deposit

Using a $50,000 target, a $10,000 starting balance and an assumed 4.50 per cent p.a. with monthly compounding, here is what happens when you change one input at a time.

The deadline

Two years needs about $1,558 a month. Three years needs about $1,002. Four years needs about $725, and five years about $558. Time does most of the work, mainly by spreading the gap over more deposits.

Your starting balance

Starting from zero instead of $10,000 lifts the three year deposit from about $1,002 to about $1,300 a month. Every dollar already saved is a dollar you do not have to find later, plus the interest it earns.

The interest rate

At 0 per cent the deposit is $1,111 a month. At an assumed 3.00 per cent it is about $1,038, and at 5.50 per cent about $979. A two and a half point rate gap is worth around $60 a month on this goal.

Starting late

Wait six months and the same goal needs about $1,217 a month for the remaining 30 months, instead of $1,002 for 36. A late start costs more than a lower rate does.
All figures assume deposits at the end of each month, one constant rate and no tax, fees or withdrawals. They were calculated with the formula above.

A worked example, start to finish

The figures below are illustrative and are not a rate offer, a quote, or a prediction. You want $50,000 in three years. You already have $10,000 saved in an account paying an assumed 4.50 per cent p.a., compounded monthly. The rate stays the same, there are no fees, and you make no withdrawals.
Step 1, grow the starting balance
$10,000 × (1 + 0.045 ÷ 12)36 = about $11,442

Step 2, find the gap
$50,000 − $11,442 = about $38,558 still needed

Step 3, solve for the deposit
Monthly deposit: $1,002.38
Total you deposit over 36 months: about $36,086
Interest earned in total: about $3,914
Now the same goal paid more often. Deposits are converted to the same account rate, so the only change is timing.
Monthly
$1,002.38 × 36 deposits, interest about $3,914

Fortnightly
$462.17 × 78 deposits, interest about $3,951

Weekly
$230.98 × 156 deposits, interest about $3,966
Saving weekly earns about $52 more interest over three years than saving monthly. That is real but small. Choose the frequency that matches your pay so the transfer happens before the money gets spent.
Allowing for tax on interest
Interest is income you report in your tax return. If you assume 30 per cent of the interest goes in tax, the effective rate drops to 3.15 per cent
Monthly deposit needed: about $1,034.64, around $32 a month more

Allowing for a moving target
If the thing you are saving for rises by an assumed 3 per cent a year, a $50,000 target becomes about $54,636 in three years
Monthly deposit needed: about $1,122.91

The deadline matters more than the rate

On this goal, moving from 3.00 to 5.50 per cent saves about $60 a month. Adding one year to the deadline saves about $278 a month, and starting six months late costs about $214 a month. Over a few years, the rate is the smallest lever you have.
That does not mean the rate is irrelevant. It means the order of work is: set a realistic date, start now with whatever you can, then find the best account you can actually keep the conditions on. Chasing an extra quarter of a per cent while delaying the first deposit gets it the wrong way round.

What the calculator does not show you

A deposit calculator gives a clean number. Your account and your life add friction, and each of these can push the real figure up.

Bonus rate conditions

Some accounts pay their headline rate only when you meet monthly conditions, such as a minimum deposit or no withdrawals. Miss a month and that month may earn only the base rate. Enter the rate you will realistically get.

Tax on interest

Interest from savings accounts and term deposits is included in your tax return. How much tax you pay depends on your income. The calculator shows interest before tax.

Fees and withdrawals

Account fees and any money you take out along the way both slow the balance down. A single withdrawal part way through can mean a higher deposit for every remaining period.

A target that moves

If you are saving toward a purchase, the price may change before your deadline. Build in a buffer, or recheck the target every six months and rerun the numbers.
If you have not given your bank your tax file number, it may withhold tax from the interest it pays. The ATO explains how interest and any amounts withheld are reported.

Before you set your deposit

Make the target specific

A number and a date are easier to save for than a wish. Write down both, then check the calculator result against your budget before you commit to it.
Your target amount, including a buffer
The date you need the money
What you already have saved
The interest rate you will realistically earn
How often you are paid
If the deposit the calculator gives you does not fit your budget, change the date or the target first. A plan you can keep for three years beats an ambitious one you abandon in three months.

If the goal is a home deposit

The deposit you need depends on the price range you are aiming for and what a lender will lend you. Moneysmart has a guide to saving for a house deposit, and it is worth checking your borrowing power before you lock in a target, so you save toward a number that actually works.

Automate the first transfer

Set the transfer for the day after pay arrives, from your everyday account to the savings account. Treat it like a bill. Review it whenever your pay, your rent or your rate changes.
Related tools on this site: savings goal calculator if you know the deposit and want the date, compound interest calculator, budget planner and borrowing power calculator. If you are saving for your first place, start with first home buyer loans.
Sources
Australian Government, ASIC Moneysmart: Savings goals calculator and Save for a house deposit.
Australian Taxation Office: myTax 2025 Interest, on reporting interest from accounts and term deposits and tax withheld where no TFN is provided.

About the figures on this page. Every deposit, balance and interest amount on this page was calculated directly from the formulas shown above, using a $50,000 target, a $10,000 starting balance, monthly compounding and deposits at the end of each period. The rates, tax share and price growth used are illustrative assumptions and are not an offer or a forecast.

General information only. Nothing on this page takes your objectives, financial situation or needs into account, and it is not financial or tax advice. Loanity is a credit representative and can provide credit assistance once we understand your circumstances.

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Bring your savings target and deadline and we will show you what that deposit could mean for your borrowing power.
STILL GOT QUESTIONS?

How much to deposit questions, answered

How much should I save each month to reach my goal?

Take your target, subtract what your current savings will grow to by the deadline, and spread the gap across the months left, allowing for interest. For $50,000 in three years with $10,000 already saved at an assumed 4.50 per cent p.a., that is about $1,002 a month. The calculator above does the arithmetic for any target and date.

Use D = (T − S × (1 + i)^n) × i ÷ ((1 + i)^n − 1), where T is the target, S is your starting balance, i is the rate per period and n is the number of deposits. If the rate is zero, simply divide the gap by the number of deposits.

Run the calculator with a weekly frequency. In the example on this page, the weekly figure is $230.98, compared with $1,002.38 monthly. The weekly amount is well under a quarter of the monthly figure because a year has 52 weeks, not 48, and money deposited sooner earns a little more interest.

The interest difference is small. In the example, saving weekly earns about $52 more over three years than saving monthly. The bigger benefit is behavioural: a deposit that leaves your account right after pay arrives is harder to spend.

This calculator starts with a deadline and tells you how much to deposit. Our savings goal calculator starts with a deposit amount and tells you how long it will take. Use whichever matches the number you already know.

Interest from savings accounts and term deposits is included in your tax return, and the tax you pay depends on your income. If you have not given your bank your tax file number, it may withhold tax. The calculator shows interest before tax, so allow for it if your goal is tight.

Use the rate you expect to actually earn, not the highest advertised rate. If your account pays a bonus rate only when you meet conditions, and you may not meet them every month, use a lower figure.

The deposit needed for the remaining periods goes up. In the example, starting six months late lifts the monthly figure from about $1,002 to about $1,217. Rerun the calculator with your current balance and the time left whenever you fall behind.

That depends on the price range, the lender and whether lenders mortgage insurance applies. Work out your likely borrowing power and price range first, then set the deposit target and use this calculator to find the regular amount.

We do not charge you a fee for arranging your finance. Brokers are generally paid a commission by the lender when a loan settles. If any fee from us would ever apply to your situation, you would be told in writing before you proceeded.

Important information about this calculator
This calculator estimates the regular deposit needed to reach a savings target by a set date, based on the target, starting balance, interest rate, compounding and deposit frequency you enter. It assumes a constant rate, deposits at a fixed interval and no withdrawals, and it does not account for tax on interest, account fees, bonus rate conditions or inflation.

Interest rates and account terms change over time. Loanity does not guarantee that you will achieve the calculated outcome or that any loan will be approved. The results are general information only and are not financial advice.