Savings Goal Calculator (Australia)

At 7% annual return and no starting balance, you need about $640/month for 40 years, $1,050/month for 30 years, or $1,900/month for 25 years to reach $1 million in a tax-free wrapper like an offset account. In a regular savings account taxed at 32.5% marginal rate, the same goal takes 4-6 extra years because of annual tax drag. Superannuation sits in the middle — 15% earnings tax plus tax-free after 60.

A $1M super balance isn't the same as $1M in an offset account — super earnings are taxed at 15% on the way in, but withdrawals after 60 are tax-free. A savings account earns less in real terms because interest is taxed at your marginal rate every year, reducing the amount that compounds. Framing the goal in after-tax (spendable) terms makes the wrapper comparison apples-to-apples.

Offset accounts earn your mortgage interest rate tax-free — a natural fit for shorter goals (up to ~10 years) when you have a home loan. Super is better for long horizons to age 60+ because of the concessional 15% tax rate on contributions and earnings. Outside these two, a regular savings account or ETF portfolio is taxed at your marginal rate on earnings — usually the slowest path to a goal.

Use your marginal tax rate plus the 2% Medicare levy. For 2025-26 Australian residents, common rates are 18% (up to $45k), 32% (up to $135k), 39% ($135k-$190k) and 47% ($190k+). If you're in the 37% bracket, enter 39%. If you're in the 45% bracket, enter 47%.

A diversified portfolio of Australian and international shares has historically returned about 7-9% nominal per year. Residential property has been closer to 6-7%. Offset accounts earn your mortgage interest rate (currently 5-6%). If you're entering a long horizon, use a real (after-inflation) return of 5-6% and treat your goal as in today's dollars. If you're using a nominal return of 8-9%, your future goal number should be bigger.

Options: extend the horizon (compounding is exponential — an extra 5 years often halves the required monthly contribution), increase monthly contribution, consider higher-return wrappers like ETFs over cash savings, or reduce the goal to something achievable. If the calculator shows 'Not reachable' at $100k/month, the goal and horizon are simply incompatible for the return you've entered.