Does Salary Sacrifice Help or Hurt Your Borrowing Power?

Salary sacrificing for super or a novated lease? It could be boosting — or quietly cutting — how much you can borrow. Bibiyan from Aussie Wealth breaks down exactly how lenders treat salary sacrifice, and why choosing the right one makes all the difference.

Bibiyan Thapa

6/19/20263 min read

a person stacking coins on top of a table

Yes — salary sacrifice can help your borrowing power. But it can also hurt it. The difference comes down to what you're sacrificing, and which lender you go to. Here is what you need to know before you apply.

Does Salary Sacrifice Help or Hurt Your Borrowing Power?

Salary sacrifice is one of those things that trips up a lot of buyers. You've been told it's great for tax — and it is. But then you go to apply for a home loan and suddenly someone's telling you it might actually lower how much you can borrow. So which is it?

Short answer: it depends on what you're sacrificing, and which lender you go to. Let me break it down.

What Is Salary Sacrifice?

Salary sacrifice means redirecting part of your pay before tax into something else — most commonly extra super. But it can also cover a car (via a novated lease), a laptop, or other work benefits.

Because the money comes out before tax, your taxable income looks smaller on paper. That's great for your tax bill. The catch? A lender sees that smaller number and has to decide: do we lend based on what you actually earn, or only what's left after the sacrifice?

The Big Split: Super vs. a Car

This is the part most people miss — and it makes a real difference.

Salary sacrifice into super is usually optional. You can switch it off whenever you want and put that money back in your pocket. Because of this, many lenders will "add it back" — meaning they assess you on your full gross salary before the sacrifice. That can actually lift your borrowing power.

Salary sacrifice for a novated lease (a car) is a different story. That's a locked-in financial commitment. Lenders generally won't add it back as income — instead, they treat it as a reduction to your income or as a liability. Either way, your borrowing power goes down.

Same words — "salary sacrifice" — but completely different outcomes depending on what's behind them.

A Quick Example

Sarah earns $100,000 gross. She salary sacrifices $10,000 a year into super, so her payslip shows $90,000 taxable.

Lender A adds the super sacrifice back. They assess her on the full $100,000. Stronger borrowing power.
Lender B takes the payslip at face value. They assess her on $90,000. Lower borrowing number — same Sarah, same job, just a different lender policy.

Now flip it: if that $10,000 was a novated car lease instead, most lenders won't add it back at all — and some will factor the car commitment in on top. Sarah's borrowing power drops in a way it simply didn't with super.

Same person. Same income. Very different outcomes — purely down to lender policy.

The Bonus Most People Have Never Heard Of: Grossing Up

If you work for a hospital, charity, or certain not-for-profits, you may have access to a tax-free salary packaging cap. Some lenders will "gross up" that packaged amount — meaning they treat your tax-free portion as worth more than its dollar value, because you're not paying tax on it.

For nurses, teachers in certain sectors, and charity workers, this can be a genuine borrowing-power boost — if you're with a lender that recognises it.

Important: this only applies to genuine tax-exempt employers. It doesn't apply to standard super sacrifice or novated leases.

Why Getting the Right Lender Matters

There's no single rule across the board. Different lenders treat salary sacrifice in different ways — some add super sacrifice back, some don't. Some gross up tax-free packaging, some don't. Novated leases are handled differently across the board.

That means the same client can get meaningfully different borrowing numbers from different lenders — without changing a single thing about their actual situation. Matching your circumstances to the right lender's policy is exactly where a broker earns their keep.

Quick Recap

Salary sacrifice into super can often be added back — and may help your borrowing power. Salary sacrifice for a car (novated lease) usually reduces it. Tax-free packaging for hospital and charity workers can sometimes be grossed up for an extra boost. And every lender is different — so the right lender can meaningfully change your number.

If you salary sacrifice and you're thinking about buying, have a chat with me before you assume it's helping or hurting. There's a good chance we can structure things to work in your favour.

— Bibiyan Thapa | Aussie Wealth Home Loans | +61 0450 979 095