Cashback Clawback Calculator NZ 2026/27

Quick answer: Most NZ banks pay a cash contribution (cashback) when you take out or switch a mortgage, but attach a clawback: leave within the agreed period, commonly three or four years depending on the bank, and you must repay some or all of it, usually worked out on a daily pro-rata basis. Enter your cash contribution, your bank's clawback period, and how long you have had the loan below to see exactly what you would owe if you repaid or refinanced today.

This cashback clawback calculator works out how much of a bank's cash contribution you would have to repay if you refinanced to a different lender or repaid your mortgage in full before your clawback period ends. When you take out a new home loan, or move an existing one to a new bank, many New Zealand lenders pay a cash contribution into your account, commonly a percentage of your loan or a flat dollar figure, as an incentive to choose them. What often gets missed in the excitement of a decent cashback offer is the clawback clause attached to it: if you close the loan facility within an agreed number of years, usually three or four depending on the bank, you owe some or all of that cashback back. Most banks now reduce the amount owed a little every day you stay, on a daily pro-rata basis, rather than charging the full amount right up until the period ends. Enter the cash contribution you received, the clawback period your bank set, and the number of days since it was paid, and the calculator shows exactly what you would owe today, what you would keep, and how that stacks up against any new cashback a rival bank is offering. It is built for anyone weighing up a refinance offer, considering an early payout, or simply trying to understand what their cash contribution letter actually commits them to. Figures are indicative estimates; always check the exact clawback clause in your own loan documents.

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Updated July 2026  Current rates and legislation applied.

Verification & Methodology

Clawback period: Bank cash contribution agreements typically set a clawback period of three to four years from the date the contribution is paid. Kiwibank publishes a four-year (1,460-day) clawback on its own cash contribution, calculated on a daily pro-rata basis; other banks apply broadly similar terms over three or four years. There is no single fixed period across all NZ banks, so check your own cash contribution letter or loan agreement for the exact figure.
Calculation method: This calculator applies the daily pro-rata method (cash contribution divided by total days in the clawback period, multiplied by days remaining), the method Kiwibank discloses for its own cash contribution. Some banks step the amount down annually or monthly instead of daily, so the precise dollar figure may differ slightly from your own bank's calculation; treat this as a close estimate, not a final figure.
Clawback trigger: Clawback on the cash contribution itself is generally triggered when the loan facility is closed or discharged in full, most commonly by refinancing to a different lender or selling without porting the loan, not by an extra lump-sum repayment while the facility stays open with the same bank. A separate clawback of adviser commission is a different matter and is not modelled here.
Typical cash contribution: Commonly 0.5% to 1% of the loan, occasionally more in a highly competitive lending market, or a flat dollar amount for smaller loans. Offers change often and are not government-set, so confirm the current offer with your bank or a mortgage adviser.
Last verified: July 2026, against published bank cash contribution terms.
Source data: Kiwibank, cash contribution terms and the Commerce Commission, consumer guidance on mortgages and switching lenders.

What Is a Cashback Clawback?

When a New Zealand bank wants to win your mortgage, whether you are buying for the first time or refinancing an existing loan, it will often pay a cash contribution into your account shortly after settlement. This is commonly called a cashback. It might be a flat dollar figure or a percentage of your loan, and it is a genuine cash payment, not a discount on your rate. The catch is the clawback clause that comes with it. Every cash contribution agreement sets a clawback period, the number of years the bank expects you to stay before the contribution is truly yours to keep. If you close the loan within that period, most commonly by refinancing to a different bank or selling the property and not porting the loan across, you have to repay some or all of the cash contribution. Miss this clause when comparing offers and a seemingly generous cashback can turn into an unexpected bill a year or two later.

How Banks Work Out What You Owe

Most banks reduce the clawback amount a little each day you stay, rather than charging the full amount right up until the period ends and then dropping it to nothing overnight. Kiwibank, for example, publishes the exact formula it uses for its own cash contribution: the contribution is divided by the total number of days in its four-year (1,460-day) clawback period to get a daily rate, and that daily rate is multiplied by the number of days left in the period to work out what you would need to repay if you left today. This calculator applies the same daily pro-rata logic to whatever cash contribution, clawback period and elapsed time you enter. Not every bank publishes its method quite this openly, and a small number step the amount down in yearly or monthly chunks rather than daily, so treat the result here as a close, honest estimate rather than a figure guaranteed to match your bank's own calculation to the cent.

What Counts as Leaving

The clawback on a cash contribution is generally tied to the loan facility itself being closed or discharged in full, not to how you manage the loan while it stays open. Refinancing to a different bank, or selling your property without porting the existing loan across to your next purchase, are the classic triggers. Simply refixing to a new interest rate with your current bank at the end of a fixed term does not usually close the facility, so it does not usually trigger the cash contribution clawback. Making an extra lump-sum repayment while keeping the loan open with the same bank is generally treated the same way, as paying the loan down faster rather than closing it. Separately, some banks claw back commission paid to a mortgage adviser, rather than the customer, when a client makes a large lump-sum repayment. That is an arrangement between the bank and the adviser and the policy differs from bank to bank, so it is worth asking your adviser directly whether it affects the deal they have arranged for you.

Typical Cash Contribution Amounts in New Zealand

Cash contributions in New Zealand commonly sit somewhere between 0.5% and 1% of the loan amount, though the exact figure moves with how competitive the home loan market is at the time. In a hot lending market, some banks have offered more than 1%, or a flat figure running into five figures on a large loan, while a quieter market can see offers pulled back closer to the bottom of that range. Smaller loans, particularly for first home buyers, are often offered a flat dollar amount rather than a percentage, commonly a few thousand dollars, since a small percentage of a modest loan would otherwise be a token amount. None of these figures are set by regulation. They are a competitive tool each bank adjusts to win business, so always confirm the actual offer in writing before you rely on it.

Worked Example

Priya has a $600,000 home loan and received a $5,000 cash contribution from her bank when she took it out, worth about 0.8% of her loan. Her bank's cash contribution letter set a three-year clawback period, 1,095 days. Two years later, 730 days after the contribution was paid, a rival bank offers her a sharper rate and she starts weighing up whether to switch. With 730 of the 1,095 days gone, exactly 365 days, one third of the period, remain. Using the daily pro-rata method, her bank's daily rate on the contribution is $5,000 divided by 1,095 days, about $4.57 a day. Multiplied by the 365 days remaining, that comes to $1,666.67, the clawback she would owe if she switched today. She would keep the other $3,333.33 of her original contribution. Whether switching still makes sense for Priya then depends on stacking that $1,666.67 cost, plus any legal and valuation fees, against whatever new cash contribution and rate saving the rival bank is offering, which is exactly what the Mortgage Refinance Calculator on this site is built to work through.

Who This Calculator Is For

This calculator suits anyone who received a cash contribution from their bank and is now considering refinancing, selling, or otherwise closing out their mortgage before their clawback period ends. That includes borrowers comparing a refinance offer from a new bank, homeowners planning to sell and not port their loan, and anyone who simply wants to understand what the fine print in their cash contribution letter actually commits them to before they sign it in the first place. It is an estimate of the clawback cost alone, not a full refinance comparison; pair it with the Mortgage Refinance Calculator to weigh the clawback against a new rate and any switching costs.

What This Calculator Assumes

• The clawback amount reduces on a straight daily pro-rata basis over the period you enter. This matches Kiwibank's own published method, but some banks use annual or monthly steps instead.
• The clawback period runs from the date the cash contribution was paid, which may differ from your original settlement date.
• Days elapsed is entered by you. Convert years and months to days yourself if you do not know the exact figure.
• Clawback is assumed to apply only when the loan facility is fully closed or discharged, not for extra repayments made while the loan stays open with the same bank.
• Results are indicative estimates only and are not financial advice. Confirm the exact clawback clause and amount with your own bank before you commit to a decision.