Thinking of renovating your home? You might want to check out the HomeBuilder scheme

The current pandemic brought by the coronavirus affected the whole world - not just in a small way but in a very impactful way. Many of our plans were disrupted. Pretty sure that before all of this happened, homeowners had planned to upgrade or renovate their homes. But for different reasons, maybe it’s become impossible to do at the moment. Renovating or upgrading your home takes a lot of work – and for sure, it’s going to cost a lot of money. The Federal Government announced the HomeBuilder package that is meant to help those who have been wanting to upgrade or renovate their homes. This package offers $25,000, but of course, only if you are eligible to receive this. And it does not come cheap. What exactly is the purpose of the HomeBuilder package? According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, there are around 7.7 million private dwellings right now in Australia. The goal is to provide more jobs to the residential construction sector, which is considered to play a huge role in the recovery of the economy. It is said to become a vital tool in the economy, especially because of the number of jobs it can create for the residents. So how do you know if you are eligible? The criteria are quite tight. First and foremost, you must be an adult Australian citizen. You also must have a taxable income of $125,000 a year and if you’re married or living someone else, the combined income should be less than $200,000 a year. You will also need to enter a contract to upgrade or renovate your place, which should begin within three months of the contract date. And because this scheme is for residential properties only, investment properties are not included. Secondly, the property you are going to upgrade or build must be valued less than $1.5 million and you are most likely going to need to spend about $150,000 to $750,000 from your own pocket. Depends on the upgrades you are planning to do. It is a must that the upgrades you will be doing should improve your house’s accessibility, so outdoor improvements like swimming pools and sheds are not included. As for new builds, the total value must be less than $750,000 including the very land where it is built. Depends on the territory, the work must be conducted by a licensed builder. Under Scott Morrison’s scheme, it has been said that it will ban millionaires from claiming this cash support, which many are accusing the Government that this “free money” will be given to the rich. “The Prime Minister and Treasurer were finalising the plan at a meeting of the budget razor gang of the cabinet on Tuesday but government sources suggested existing income tests for the first home deposit scheme were a good guide.” Contrary to what other people think, Millionaires will not be able to claim any of this because this scheme is meant to bring support to those affected by the pandemic. The new scheme was also devised to help bush fire victims to renovate or rebuild their homes. Prime Minister Scott Morrison added that more information and details will be announced soon. If you meet the criteria, you can apply directly to your state or territory’s revenue office.