An offset account is an everyday banking account that is attached to your home loan with MyState Bank. The balance of your account is 100% offset against your linked eligible home loan before the interest is calculated which means that you pay less interest. The interest that you save can grow significantly over the term of your home loan. Your interest savings may shorten your home loan by years.

Your offset account is quick and easy to set up. You are charged a flat monthly account keeping fee of $8 and incur no ATM fees when using any big 4 ATMs in Australia. Enjoy no electronic transaction fees, staff assisted transaction fees or statement fees either. Your account also works on all cashless payment platforms via your smart phone, and you can send or receive money in less than 60 seconds.

When comparing between an offset account and a savings account, think of how you can make your money work harder for you. For example, the interest paid on a savings balance will usually be lower than the interest charged on your home loan, so you stand to make higher savings choosing an offset account over a regular savings account. Similarly, interest earned on savings balances is considered income so could be taxed at the end of the financial year. You don’t make any interest income on an offset account balance. That balance is instead offset against your total loan amount, so you don’t pay tax on the interest you save on your home loan.

An offset account is designed to help you reduce the interest owed on your home loan. For example, if you have a $500,000 home loan with MyState and you have a balance of $20,000 then you will only be charged interest on $480,000 of your home loan for as long as your offset account balance remains. Over the total term of your home loan, you could potentially save tens of thousands of dollars in home loan interest payments.

While using your offset account doesn’t directly translate to lower monthly home loan repayments, it does cut the overall interest down over the term of your loan, meaning you will still pay the same monthly repayment amount for less time. The total cost of your home loan becomes less so you can pay out your loan and own your home sooner rather than later.

The major benefit is the reduced interest you receive on your home loan. The balance in your offset account is offset against your total home loan amount before interest is calculated which means you pay less interest.

Additional benefits for choosing an offset account with MyState include unlimited free Visa and EFTPOS transactions, no ATM fees when you’re using any major bank ATMS throughout Australia. Ease of use is another great benefit with quick and simple banking all done from your intuitive MyState Bank App.

The balance in your offset account is not subject to current Australian income tax owing to the fact that you are not directly making any money and instead are receiving flow-on benefits to your home loan.