Fixed loan break cost – how much does it cost to end a fixed loan contract?
If you want to end your fixed rate mortgage early, you'll pay a break fee. Find out how much it could cost you to break a fixed rate home loan.
We’re reader-supported and may be paid when you visit links to partner sites. We don’t compare all products in the market, but we’re working on it!
A fixed loan break cost calculator could help those who are selling a property or refinancing work out what kind of fee they'll be charged. Unfortunately, this calculator can't exist because a fixed rate break cost is always personalised and based on the specific details of your loan, such as:
- Total loan term
- Loan length remaining on your fixed loan contract
- Total value of the loan
- The interest rate that you fixed
- Current fixed interest rates on offer from that lender
However, we can help you understand how banks' calculate your break fee, to give you an indication of what you may pay. A fixed rate home loan is a legal contract that guarantees you'll repay a fixed amount of interest on a loan for a specified time period, meaning, if you take out a three-year fixed rate loan at 2.29% on April 1 2021, you pledge to make repayments based on that interest rate until March 31, 2024.
If you decide to break that contract by switching loans or lenders before the fixed period has ended, your existing lender will want to be compensated for any financial loss they incur. Breaking a home loan during a fixed interest period can be expensive, which is why you should ask your lender how much it will cost you to break your fixed interest rate home loan before you decide to do it.
If you're considering getting a fixed rate home loan but you're concerned about flexibility, you might want to consider a variable mortgage instead.
See how much you can save with a lower rate
What is considered "breaking" a fixed home loan?
- Switching to a different home loan product with the same bank or lender
- Switching to a different home loan with a different bank or lender by refinancing
- Making extra home loan repayments in excess of an accepted amount
- Repaying the loan in full before the end of the fixed rate period (due to selling the property or refinancing)
- When your loan falls into serious default, requiring it to be repaid immediately
What fees do I have to pay?
There are two fees to pay when you break a fixed home loan:
- Early repayment adjustment/Break fee/Early exit fee (the expensive one)
- A discharge fee/early repayment fee (usually a couple of hundred dollars)
Early repayment costs can also be known as
- Early repayment penalties
- Early repayment economic costs
- Early repayment interest adjustments
- Break costs or break fees
How is the early repayment cost calculated?
Lenders will typically finance your home loan on the wholesale market with a fixed maturity date. At the time you switch loans or repay your loan early, the bank will use the Bank Bill Swap Rate (BBSR) or BBSW to calculate your early repayment cost. Current BBSRs are displayed on the homepage of the Australian Financial Markets Association and the ASX website.
The Bank Bill Swap Rate
The BBSR is the interest rate charged on wholesale fixed rate borrowings for banks. It is a floating market, so rates change daily, if not by the minute. They use this measure because it is the most transparent indicator of the cost of funding for your loan.
Lenders compare the BBSR when you originally entered the loan and compare it with the BBSR at the time you break. As BBSRs use specific time periods, such as a three year maturity BBSR, an early repayment cost will be calculated against a BBSR of the same time period that you have left on your loan. So if you have one year left on your fixed home loan, your original BBSR will be calculated against the one year BBSR on the day you break.
*This diagram is an example only.
So, if you decide to break a three-year fixed loan at the start of the third year, your lender will compare the original market swap rate with one-year market swaps (as that is the period remaining on the loan). If the current BBSR is less than at the time of fixing, the customer will have to pay the difference on the amount that was agreed to be paid for the remaining term – as your lender has an obligation to keep up their repayments on their wholesale funding for your loan. They have an agreement to pay their wholesale lenders a fixed amount – whether those lenders are on the market or an internal lending arm. These charges compensate for the estimated cost in lost interest and administration time.
Break cost example calculations
Breaking a fixed loan isn't always a situation where large break payments result.
One quick indicator is the home loan market. If all the interest rates currently on the market are more expensive than your current fixed rate home loans, the chances are that your lender will gladly let you off without any repayment penalty – as they can make more money out of your exit.
Check out the two very different scenarios below to see when you might be facing a huge repayment penalty, versus when breaking your fixed rate home loan might be worthwhile.
Fixed interest loan basic early repayment adjustment scenario 1
Outcome: large early repayment cost
Loan details
| Loan amount | $400,000 |
| Loan length | 25 years |
| Fixed period | 3 years |
| Repayment type | interest-only |
| Repaid when? | May 2013 (2 years into a 3 year fixed period) |
| Interest rate of loan | 8.7% p.a. |
| 1 Year of repayments remaining | $34,800 |
Early repayment cost calculation
| 3 Year BBSR (May 2011) | 7.59% p.a. |
| 3 Year fixed interest rate (May 2011) | 8.80% p.a. |
| 1 Year BBSR (May 2013) | 2.65% p.a. |
| Difference between original BBSR and BBSR at break | 4.94% p.a. |
| Difference/original BBSR (4.94/7.59*100) | 65.1% |
| 1 Year of repayments remaining | $34,800 |
| Early repayment adjustment (65.1%x $34,800) | $22,645 |
| Plus exit fee | $400 |
| Total early repayment adjustment | $23,054 |
In the above example, a borrower has broken a three-year, interest-only home loan at the start of the final year. The borrower has to pay the large 65% difference in the interest rate that was agreed to be paid in the final year. So, the borrower must pay $23,054 in early break costs including fees.
Fixed interest loan basic early repayment adjustment scenario 2
Outcome: no early repayment cost
Loan details
| Loan | $400,000 |
| Loan length | 25 years |
| Years fixed | 5 |
| Repayment type | interest-only |
| Repaid when? | Feb 2011 (4 years into a 5 year fixed period) |
| Interest rate | 7.5% p.a. |
| Original Market Swap Rate (MSR) | 6.39% p.a. |
| MSR in February 2011 | 6.59% p.a. |
| Difference between original and 2011 MSR | -0.2% p.a. |
| Market interest rate 5 year fixed interest loan February 2011 | 8.80% p.a. |
| Early repayment adjustment | $0 |
| Plus exit fee | $400 |
| Total early repayment adjustment | $400 |
This scenario is a 5 year fixed home loan which began in February 2009. It is likely in this case that no early repayment cost will be charged to the borrower.
Why? The original market swap rate is 0.2% p.a. less than at the time the borrower broke the fixed loan. The lender can earn more money on the market now than the original loan agreement.
So by breaking this fixed home loan, the borrower is freeing their lender to make more money by taking advantage of higher lending interest rates on the market at the time the customer broke the loan.
Essentially the lender can use the original wholesale funding agreement to lend money to new home loan borrowers at a higher interest rate than they were receiving under the original agreement.
Compare your refinancing options
If you are thinking about breaking a fixed home loan, your first step is to contact your lender and request a quote for breaking your loan inclusive of the early repayment cost. Then compare the interest costs of a potential new loan.
You should also weigh the pros and cons of fixed and variable rates when making your decision to switch.