Changes to co-contribution rules kill salary sacrificing strategy
Q: I understand salary-sacrificed super contributions may be added back in to assessable income for co-contribution purposes. Do you know anything about this? Yes, your understanding is correct. Salary sacrificed contributions count towards the co-contribution income test, and this has [...]
Wearing two contributions caps
Q: Are the caps relating to ‘concessional’ and ‘non-concessional’ contributions regarded as separate? Put simply, can I contribute $50,000 concessional and $450,000 non-concessional sums (a total contribution of $500,000) to my super fund for the 2010/2011 year?
Super rates and thresholds for the 2010/2011 year
The ATO has released the contributions caps for 2010/2011 year – no change from the 2009/2010 year caps I’m afraid. The ATO has also released other updated superannuation rates and thresholds for the 2010/2011 year…
The short story on super contribution limits
You can make two types of superannuation contributions and each type of contribution has a separate limit. Concessional contributions: Before-tax contributions, such as salary sacrificed contributions and personal tax-deductible contributions, are known as concessional contributions. The limits for this type [...]
Cooper Review: Top 10 recommendations from final report
On 5 July, the Government released the final report of the Super System Review (Cooper Review). Although there won’t be an official response on the final report for several weeks, the Superannuation Minister…
THE SOAPBOX: Show mercy on contributions caps, for votes’ sake
In the May 2010 Federal Budget, the Government announced that the ATO would have discretion to deal with Australians who exceeded contributions caps, but… wait for it… only from the 2010/2011 year. Come on guys!
SG made easy: just add Medicare
If you run a small business and have employees, or work for a small business as an employee, then you should read this article. The Federal Government is launching a free superannuation clearing house for businesses that have up to 19 employees. The clearing house will be run by Medicare Australia.
Gone missing! Have you checked your super lately?
If you have a few spare moments, I suggest you contact your superannuation fund and ask the person on the other end of the phone to verify your superannuation account balance, and confirm that no one has withdrawn any of your super cash lately.
Over-50s contributions cap of $50,000 now permanent, for some
I have some more good super news for super savers from the Government’s response to the Henry Tax Review. Australians aged 50 or over retain the $50,000 cap for concessional (before-tax) contributions, subject to satisfying certain conditions.
Superannuation Guarantee now fairer to older workers
In the recent past, SuperGuide has made a lot noise about the inequity of the SG rules for older workers. When you choose to work beyond the age of 69 you miss out on Superannuation Guarantee (SG) contributions. In other words, by working longer, older workers effectively took a pay cut.
Henry Tax Review: Swan says no, but yes yes to super
Using the Henry Tax Review as a political decoy, the Federal Treasurer, Mr Wayne Swan announced four major changes to the superannuation rules. The super news is a very big deal, because the changes, when legislated, should deliver larger retirement balances to more Australians.
