Find out how your superannuation is taxed including what happens if you retire before the age of 60, the tax-free benefits on or after the age of 60, how the earnings on your super savings are taxed, how your super contributions are taxed, and the tax implications of leaving your super benefits to family or friends when you die. You can also learn some of the popular tax-effective super strategies.
This article is a must-read if you make contributions to a super fund, in addition to your employer’s compulsory Superannuation Guarantee contributions.
Hundreds of thousands of Australians who are making a serious effort to save for retirement are expected to receive a financial shock after the financial year ends in [...]
Q: I am an Australian citizen living in the UK and I have an Australian super fund accumulated from 1986-1992 and now growing with investment earnings over time. Additionally, I continue to hold bank accounts in Australia. I am 52 and I intend retiring at age 60. When I [...]
Q: I will be 60 in January 2011. Is the compulsory 4% drawdown from my super pension treated on a pro rata basis for my tax return 2010/2011 year, or can I draw it down after January 2011 rendering my super income after 60, tax-free? Thank you also for [...]
Here’s a tip that can potentially save you thousands of dollars. Check that your super fund has your tax file number (TFN).
If you joined a super fund before July 2007, or started your current job before July 2007, then your fund may not have your TFN. Effective from 1 July [...]
Effective from 1 July 2007, individuals with a terminal medical condition can access their super lump sum payments tax-free, regardless of age. Early access due to terminal illness is available from any super fund, including a self-managed super fund.
A super fund can release super benefits to a member if they [...]
Q: My parents are 70 years old and still working. Can they get the Mature Age Worker Tax Offset (MAWTO), and the Senior Australians Tax Offset (SATO)?
Trish’s response: The MAWTO and the SATO are subject to different tests, and individual eligibility will need to be confirmed with the ATO.
Subject to satisfying [...]
Q: I am attempting to work out when the 30% tax rate applies to both my wife and my own incomes for 2009/10 year. We are both 67 and operate a SMSF to which we can make concessional contributions, and I would like to reduce personal income to the point below [...]
This article is periodically updated with new rates, or to highlight changes to the Senior Australians Tax Offset rules. The latest article update, adding commentary on ‘rebate income’, occurred on 11 December 2009.
The superannuation tax rules are not the only tax benefits that you can take advantage of in retirement. If [...]
Q: If you turn 65 and retire after 1 July 2009, can you still make the $450,000 bring-forward non-concessional contribution as long as it’s before June 30th 2010? Or do you have to satisfy the work test to do so?
Trish’s response: For the benefit of other readers, I’ll first explain [...]
Q: Apart from a Public Sector PSS Super account, I have a superannuation account with AGEST to which contributions were made solely through salary sacrifice arrangements. I am about to retire from the Public Sector (age 60) and I am able to draw down a lump sum from AGEST which [...]
Q: If I purchased a rental property in my SMSF for say $200,000 five years ago and the house is now valued at $300,000 in the SMSF what will be the capital base for the calculation of future capital gains tax (CGT) if I transfer the house out of the fund? [...]
Q: I am one of those people (and my wife) who made the decision years ago to invest in property rather than super. Now at 60, (wife 55) I am retired and live off my property investments. I have 14 tenants in 2 separate complexes and a separate house all in [...]
Hi - I'm Trish Power and I am the author of Superannuation For Dummies and many other books on super and investing.And guess what! This site, SuperGuide, is the only INDEPENDENT website for consumers on superannuation in Australia. Read more