Super for beginners, part 16: Tax-free twice
When you reach 60 and start a retirement income stream you get two dollops of tax-free super. If you’re aged 60 years or over, any lump sum or income stream benefits you receive from a taxed super fund (90% of all super benefits) are tax-free.
Understanding the tax DNA of a super benefit
A superannuation benefit can be made up of two components — tax-free and taxable, which is more straightforward than the rules that applied before July 2007. Before July 2007, taking a super benefit involved up to eight different benefit components.
Non-cash contributions, CGT and contributions caps
Q: I have a question relating to a strategy in reducing capital gains tax (CGT). My husband and I, both near 50, plan to spend around $700,000 of our cash to buy shares soon. We don’t have a trust structure or company (both PAYG) and wondered how/if we could buy them in the name of our self-managed super fund?
Making super contributions: cracking concessional cap means more tax
Q: I’m 53, put $24,700 of pre-tax contributions into my super account ($950/fortnight) with my employer also putting in about $7,000 a year. So, the super rules mean I can still salary sacrifice this $950/fortnight amount until July 2012, attracting only 15% tax, then every dollar contributed after that to my account over $25,000 attracts %30 tax.
Know your super limits: Reducing CGT via concessional contributions
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 different locations. I would like to get rid of the properties at about age 65.
Salary-sacrificed contributions count for Family Tax Benefit
Q: I was wondering what you know about salary sacrifice super being included in Family Tax Benefit family income calculations?
Watch the (contributions) caps when super sailing
Under the superannuation rules, the annual contribution caps are indexed in line with movements in average wages. Wages have increased in the past year, but the concessional (before-tax) and non-concessional (after-tax) caps are not increasing for the 2010/2011 year.
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 [...]
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…
Working longer reaps tax benefits for over-55s
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 [...]
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!
