EOFY super checklist: 8 smart moves before 30 June

It’s also a good idea to confirm with your employer when they will be making their contributions to your super fund, so you know whether they will hit your account by 30 June and be included in this year’s caps. Employer SG contributions for the April-June quarter are due by 28 July and could be added to your account either before or after 30 June. Your employer may choose to pay their contribution earlier than usual to prepare for the transition to payday super from 1 July.

You may be eligible to contribute more than your normal concessional contribution cap if you have unused cap amounts from prior years – known as ‘carry-forward’ concessional contributions. If you’re eligible, 2025–26 is your last chance to use any amount from 2020–21 before it expires.

The bring-forward measure (not to be confused with the carry-forward rule mentioned above) can also be used to contribute more than the standard annual non-concessional cap.

If you discover you have breached a cap or will do so before the end of the year, don’t panic. The consequences for exceeding caps are only intended to put you in the same position you would have been if the excessive contributions were not made.

2. Get your contributions in before 30 June

If you want to have a super contribution counted in the current financial year, ensure your super fund receives it by 30 June. This is particularly important if you plan to claim a tax deduction for contributions (see tip 3), or if you are making a non-concessional contribution to qualify for a government co-contribution for the year (see tip 4).

The key date for making contributions is not when you make the payment, but when it’s received and loaded by your super fund. Your super fund’s website will usually provide information about its cut-off dates for the end of financial year. Make sure you send off your contribution before the fund’s deadline to avoid disappointment.

3. Consider making a tax-deductible super contribution

If you have space under this year’s concessional contribution cap or available space from previous years you’re eligible to carry forward, and available cash, consider making a personal tax-deductible contribution into your super account.

The tax applied to concessional super contributions could be significantly lower than the marginal income tax rate that applies to your income, reducing your tax bill as well as boosting your super.

4. Consider making a non-concessional contribution

Non-concessional (after-tax) contributions are made from money you have already paid tax on and can be a great way to boost your super if you have spare cash. This type of contribution is not taxed as it enters your super account.

If you’re a lower-income earner, you may also receive a co-contribution from the government in return for making a non-concessional contribution. Those with income below $62,488 in 2025–26 can qualify for a payment.

If your children have recently joined the workforce, encouraging them to take advantage of the co-contribution, or even providing them with the means to do so, will set them on the right path for successful retirement saving.

Non-concessional contributions can also make sense if you’ve already reached your concessional contributions cap. You pay a maximum of 15% tax on your investment earnings on money invested in super, which is usually less than you would pay outside the super system, so it can be an attractive option for savings you don’t need to access until retirement.

5. Employers: Get ready for Payday Super

From 1 July 2026, SG contributions must generally be received by your employee’s super fund within seven business days of each payday.

When you take on a new employee, the deadline is extended to 20 business days after their first payday. This extension also applies to the first contribution to a new super fund for an existing employee.

Make sure your payroll software provider and/or super clearing house is ready for the transition. If you’re currently using the ATO’s small business clearing house, you will need to find a new provider because the service is closing on 1 July 2026.

Check your data on employees and their super funds is accurate and up to date, including membership numbers, fund unique superannuation identifiers (USIs), and tax file numbers (TFNs). Inaccurate details can lead to rejected contributions and missed deadlines.

The introduction of a member verification request (MVR) later in 2026 and early 2027 will allow your payroll software to check that employees’ membership details are accurate before making the first contribution and help reduce rejected contributions.

6. Boost your spouse’s super balance

Consider transferring some concessional contributions from your account into your spouse’s account (or vice-versa) where beneficial. This process is called spouse contribution splitting.

Contribution spitting could help to:

• Keep your balance below $500,000 so you can continue to use the carry-forward rule for concessional contributions
• Reduce the risk that your balance exceeds the transfer balance cap that limits the amount you can transfer into a pension account, or the threshold for additional tax on super investment earnings in the future.

You may also want to transfer contributions from your account to your spouse’s for other reasons – perhaps they are older than you and will be able to access the money sooner. Alternatively, you may wish to hold more super in the younger spouse’s name to improve the rate of Age Pension the older spouse is eligible for.

Contributions from the last financial year can be transferred before 30 June this year and contributions from the current year can be transferred after 1 July. Your super fund’s deadline for accepting splitting requests for the last financial year may be earlier than 30 June to allow time for processing, so be sure to submit your application as soon as possible.

If your spouse has an adjusted taxable income below $40,000, you could also consider contributing to their super account to boost their retirement savings and earn yourself a tax rebate.

Eligible contributions into your spouse’s super account of up to $3,000 will give you a tax offset of up to $540.

7. Get your salary-sacrifice arrangement ready

Now is the time to start thinking about setting up a salary sacrifice for the next financial year. Salary sacrifice is an arrangement where part of your before-tax salary is paid into your super account rather than being paid to you as take-home pay. This can be a tax-effective way to boost your retirement savings.

To be valid, a salary-sacrifice arrangement needs to be set up before you have earned the income you wish to sacrifice. If you are usually paid after you complete the work (in arrears), it may take a pay period for a new salary-sacrifice arrangement to take effect, as you have already earned some of the income you haven’t been paid for yet.

If you haven’t made changes in time to affect your first pay for the financial year, don’t worry. You can modify a salary-sacrifice arrangement at any time, keeping in mind that it may take a pay cycle to come into effect.

8. Confirm your super income stream payments

If you’re in retirement phase and receiving a super pension, or you have a transition to retirement pension, check you have received at least the required minimum pension amount during the financial year.

If you have a self-managed super fund (SMSF), it’s up to you (and the other trustees) to ensure the minimum payments are met, as underpayment can lead to compliance problems.

If your super is with a large fund, your super provider will take care of ensuring minimums are met.

After 1 July, your minimum for the new financial year will be determined, and this may be significantly different from your current minimum, especially if you’ve had a milestone birthday.