How LISTO works (Low Income Superannuation Tax Offset)

It’s not easy to get tax back from the government, but one of the few exceptions to that rule is the Low Income Super Tax Offset (LISTO) payment for low-income earners.

If you qualify for a LISTO payment, you could be eligible to receive a rebate of up to $500 paid directly into your super account by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).

If announced changes proceed, the maximum LISTO payment will increase to $810 from 1 July 2027.

Although this tax offset has been around for many years, it’s one that’s often overlooked. As many women and younger workers in particular tend to be low-income earners, it’s worth learning more about this potential top-up for your retirement nest egg.

What is LISTO?

LISTO was introduced to encourage people to save for their retirement and make the super system fairer for low-income earners.

For most workers, the tax rate on money going into their super account is significantly lower than the rate they would pay on the same income outside super. The LISTO rules are designed to provide some tax savings to lower earners and prevent some people from paying more tax on their super contributions than if they received the same amount as take-home pay.

Put simply, all concessional contributions to super are taxed at 15% when they go into your super account. Current tax rates are zero for income up to $18,200 and 16% for the dollars you earn between $18,201 and $45,000 (not including Medicare Levy). Without LISTO, very low-income earners would pay more tax to contribute to super than they do on their last dollar of annual income and those paying the 16% tax rate have only a small tax saving on super contributions.

According to the latest available ATO statistics, just over 2.4 million people benefited from a LISTO payment in the year to December 2024.

Background to LISTO

The Low Income Superannuation Tax Offset (LISTO) came into effect on 1 July 2017 as a renamed version of the Low Income Superannuation Contribution (LISC). LISTO payments are capped at $500 per year.

The LISC policy initiative was a response to the Henry Review into Australia’s tax system. The Henry Review findings argued low-income taxpayers should not be paying more tax on their concessional (before-tax) super contributions – like the Superannuation Guarantee – than on their wage and salary income.