Anyone aged 65 or over can access super benefits without retiring or satisfying any other special condition of release. Turning 65 is a condition of release. Unless you’re in a public sector fund, such super benefits will be tax-free when paid on or after the age of 60. For a general summary of the super and ... Read more
Making superannuation contributions
A Super Guide
Superannuation contributions (including personal contributions and employer contributions) are a cash amount, or in some cases an asset, that is contributed to a complying superannuation fund, on behalf of an individual under the age of 75. Super contributions and investment earnings on those contributions are the key to accumulating a substantial retirement nest egg.
You can make two types of superannuation contributions to your super fund. You, or your employer, can make concessional (before-tax) contributions to your super fund. You, or your spouse, or the federal government, can make non-concessional (after-tax) contributions to your super fund.
You have two caps – a concessional contributions cap ($25,000 for the 2017/2018 year, and for the 2018/2019 year), and a non-concessional contributions cap ($100,000 for the 2017/2018 year, or for the 2018/2019 year).
Note: If you are aged 65 years or over, you must satisfy a work test before making super contributions (see SuperGuide article For over-65s: Ten tips when making super contributions).
Important: The Total Superannuation Balance is a new restriction on super contributions. For the 2017/2018 and 2018/2019 year, if you have more than $1.6 million or more in super, you cannot make non-concessional (after-tax) contributions, receive spouse contributions, or receive the government co-contribution (see SuperGuide article Total Superannuation Balance: 7 reasons why your TSB matters).
In this section, discover how much your employer must pay into your superannuation fund, how much you can contribute, the tax-free bonus the federal government gives you, contributions strategies and everything you need to know about making personal superannuation contributions. Find out how you can make concessional (before-tax) contributions, non-concessional (after-tax) contributions, receive co-contributions and more.
Click on the links directly below to access the following topics about making superannuation contributions:
- Superannuation contributions strategies
- 2018/2019 Contributions Guides
- Super contributions caps
- Superannuation Guarantee (SG)
- Salary sacrifice and super
- Tax-deductible super contributions
- Spouse contributions
- Total superannuation balance
- Contributions tax
- Excess contributions
As a starting point you may want to consider reading the following SuperGuide articles:
Set out below are all SuperGuide articles referring to Making superannuation contributions.
How do I transfer a UK pension to an Australian super fund?
Recent changes to legislation have made it more difficult to transfer UK pensions to Australian superannuation funds. These changes could affect thousands of people who have worked in the UK for any period of time and who want to transfer their accumulated pension savings to an Australian super fund. Who can ... Read more
Superannuation rules: What applies at different ages?
Compulsory superannuation contributions (Superannuation Guarantee) and voluntary superannuation contributions are an integral part of the federal government’s retirement income policy, along with the taxpayer-funded Age Pension. As an incentive for Australians to stash money away for 30 to 40 years (rather than ... Read more
Salary sacrifice and super: A guide for employees and employers
Salary sacrificing superannuation, by making before-tax super contributions, is a popular strategy for employees on middle-to-high incomes. The deal is that you increase your superannuation balance while reducing the amount of income tax payable on your salary or wages. More specifically, by salary sacrificing super ... Read more
Tax-deductible super contributions: Claim no more than your income
Q: If I make a personal concessional payment of $25,000 (tax-deductible) into my super fund and my personal taxable income for 2018/2019 is $20,000, are there possible tax penalties because I’m claiming $5,000 more than my taxable income? I suggest you chat to a registered tax agent, typically an accountant to ... Read more
Tax-deductible super contributions: Timing start of pension is essential
Q: I put money into my SMSF in June 2018 from a capital gain. I wasn’t able to tell the fund at that time what it was because my accountant hadn’t completed the figures so that notice was sent to them in August 2018. As I understood the rules, so long as the money was in the fund at June 2018, I could then withdraw any ... Read more
Concessional contributions: What form do I use to claim a tax deduction?
Q: I want to make a tax-deductible super contribution to my super fund, in this case, an SMSF, although I also have a super account with an industry fund. I am trying to find the official form for claiming this type of deduction. Could you lead me to a link where I could find a generic S290-170 notice of intent to ... Read more
Over-65s work test: How does it operate?
Does 40 hours in any 30-day period include weekends or is it 6 x 5-day weeks? I read in a bank’s booklet on superannuation that it must be “at least 40 hours in a period of not more than 30 consecutive days during the financial year ….”. This seems to imply working beyond 30 days is not permitted. Is there a maximum ... Read more
Excess contributions rules: A quick summary
If you plan to make superannuation contributions to a super fund, you need to be mindful of the contributions caps for both concessional (before tax) contributions and for non-concessional (after-tax) contributions. You also need to understand the financial (or other) consequences of exceeding those contributions ... Read more
Employees can now make tax-deductible super contributions
As an employee, the general rule when making super contributions is, you can take advantage of the concessional (before-tax) contributions rules by salary sacrificing, or by making tax-deductible super contributions. If you’re self-employed, you can take advantage of the concessional contributions rules by making ... Read more
Who can now make tax-deductible super contributions?
Note: Since 1 July 2017, all eligible Australians under the age of 75 can claim tax deductions for personal super contributions, subject to the annual concessional contributions cap. What this means is that, for the 2018/2019 year (and for the 2017/2018 year), and future financial years, employees can make ... Read more
Super Tip No 3: Turn $1000 into $1500 in three steps
We don’t normally suggest ‘easy money’ strategies. We’re often sceptical about the motives of the individuals suggesting such strategies, which means we don’t like being boxed in that same category. In this instance however, we are going to explain a government-backed strategy which means, if you’re eligible, you are ... Read more
