Claiming Personal Superannuation Contributions & What Is Involved

Claiming deductions for personal super contributions

Have you made personal super contributions in the last financial year? You may be eligible to claim a tax deduction.

In this article, we’ll discuss your eligibility to claim tax deductions, as well as how to make a claim. Let’s jump right into it.

What kind of superannuation contributions are eligible for tax deduction?

You can’t claim a tax deduction on all contributions made to your super fund. For example, funds paid directly to your super by your employer are not eligible. This includes:

  • Salary sacrifice amounts
  • The compulsory super guarantee
  • Employer super contributions detailed on your annual payment report

Any personal super contributions made from your after-tax income, on the other hand, may allow you to claim a deduction. Most commonly, this includes contributions made directly from your bank account to your super fund using income earned from one of the following sources:

  • Your salary or wages
  • Personal business income, for example, income earned by freelancers and those that are self-employed
  • Investments
  • Government allowances
  • Trust distributions
  • Any foreign sources of income

Am I eligible to make a claim?

The ATO outlines a fairly long list of eligibility criteria to help you determine whether or not you are eligible to claim a deduction on your personal super contributions.

Here are some of the essential eligibility criteria:

  • For contributions made after 1 July 2017, funds were paid into an account that was not one of the following:
  • An untaxed fund, such as a constitutionally protected fund (CPF), that wouldn’t include your contribution in its income
  • A Commonwealth public sector super scheme that you have a beneficial interest in
  • A super fund that notified the ATO before the beginning of the financial year that they have elected to treat member contributions to the super fund as non-deductible
  • You meet the age restrictions as set out by the ATO for the financial year in question
  • You have submitted a ‘Notice of intent to claim or vary a deduction for personal contributions’ form
  • Your fund has received and acknowledged your notice of intent

How to make a claim

If you are eligible and wish to claim a tax deduction for your personal superannuation contributions, the first step is informing your fund of your intention.

Your notice of intent will be approved if:

  • You are a current member of the fund
  • The fund holds the contribution
  • The contribution does not contain any amount covered in a previous notice of intent form
  • You haven’t applied to split the contribution
  • The fund hasn’t paid a super income stream using the contribution

If you would like to claim tax deductions on contributions made to multiple funds, you will need to lodge a notice of intent form to each fund separately.

Once the form is approved, you can make a claim.

Will my claim impact my concessional contributions cap?

Yes. If you make an eligible claim, the deduction will count towards your concessional contributions cap. Consider the following before claiming a deduction for your super contributions:

  • Will you exceed your contribution cap?
  • Would you benefit from splitting your contributions with your spouse?
  • Will the claim impact your co-contribution eligibility?

The Insights published on our website have been written by our professional staff strictly for educational purposes. Please note that the information and views expressed above do not constitute professional advice and are general in nature only.

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