It might feel like we just rung in the New Year, but months have flown and it’s time to talk superannuation boosters before June 30.
The key question is whether you could be making extra tax savings by contributing a little bit more to your super.
This is particularly important because the government has recently made a number of policy changes to superannuation rules.
Among them is a reduction in the amount of concessional before tax contributions you can make to super from the July 1.
The new amount is $25,000, down from$30,000 for those under-50 years of age and $35,000 if you are over 50 years.
There is also a one-time opportunity for total contributions of up to $575,000 to be made before June 30 for some people.
So, if you are looking to grow your super balances, and have some spare cash flow, you’re best to contribute as much as you can this year.
For clarity, concessional contributions, which are before tax, means that the only tax you pay on them are the tax you pay inside super, which is 15 per cent.
They include your employer’s compulsory contributions, additional employer contributions and any salary sacrifice contributions that you arrange for your employer to deduct from your before tax salary.
If you’re self-employed, or you receive less than 10 per cent of your income from an employer, or you’re not employed and live off investment income, then you can still make contributions that you claim as a tax deduction in your individual tax return.
These are called personal contributions. When you make a personal contribution to your super fund you must lodge a notice of intention to claim a tax deduction with your super fund for it to be tax deductible.
One word of warning though, with the concessional cap reducing to $25,000 per annum, the reduction may affect current salary sacrifice arrangements.
