The end of financial year is fast approaching, and individuals with excess savings or those who have received a bonus since the beginning of the year may want to use the extra cash to grow their super. One of the easiest ways to grow super and get a tax deduction at the same time is to make a personal superannuation contribution. However, there are certain factors that need to be considered including eligibility requirements and contribution caps, as well as giving the required notice in time.
If you are considering making a personal contribution to your super and would like to claim a deduction on the contributions made, it is important to remember to give the required notice to your super fund before making a claim in your tax return. There have been recent cases of taxpayers being denied deductions for personal super contributions made where the required notice to a super fund was not made on time.
There are a few different types of contributions that can be made to super funds. These include compulsory super guarantee that is paid by an employer, salary sacrifice super amounts usually paid from before-tax income, reportable employee super contributions such as having a bonus paid directly into super, and personal contributions to super funds made from after-tax income.
With regard to personal contributions to super funds made from after-tax income, a deduction can only be claimed by an individual if eligibility requirements are met. A deduction for a personal contribution can be claimed if the income earned came from salary and wages, a personal business, investments, government pensions or allowances, superannuation, partnership or trust distributions, or a foreign source.
An individual between 67 and 74 years old must also meet the work test or satisfy the work test exemption criteria to be able to claim a deduction for any personal contributions made. To satisfy the work test, an individual must work at least 40 hours during a consecutive 30-day period each income year. For those individuals 75 years or older, a deduction for personal contributions can only be claimed if made before the 28th day of the month following the month in which they turned 75.
Provided an individual satisfies the eligibility criteria and has made a personal contribution for the year, a notice of intent to claim or vary a deduction must be made to the super fund by the earlier of:
The ATO provides a standard form for giving this notice to super funds. However, many super funds also have their own online forms which can be lodged easily. A super fund will then send a written acknowledgment indicating that they have received a valid notice from an individual. Only then can a claim for the deduction be made in the person’s tax return.
Remember, the notice must be given by “earlier of” the two date options, so if an individual inadvertently forgets to give notice by the time their tax return is lodged, they will be unable to claim a deduction for the personal contributions made for the year. Cases have shown that there is no discretion in s 290-170 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997, or in any other provision of legislation, to extend the time for giving the notice or to disregard non-compliance with the time frame specified, even if the delay is caused by external factors.