Employer super issues (1)
- Superannuation guarantee (SG) (1.1)
- The superannuation guarantee charge (SGC) (1.2)
- New laws to improve SG compliance (1.3)
- Single touch payroll (1.4)
- Choice of fund (1.5)
- Default super funds (1.6)
- Superannuation clearing houses (1.7)
- Tax deductions for employer contributions (1.8)
- Salary sacrifice arrangements (1.9)
Getting money into super (2)
- What is a contribution? (2.1)
- Contribution eligibility rules - summary table (2.2)
- Adviser Contribution Checklist (2.3)
- Work test (2.4)
- Member contributions (2.5)
- Employer contributions (2.6)
- Tax file numbers (2.7)
- Maximum age limit for contributions (2.8)
- Contributions under lifetime CGT cap (2.9)
- Co-contribution and LISTO can be accepted at any time (2.10)
- Spouse contributions (2.11)
- Child super contributions (2.12)
- Downsizer contributions (2.13)
- Contributions for First Home Super Saver Scheme (2.14)
- Transfers from foreign superannuation schemes are contributions (2.15)
- In specie contributions (2.16)
- Contributions made by non-residents for tax purposes (2.17)
- Contributions made by temporary residents (2.18)
- When is a superannuation contribution made? (2.19)
- Fund-capped contributions (2.20)
Key tax and superannuation thresholds (3)
- Resident marginal tax rates (3.1)
- Low income tax offset (3.2)
- Low and middle income tax offset (3.3)
- Seniors and pensioners tax offset (SAPTO) (3.4)
- Personal tax offsets and rebates (3.5)
- Medical expenses offset (3.6)
Super contributions tax concessions (4)
- Tax deductions for personal super contributions (4.1)
- Spouse contributions tax offset (4.2)
- Employer tax deductions for super contributions (4.3)
- Children and tax deductions for super (4.4)
- Government co-contribution for super contributions (4.5)
- Low income superannuation tax offset (LISTO) (4.6)
Contributions caps and taxation of contributions (5)
- Concessional contributions cap (5.1)
- Concessional contributions carry forward (5.2)
- What is a concessional contribution? (5.3)
- Concessional contributions modifications for constitutionally protected and defined benefit interests (5.4)
- Constitutionally protected funds (CPFs) - concessional contributions (5.5)
- Defined benefit interests - concessional contributions (5.6)
- Contributions and amounts that do not result in excess concessional contributions (5.7)
- Taxation of contributions (5.8)
- Excess concessional contributions (5.9)
- Administration of excess concessional contributions (5.10)
- Historical treatment of excess concessional contributions (5.11)
- No-TFN contributions tax (5.12)
- Higher tax on concessional contributions for very high income earners (5.13)
- Non-concessional cap (5.14)
- Standard 'Bring-forward rule' (5.15)
- Transitional bring-forward rule (5.16)
- What is a non-concessional contribution? (5.17)
- Contributions from personal injury payments (5.18)
- Taxation of non-concessional contributions (5.19)
- Excess non-concessional contributions (5.20)
- Administration of excess non-concessional contributions (5.21)
Taxation of super funds (6)
- Outline of the taxation of complying superannuation funds (6.1)
- Assessable income (6.2)
- Deductions (6.3)
- Superannuation tax rates (6.4)
- When a superannuation income streams starts and ends for tax purposes (TR 2013/5) (6.4)
- Untaxed government superannuation funds (6.5)
Taxation of super benefits (7)
- Summary of taxation of super lump sums (7.1)
- Taxation of super lump sums (member benefits) (7.2)
- Terminal medical condition benefit payments (7.3)
- Taxation of super death benefit lump sums (7.4)
- Tax treatment of death benefit income streams (7.5)
- Taxation of disability super benefits (7.6)
- Taxation of salary continuance insurance benefits (7.7)
- Taxation of rollover super benefits (7.8)
- Taxation of super income stream benefits (member benefits) (7.9)
- Determining the tax-free and taxable proportions of super benefits (7.10)
- Proportioning - accumulation phase (7.11)
- Proportioning - pension phase (7.12)
- Taxation of defined benefit pensions (7.13)
- Taxation of capped defined benefit income streams (7.14)
CGT small business concessions and contributions to super (8)
- Lifetime CGT cap (8.1)
- CGT cap election form must be provided (8.2)
- Capital gains tax (CGT) concessions for small business (8.3)
- Steps in navigating small business CGT concessions (8.4)
- Basic conditions for small business CGT concessions (8.5)
- Small business 15-year exemption (8.6)
- Small business 50% (active asset) reduction (8.7)
- Small business retirement exemption (8.8)
- Small business rollover (8.9)
- Small business contribution timeframes (8.10)
- Death and the small business CGT concessions (8.11)
- In specie transfers to an SMSF and the small business CGT concessions (8.12)
- Contributions relating to earnout arrangements (8.13)
- Partners in a partnership (8.14)
Social security (9)
- Social security assessment of superannuation (9.1)
- Means testing of retirement income streams (9.2)
- Social security treatment of retirement income streams (9.3)
- Lifetime income streams (9.4)
- Asset tested (long term) (9.5)
- Asset tested (short term) (9.6)
- Asset test exempt income streams (9.7)
Foreign super (10)
- Contributions caps and foreign super transfers (10.1)
- Transfer within six months (10.2)
- Transfer after six months (10.3)
- What if the individual receives a withdrawal directly from an overseas super fund? (10.4)
- Applicable fund earnings (10.5)
- Normal contribution rules and caps apply (10.6)
- UK pension transfers (10.7)
- Super portability between Australia and New Zealand (10.8)
Moving super (11)
- Portability - transferring super balances (11.1)
- Spouse contribution splitting - transferring recent contributions (11.2)
- Relationship breakdown - transferring super to another spouse (11.3)
- When money must be transferred to the ATO (11.4)
Getting money out of super (12)
- Preservation (12.1)
- Preservation age (12.2)
- Conditions of release with 'nil' cashing restrictions (12.3)
- Retirement condition of release (12.4)
- Permanent incapacity (12.5)
- Termination of gainful employment (restricted non-preserved amounts) (12.6)
- Terminal medical condition (12.7)
- Conditions of release with cashing restrictions (12.8)
- Temporary residents and conditions of release (12.9)
- Severe financial hardship (12.10)
- Compassionate grounds (12.11)
- Termination of gainful employment (preserved amounts) (12.12)
- Temporary incapacity (12.13)
- Compulsory cashing (12.14)
- In specie payments (12.15)
Insurance in super (13)
- Types of insurance which may be held in super (13.1)
- Total and permanent disability (TPD) insurance (13.2)
- Income protection insurance (13.3)
- Trauma Insurance (13.4)
- Grandfathering of pre 1 July 2014 insurance policies (13.5)
- Pre 1 July 2014 insurance considerations (13.6)
- Taxation of insurance premiums (13.7)
- Taxation of insurance benefits (13.8)
- Insurance premiums and contributions caps (13.9)
- Tax treatment of group insurance (13.10)
- Salary continuance insurance comparison (13.11)
- Insurance may be prohibited/cancelled where a member's account becomes inactive (13.12)
Super and estate planning (14)
- Death benefit payments (14.1)
- Super not part of an estate (14.2)
- Compulsory cashing of benefits upon death (14.3)
- Who can be paid a super death benefit? (14.4)
- Form in which death benefits may be cashed (14.5)
- Can death benefits be paid in specie? (14.6)
- Death benefit nominations (14.7)
- Rollovers of super death benefits (14.8)
- Anti-detriment payment (14.9)
- Taxation of superannuation lump sum death benefits (14.10)
Transition to retirement (15)
- Payment rules (15.1)
- Preservation of benefits in TTR income streams (15.2)
- Taxation of income stream payments (15.3)
- Taxation of commutations (15.4)
- Social security assessment (15.5)
- Social security assessment (15.6)
- When does a TTR income stream become (15.7)
- Taxation of assets supporting TTR income streams (15.8)
- Transfer balance cap (15.9)
- Estate planning (15.10)
- TTR strategies (15.11)
Retirement phase income streams (16)
- Introduction to superannuation income streams (16.1)
- Condition of release (16.2)
- Types of super income streams that can be paid (16.3)
- Overview of income stream standards (16.4)
- Retirement phase income streams (16.5)
- Taxation of superannuation income streams (16.6)
- Social security assessment (16.7)
- Payment rules (16.8)
- Payment standards for lifetime income streams (16.9)
- What are the payment standards for fixed term income streams? (16.10)
- Payment standards for term allocated pensions (TAP clones) (16.11)
- Payment standards for non-account-based (RCV) income streams (16.12)
- Capped defined benefit income streams (16.13)
- Complying income streams (16.14)
ATO administration of super contributions (17)
- How does the ATO track member contributions? (17.1)
- Member responsibility to track contributions (17.2)
Total superannuation balance (18)
- Superannuation measures impacted by total superannuation balance (18.1)
- Difference between total superannuation balance and transfer balance cap (18.2)
- Total superannuation balance (18.3)
- Accumulation phase value (18.4)
- Retirement phase value (18.5)
- Rollover superannuation benefits (18.6)
- Adjustment for structured settlement contributions (18.7)
- Special rules for deferred superannuation income streams (18.8)
- Total superannuation balance treatment of reversionary income streams (18.9)
Transfer balance cap (19)
- Transfer balance cap (19.1)
- General transfer balance cap (19.2)
- Personal transfer balance cap (19.3)
- Modified transfer balance cap rules for death benefits (19.4)
- Transfer balance account (19.5)
- Transfer balance account credits (19.6)
- Value of retirement phase income streams (19.7)
- Transfer balance account debits (19.8)
- Exceeding the transfer balance cap (19.9)
- Excess transfer balance transitional rules (19.10)
- Excess transfer balance determination (19.11)
- Seven steps to reducing excess transfer balances prior to determination (19.12)
- What to do if an excess transfer balance determination is issued (19.13)
- Notional earnings (19.14)
- Excess transfer balance tax (19.15)
- Fund compliance with commutation authorities (19.16)
- Modifications for capped defined benefit income streams (19.17)
Capped defined benefit income streams (20)
- Capped defined benefit - Introduction (20.1)
- Transfer balance cap modifications (20.2)
- Taxation of pension/annuity payments from capped defined benefit income streams (20.3)
First home super saver (FHSS) scheme (21)
- FHSS Scheme Overview (21.1)
- Eligibility requirements (21.2)
- How much can be contributed (21.3)
- Releasing amounts under FHSS Scheme (21.4)
- Purchasing first home under FHSS Scheme (21.5)
Contributing the proceeds of downsizing to superannuation (22)
- Downsizer contributions - Overview (22.1)
- Eligibility requirements (22.2)
- Not subject to existing contribution tests (22.3)
- Qualifying dwelling in Australia (22.4)
- Downsizer contribution cap, notification and timeframes (22.5)
- Contribution is not a downsizer contribution (22.6)
- Strategy considerations (22.7)

Contributions caps and taxation of contributions

Concessional contributions cap

Section: 5.1

The concessional contributions cap for 2019-20 is $25,000 per individual per financial year.

From 1 July 2017 there is only one cap that applies to individuals of any age. The concessional contributions cap is indexed to average weekly ordinary time earnings (AWOTE) in increments of $2,500.

Members with total superannuation balance below $500,000 can carry forward any unused concessional contributions cap amounts that accrue from 1 July 2018 onwards, for up to five financial years.

The concessional contributions cap applies to the individual. For example, if a member has multiple employers or multiple superannuation funds, contributions from all employers and funds will be totalled to count against the member's concessional cap.

Last modified: Tuesday, July 23, 2019