ACT NOW Super Contributions for YE 30 June 2022

Employer Contributions

Employers please note: if you intend to claim a tax deduction in 2021/22 for your employees’ June 2022 quarter super contributions, please ensure you make the payment as soon as possible so as to allow enough time for the contributions to be processed through the superannuation clearing house and allocated to your employee’s super accounts.  

Otherwise please ensure the contributions are made by mid-July to ensure you meet the due date deadline of 28 July 2022.

Please note: Employers should turn their attention to managing the superannuation guarantee (SG) increase which comes into effect 1 July. Read more » 

Personal Contributions

If you are seeking to maximise your personal contributions in 2021/22, please carefully review the limits and information provided below. 

Financial YearConcessional CapNon-concessional Cap1
 (Employer / Salary Sacrifice Personal Deductible)(Personal After Tax & Subject to Total Super Balance <$1.7m)
2021/22$27,500$110,000
   

Your contributions must be received in your Fund on or before 30 June 2022 — the reasons are twofold to ensure that:

  • you are eligible to claim a deduction in 2021/22 for any personal concessional contributions made;
  • the contribution is counted against your limit for the correct year.  

We suggest you make your contributions as soon as possible to allow enough time for the contributions to be processed and allocated to your account, particularly as super fund administrators are extremely busy at this time of year.  

Be sure to check the amount of actual contributions already received / due to be received in your super fund before making any top-up contributions.

If making tax deductible personal contributions, please ensure you submit a Notice of Intention to Claim a Deduction for Super Contributions form to your fund as soon as possible and check to ensure they issue you with an Acknowledgement of Receipt notice.  You cannot claim a tax deduction without this receipt from your fund.

(1) Regarding the non-concessional cap, you may be eligible to ‘bring forward’ up to 3 years of contributions in 2021/22 if you were under age 67 on 1 July 2021 and meet certain criteria:

Total Super Balance as at 30 June 2021Age <67 on 1 July 2021Age 67-74
Maximum contribution allowable
Your total super balance is the combined total of all balances in super funds of which you are a memberNo work test required for a person aged <67 at time of making the contributionWork test is required
Less than $1.48m$330,000$110,000
Greater than $1.48m but less than $1.59m$220,000$110,000
Greater than $1.59m but less than $1.7m$110,000$110,000
Greater than $1.7m$0$0

Please note for planning purposes that changes will take effect for the 2022/23 financial year whereby the work test will be abolished for non-concessional contributions and any person under the age of 75 will be able to make non-concessional contributions and make use of the bring forward thresholds noted in the above table.     

For anyone under age 67 wanting to optimise their super contributions, they may choose to contribute only $110,000 in 2021/22 to enable them to contribute $330,000 in 2022/23, provided all eligibility criteria is met.   

Work Test Changes from 1 July 2022

If you are aged 67 to 74 years, you must satisfy a work test in order to be eligible to contribute to super for 2021/22. To satisfy the work test, you must have worked at least 40 hours in a consecutive 30-day period in the 2021/22 financial year before the super fund is eligible to accept your contribution.   

The work test shall be abolished from 1 July 2022 for those aged 67 to 74 making non-concessional or CGT retirement exemption contributions.   It still must be met however for those making personal contributions for which they intend to claim a personal tax deduction.

If you are aged 75 or over, your super fund is only able to accept mandated employer contributions (i.e. superannuation guarantee amounts) on your behalf.

Government Co-contributions

If you are a low or middle-income earner, less than age 71 on 30 June 22 and make a non-concessional contribution of at least $1,000 to your super fund, the Government may also make a co-contribution up to a maximum of $500.   If your total income is equal to or less than the lower threshold of $41,112 for 2021/22 and you make a non-concessional contribution of $1,000, you will receive the maximum co-contribution of $500.  You will not receive any co-contribution if your income is equal to or greater than the higher threshold of $56,112 for 2021/22.  If your total income is between those thresholds, the payment will be pro-rated.   The ATO calculates your total income by adding:

  • assessable income
  • reportable fringe benefits total
  • total reportable super contributions reduced (but not below zero) by any excess concessional contributions

minus:    

  • assessable first home super saver released amount
  • allowable business deductions.

‘Catch Up’ Contributions

A reminder that these rules commenced on 1 July 2018, therefore we are into the fourth year of ‘catch up’ contributions whereby a person with a super balance of less than $500,000 as at 30 June 2021 is able to make a personal concessional contribution in 2021/22 equal to the unused amount of the $25,000 limit from 2018/19, 2019/20 & 2020/21. 

For example, John had employer contributions of $15,000 for each of 2018/19, 2019/20 & 2020/21.   His total superannuation balance at 30 June 2021 was $380,000.  If John has higher than normal taxable income in 2021/22, due to say, a capital gain then, in addition to his 2021/22 contributions he can contribute an extra $30,000 as a personal concessional contribution before 30 June 2022 to reduce his taxable income.   The extra $30,000 comprises $10,000 in unused contributions from 2018/19, 2019/20 & 2020/21.   

Minimum Pension Withdrawals

If you are in pension phase, please check to ensure you have withdrawn your minimum pension for this financial year before 30 June 2022.  Where these requirements have not been met your fund will be subject to 15% tax on its pension asset investment earnings, rather than being tax-free.

Please note, in March 2020 the Government halved the minimum annual payment required for a number of superannuation income streams, including account based pensions for the 2019/20 and 2020/21 financial years.  The Government since extended the 50% reduction on pension minimum withdrawals for the 2021/22  and 2022/23 financial years as well.

For our SMSF clients, please contact us if you are not sure of your minimum pension requirement for 2021/22.

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Disclaimer: This article contains general advice only and has been prepared without taking into account particular objectives, financial circumstances and needs. The information provided is not a substitute for legal, tax and financial product advice. Before making any decision based on this information, you should assess its relevance to your individual circumstances. The information provided in this newsletter is objectively ascertainable and therefore does not constitute financial product advice.  If you require personal advice, please contact us to arrange an appointment with one of our licensed SMSF advisors.