Tax-deductible personal contributions

Making a personal tax-deductible contribution is a great way to give your super investment a boost and reduce your tax bill at the same time.

How does it work?

If you make a personal super contribution to your account from your after-tax income, for example from your bank account directly to your super account, you may be able to claim a tax deduction. Before you do, you need to notify us that you intend to claim a tax deduction and receive acknowledgement from us. When you complete your tax return, your deductions reduce your taxable income, which could reduce the amount of tax you need to pay.

Who is eligible?

You are eligible to claim a tax deduction for any personal super contributions you make during a financial year if:

  • We received these contributions prior to 30 June of that financial year.
  • You are under 67 or if you’re aged between 67 and 75, you'll either meet the work test or satisfy the criteria for the work test exemption.
  • If you’re over 75, you can only claim a deduction for contributions you made before the 28th day of the month following the month in which you turned 75 and you will still need to meet the work test or satisfy the criteria for the work test exemption.
  • You have given us a Notice of Intent to claim form and we have sent you an acknowledgement.


The limits on contributions?

Any amount claimed as a tax deduction will be treated as a concessional (pre-tax) contribution and subject to the concessional contributions cap. There is a cap on the concessional or pre-tax contributions you can make each financial year. It’s important to note that concessional contributions include the super guarantee contributions made by your employer and any salary sacrifice contributions, as well as any other contributions on which you may claim a tax deduction.

The concessional contribution cap is currently $30,000 per annum for everyone, regardless of your age.

You may be able to contribute more than this amount if you have any unused portions of your concessional contribution cap from previous financial years (beginning 2018/19), which are automatically carried forward. Amounts carried forward that have not been used after five years will expire. To use your unused cap amounts, your total superannuation balance must be less than $500,000 at 30 June of the previous financial year.

If, after applying any available unused cap amounts, you exceed your contribution cap, you will have to pay extra tax.

What you can't claim 

Not all personal contributions can be claimed as a tax deduction. These are some of the exclusions: 

  • Contributions that have been rolled over to another super fund (including an overseas super fund)
  • Any contributions that are attributable to the downsizer or First Home Super Saver (FHSS) scheme
  • Contributions paid by your employer from your before tax income (such as the compulsory super guarantee and salary sacrifice amounts)
  • Contributions transferred to start an account-based pension.


What steps do you need to take?

To claim the tax deduction you must complete all of the following steps:

  1. Print and complete the Notice of intent to claim or vary a deduction for personal super contributions (NAT 71121) and email or mail it to us. You should do this before you lodge your tax return for that year and before the end of the following financial year.

  2. Make the contribution to your super account by the end of the financial year via BPAY or Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT), allowing for enough time for us to receive your contribution before 30 June.

  3. Ensure you receive a written confirmation of your intention to claim from us. Once you have acknowledgement from us, we will tax the contribution at 15% as we do with any concessional contribution.

  4. Complete the section in your income tax return for personal superannuation contributions.

It’s important that you have received written confirmation from us before you complete your tax return.

For more detailed information, see how to make a claim on the ATO website.

Making your contribution

You can make a contribution into your super account via BPAY or EFT. For more information, simply log into Member Online and go to ‘Payment options’.

Email or mail to us

To send us your completed ATO form, please mail to:

Active Super
Po Box N835
GROSVENOR PLACE NSW 1220

You can also email your form to admin@activesuper.com.au

Need some help?

If you are intending to make a large contribution to your super, it may be beneficial to get some financial advice first.

If you would like to know more details or if you’d like us to guide you through the process, just call us on 1300 547 873 between 8.30am and 6.00pm, Monday to Friday.


Things to consider  

Before adding to your super, consider your financial situation and how much additional money you can afford to contribute to super. You generally won't be able to access extra contributions until you retire.