Superannuation – Personal (after tax) Contribution

Topping up your super is easy.

Topping up your superannuation ensures you have as much as possible when you retire. One of the ways to do this is by making personal contributions.

An 'after tax' contribution, also referred to as Personal, Voluntary or Member contribution, is money deposited into your super account by you, after your income tax has been deducted and no tax deduction has been claimed.

These contributions do not attract contribution taxes, and earnings are taxed at up to 15%. They are recorded in your super account as 'tax-free' contributions. When these tax-free contributions are withdrawn, no tax is payable on the contributions themselves (though tax may be payable on any earnings).

If you earn less than $61,920 and make personal contributions, you may be eligible for the additional government co-contribution to your super account.

Contribution caps on after tax contributions

For personal and spouse contributions, anyone can contribute up to $150,000 per year into superannuation, but for anyone over age 65 a work test applies. The cap is $150,000 for 2011/12 and may be indexed in future.

If you exceed the cap, your excess contributions are subject to a penalty tax which is the highest marginal tax rate of 46.5% (including the Medicare level).

If you’re under the age of 65, you can bring forward up to two years of non-concessional contributions, which means you can make up to $450,000 super contributions in one year. That represents your non-concessional cap over a three-year period.

Making a non-concessional contribution that is more than the annual cap uses the ‘bring forward’ provisions. The maximum ‘bring forward’ for 2011/12 is $450,000. If you contribute more than $150,000 in non-concessional contributions in one year, the ‘bring forward’ provisions are automatically triggered for the next two years.

Let’s look at some examples

• If you make a $450,000 after tax contribution to your super during 2011/12, say on 12 February 2012, you are bringing forward two years of contributions and cannot make another after tax contribution until at least July 2014, being the 2014/15 financial year.
  
  
• If you make a $300,000 after tax contribution to your super during 2011/12, say on 12 February 2012, that only brings forward one year of contributions, but it does trigger the bring forward provisions for the next two years. That means you can only make another $150,000in after tax contributions during the two year period ending 30 June 2014.

How do I make after-tax contributions?

There are four easy ways for you to top up your super with after tax contributions. But please note, we must have your Tax File Number recorded to accept after tax contributions.

1. BPAY^® - No forms to fill out – just transfer your contribution directly into your super account using phone or internet banking. All you need are the following details:
   
   
   • Catholic Super Biller code
   • Your unique BPAY Reference number
     if you have registered for Member Online , you can find our Biller code and your unique BPAY Reference number online. If you don't have a Member Online account, you can register online for one right now! You just need your member number handy! Or call us on 1300 655 002 to get your BPAY details. 
     
     
2. Send us a cheque - Make your contribution by sending us a cheque. Please include your name, membership number and address so we can correctly identify you when processing the cheque.
   
   
3. Ask your employer to deduct contributions from your pay - Your employer can send us the money at the same time they send their Superannuation Guarantee (SG) and salary sacrifice contributions to Catholic Super for you. They just have to make sure they tell us it is an after tax contribution. Ask your employer about this option.
   
   
4. Arrange for a direct debit from your bank account – Take the hassle out of contributing and set up a regular direct debit from your nominated bank account. You can stop this at anytime if your circumstances change. Download the form to set this up

 

Read more on Super Co-contributions

Want to know more about after tax contributions? Contact Us or call 1300 655 002 (Mon-Fri 8.00am-5.30pm AEST).

^®Registered to Bpay Pty Ltd
ABN 69 079 137 518