If you’ve made contributions to your super from your after-tax income you may be able to claim them as a tax deduction.

To be eligible to claim a tax deduction you must:

• Have made personal after-tax contributions which are received and allocated by your super fund before 30 June of the financial year you want to claim the deduction.
• Be aged between 18 and 65, or
  • If you’re aged between 65 and 74 you need to meet the work test (work 40 hours within 30 consecutive days in a financial year)
  • If you’re 75 or older you can’t claim a deduction for contributions that were made more than 28 days after the month you turned 75.
  • If you’re under 18 you can only claim a deduction if you earned an income as an employee or a business operator during the year.
• Complete and return a valid Claiming a deduction for personal super contributions form to let us know the amount you would like to claim as a deduction.
• Have received acknowledgement from us before you lodge your tax return.

*Before-tax contributions have tax benefits for many members, as the contributions tax you pay will generally be less than your marginal tax rate. If your taxable income is less than $250,000 per year, your super contributions are taxed at 15%. If you’re a high income earner (adjustable taxable income including salary sacrifice superannuation contributions more than $250,000 per year), you’ll pay 30% tax on super contributions.

What affect would claiming a tax deduction have on my super and tax situation?

Everyone’s tax circumstances can be different and we recommend you seek professional advice to fully understand your own situation. Our in-house financial advisers can help or you may want to seek advice from a tax specialist.

From a tax and super perspective, any after-tax contributions for which you claim a tax deduction are treated in the same way as salary-sacrifice (before-tax) and employer contributions. That means these contribution amounts will:

• Be taxed within the Fund at 15%* (this will involve an adjustment being made to any contributions for which you are claiming a deduction as no tax was applied to these contributions when they were first allocated to your account)
• Along with any employer or salary-sacrifice contributions, these will count towards your annual concessional (before-tax contribution) limit which is $27,500 for the current financial year. If you exceed the concessional or non-concessional (after-tax) contribution limits you will have to pay more tax. For more information, see our Superannuation Contribution Caps fact sheet.

You will also no longer be eligible for a Government co-contribution on the amount you claim.

How do I claim a deduction?

1	Complete and return the Claiming a deduction for personal super contributions form to us to get the process started.
2	We’ll process your request, deduct appropriate tax from the amount claimed, and send you an acknowledgement confirming our agreement to the amount you intend to claim. You’ll need this before you can claim a deduction through your tax return.
3	Submit your tax return, including the relevant details and the amount you are claiming as a deduction in the supplementary section of your tax return. You’ll need the following details: Fund Name : Mercy Super Fund Australian Business Number: 11 789 425 178