Self-employed? You still need to contribute to super
If you work for yourself, super is your own responsibility and it's up to you how much you put away for retirement. But if you do make personal contributions to your super account, you may be able to claim these as a tax deduction on your next income tax return.
Can you claim a tax deduction for personal contributions
You can claim a tax deduction if:
- you earned less than 10% of your total assessable income, reportable fringe benefits and reportable employer super contributions as an employee, and
- you’re still a member of AustralianSuper and your contributions are still in your super account.
Log in to your account to make an after-tax contribution into your super account via direct debit, BPAY®, Postbillpay® or cheque.
What you can claim
You can claim a tax deduction for personal contributions made to your super fund or retirement savings account.
You can’t claim a tax deduction for:
- super transferred out of your super account
- super transferred into a pension account
- termination payments paid into your super by your employer.
If you claim a tax deduction, AustralianSuper is required to deduct 15% tax from those contributions.
How to claim a tax deduction
- make your personal contributions
- complete a tax deduction claim form and send it to us
- receive a letter from AustralianSuper, confirming the amount you want to claim
- submit your tax return.
When to claim
Once you make a contribution, you have until the end of the following financial year to claim your deduction. But you need to send us your tax deduction claim form before you lodge your tax return. For example, if you made a contribution during 2010/2011, you have until 30 June 2012 to submit your claim, but you can’t claim a deduction if you have already lodged your 2010/2011 tax return.
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