Spouse contribution criteria, tax offsets and limits
If your spouse's total assessable income is $37,000 or less, and you make an after-tax contribution of at least $3,000 then you can access the maximum tax offset of $540.
Where a spouse earns more than $37,000, the offset amount will be progressively reduced. There is no offset available if a spouse earns $40,000 p.a. or more in total assessable income - which includes annual income, fringe benefits and employer super contributions.
You also can't claim this tax offset if your spouse:
- Has exceeded their own non-concessional (after tax) contributions cap for the financial year
- Has a super balance of $1.9 million (for 2024/25) or more, on 30 June of the financial year before the contribution was made
- Is 75 years old or over
A few things to remember in order to qualify for the offset:
- You and your spouse must both be Australian residents when the contributions are made
- You cannot make the payment for family law purposes (e.g. super splitting order from the Family Court)
- The contribution must be paid into your spouse's super fund or retirement savings account
- The contributions must not be deductible to you.
An example of spouse contributions
Greg has a salary of $75,000 per year (before deductions, including tax), and would like to make a contribution into his spouse's superannuation account to help boost her super balance.
Greg's current situation |
|
Gross salary income: |
$75,000 |
- Income tax: |
$13,288 |
- Medicare levy |
$1,500 |
Disposable income: |
$60,212 |
Scenario 1 - Greg's partner doesn't work
Greg contributes $3,000 from his savings into his spouse's super account. He is eligible for a $540 tax offset.
Gross salary income:?
So, here's how it would look based on July 2024 tax and Medicare rates: |
Gross salary income: |
$75,000 |
- Income tax: |
$13,288 |
- Medicare levy: |
$1,500 |
+ Tax offset: |
$540 |
Disposable income: |
$60,752 |
- Spouse contribution: |
$3,000 |
Income for 2024/25: |
$57,752 |
Scenario 2 - Greg's partner earns $38,200 (total assessable income)
Greg contributes $3,000 from his savings into his spouse's super account. He is eligible for a $324 tax offset because his partner earns more than $37,000 but less than $40,000.
So, here's how it would look based on July 2023 tax and Medicare rates: |
Gross salary income: |
$75,000 |
- Income tax: |
$13,288 |
- Medicare levy: |
$1,500 |
+ Tax offset: |
$324 |
Disposable income: |
$60,536 |
- Spouse contribution: |
$3,000 |
Income for 2024/25: |
$57,536 |
Superannuation contributions splitting
What is contribution splitting?
Super contributions splitting allows you have some of the super paid by your employer, or your own voluntary contributions, directed into the super account of your spouse - as long as they're either, under their preservation age, or over their preservation age but not yet 65 years, and have not retired.
How does super contribution splitting work?
There are two types of contributions that can be split:
- Employer contributions including salary sacrifice, which are the most common type to split
- Voluntary personal contributions, that you have advised your super fund you will claim a tax deduction for.
Splitting some of your super and transferring it into your spouse's account is arranged through your super fund - noting that some funds may charge a fee to do this, and others don't allow it at all. If your fund is fine with contributions splitting, then you simply send a request to your fund, asking them to transfer your chosen amount to your spouse's account. You can transfer up to 85% of your concessional (before tax) contributions from the previous year.