Claiming a tax deduction

How to claim a tax deduction

There are two ways to tell us you want to claim a tax deduction for super contributions.

Online

Online

Step 1: Log in to your account at australiansuper.com/login. You can register for online access to your account if you don’t currently have it.  

Step 2: Click Account in the navigation menu and select Online forms.  

Step 3: Under Start an online form, select Claim a tax deduction and complete the form. When you submit your form you’ll receive a confirmation that we’ve processed your request and notified the ATO. In some instances, requests may take up to five business days to process including where you vary an existing claim or if you are eligible to vary a tax deduction claim for a contribution made more than two financial years ago.

Step 4: Submit your tax return. You’ll need to state the amount you want to claim as a tax deduction in the supplementary section of your tax return. 

PDF form

PDF form

Step 1: Complete the Notice of intent to claim a tax deduction for personal super contributions form. This tells us the amount you want to claim.

Step 2: Send the form to AustralianSuper via our contact us page or post.

Step 3: Receive confirmation from AustralianSuper. Once we receive your form, we’ll write to you to confirm the amount you want to claim.

Step 4: Submit your tax return. You’ll need to state the amount you want to claim as a tax deduction in the supplementary section of your tax return.

To claim a tax deduction for personal super contributions, we must receive your Notice of intent to claim a tax deduction for personal super contributions form (online or pdf form) before you withdraw your super benefit, transfer any part of your account to a account based pension, split any of your super with your spouse or close your account. We can’t accept your request for a tax deduction after an application for a benefit payment or to open an account based pension has been processed.

Am I eligible to claim a tax deduction?

You can claim a tax deduction for your personal contributions if:

• you have not opened a account based pension using part or all of the contributions for which you intend to claim a tax deduction,
• you’re a member of AustralianSuper and your contributions are still in your super account,
• you haven’t lodged an application to split the contribution for which you intend to claim a deduction (this must be done after you give us your notice of intent to claim a deduction), and
• the contributions have not been released under the First Home Super Saver (FHSS) scheme
• you meet the work test or work test exemption if you’re aged between 67 and 75 years¹.

If you’re under 18 at the end of the income year in which you made a personal contribution, you can only claim a deduction for your personal contribution if you also earned income as an employee or a business operator during the year you want to claim the deduction.

For the full eligibility criteria please visit the ATO website.

Limits on what you can claim

You can’t claim a tax deduction for: 

• contributions paid by your employer from your before-tax income (including compulsory super guarantee and salary sacrifice amounts)
• super you transfer from one fund to another (including an overseas super fund)
• super contributions you transfer to start a retirement income account
• FHSS amounts that you have re-contributed to your super account, or
• contributions made that are identified as downsizer contributions
• COVID-19 early release of superannuation amounts that you have re-contributed to your super.
  
  

When to claim

Once you make a contribution, you have until the earlier of: 

• the date you submit your tax return, or
• the end of the following financial year in which the personal contributions were made, to claim your tax deduction. 

Changing or cancelling the amount you wish to claim as a tax deduction

You can apply to reduce, change or cancel your claim amount if:

• you have not yet lodged your income tax return and it is on or before 30 June in the financial year following the year you made the contribution, or
• the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) have disallowed your claim for a deduction and you are applying to reduce the amount claimed as a deduction by the amount that the ATO disallowed. 

If you don’t want to claim any of your personal contributions, you’ll need to reduce your claim amount to zero. Alternatively, you may want to provide a second notice specifying the additional amount you want to claim.

You can change, cancel or reduce your claim via your account online or use the Notice of intent to claim a tax deduction for personal super contributions form.

Tax on your personal contributions

Once you advise AustralianSuper of your intention to claim a deduction for your personal contributions, AustralianSuper is required to deduct 15% tax from those contributions. Claiming your contributions as a tax deduction could reduce the amount of income tax you need to pay. So, depending on your personal tax rate, you may pay less tax overall.

If you claim a deduction on all of your personal contributions, you won’t be eligible for Government co-contributions. You may still be eligible if you only claim on some personal contributions. For more information regarding the eligibility for government co-contributions visit the ATO website.