Catch up Concessional Contributions
From
01 July 2018, you are able to make 'carry-forward' concessional super contributions if you have a Total Superannuation
Balance (TSB) of less than $500,000 at 30 June of the previous Financial Year.
If you are eligible, you will be able to access your unused concessional contributions cap space on a rolling basis for five
years. Amounts carried forward that have not been used after five years will expire.
Only unused amounts accrued from 01 July 2018 can be carried forward. This means that the first year in which you can access
unused concessional contributions is the 2019-20 Financial Year.
How to view your Total Superannuation Balance?
A member's
Total Superannuation Balance (TSB) is essentially the sum of all their accumulation and retirement phase superannuation
interests
across all Superfunds.
If
all your superannuation interests are invested in the SMSF(s) administered by ESUPERFUND, your Total Superannuation
Balance will be calculated by ESUPERFUND as part of the Annual Return Process. You can view your member balance via your
Client Portal
here once the Annual Return for the previous Financial Year has been prepared.
If you have superannuation interests invested in other Superfunds, you will need to contact these Super Providers individually
to confirm your member balance as at 30 June.
You can view your Total Superannuation Balance using the ATO online services through
myGov. Alternatively, you may contact the ATO on 13 10 20 directly.
For more information on the Total Superannuation Balance, please visit the ATO website
here.
Eligibility to Access Unused Concessional Contributions
Your Total Superannuation Balance only affects your eligibility to make additional concessional contributions
above the annual cap by accessing your unused cap accrued from previous Financial Years. If your TSB is above $500,000,
the unused cap can still be accumulated up to five years and used in a later year when your TSB falls below $500,000.
For example, assume you have an unused concessional contributions cap space of $10,000 in the 2018-19 Financial Year and
your TSB as at 30 June 2019 exceeds $500,000. In the 2019-20 Financial Year, you are only allowed to contribute concessional
contributions up to the annual cap ($25,000) and are not eligible to use the $10,000 unused cap during this Financial
Year. The $10,000 will be carried forward. When your TSB decreases to below $500,000 in a later Financial Year, you can
then access that unused cap. After 30 June 2024, any unused proportion will expire at the end of the five-year period.
Example – A Comprehensive Scenario
Barney is 62 years old and his Total Superannuation Balance as at 30 June 2018 is $480,000.
| Financial Year |
Age |
TSB at 30 June of Previous FY
|
Unused Cap Carried Forward from Last FY (a)
|
Annual Cap (b)
|
Maximum Annual Cap
1. If TSB
< $500K: (c)=( a) + (b)
2. If TSB> $500K: (c) = (b)
|
Actual Concessional Contributions Made (d) |
Annual Unused Cap
(e) = (b) - (d)
|
Cumulative Unused Cap at End of the FY
(a) + (e)
|
2018-19
(Year 0) |
62 |
$480,000 |
$0 |
$25,000 |
$25,000 |
$4,000 |
$21,000 |
$21,000 |
2019-20
(Year 1) |
63 |
$480,000 |
$21,000 |
$25,000 |
$46,000 |
$25,000 |
$0 |
$21,000 |
2020-21
(Year 2) |
64 |
$480,000 |
$21,000 |
$25,000 |
$46,000 |
$9,000 |
$16,000 |
$37,000 |
2021-22
(Year 3) |
65 |
$501,000 |
$37,000 |
$27,500 |
$27,500 |
$12,500 |
$15,000 |
$52,000 |
2022-23
(Year 4) |
66 |
$490,000 |
$52,000 |
$27,500 |
$79,500 |
$29,500 |
-$2,000
|
$50,000 |
2023-24
(Year 5) |
67 |
$480,000 |
$50,000 |
$27,500 |
$77,500 |
$32,500 |
-$5,000
|
$45,000 |
|
Only used $7,000 from the $21,000 brought forward from 2018/2019 FY within 5 years -> $14,000 expired
by 30 June 2024. In the end, only $45,000 - $14,000 = $31,000 can be carried forward to the next
FY.
|
2024-25
(Year 6) |
68 |
$480,000 |
$31,000 |
$27,500 |
$58,500 |
$45,500 |
-$18,000
|
$13,000 |
2018-19 Financial Year (Year 0)
Barney has minimal super contributions as he is working part time. His employer makes a total of $4,000 employer contributions
to his SMSF. Barney’s unused concessional contributions cap amount for the
2018-19 FY is therefore $21,000, which he can carry forward for up to 5 years.
2019-20 Financial Year (Year 1)
Barney’s Total Superannuation Balance as at 30 June 2019 is $480,000. Since the TSB is
less than $500,000, Barney is eligible to access unused concessional contributions in the
2019-20 FY. The maximum annual cap for the 2019-20 FY is $46,000, which consists of the $25,000 annual concessional
contributions cap and the $21,000 unused cap accrued from the 2018-19 FY.
Barney’s employer makes a total of $25,000 into his SMSF. Given that he has used up the annual cap of $25,000, there
is no unused amount left for him to carry forward from the 2019-20 FY. Only the unused amount of $21,000 from the
2018-19 FY will be carried forward.
2020-21 Financial Year (Year 2)
Barney’s Total Superannuation Balance as at 30 June 2020 is still $480,000. The maximum annual cap for the
2020-21 FY is $46,000, which consists of the $25,000 annual concessional contributions cap and the $21,000
unused cap accrued from the 2018-19 FY.
Barney only makes $9,000 deductible personal contributions to his SMSF, therefore another $16,000 concessional contributions
are unused and can be carried forward for another five years. At 30 June 2021, Barney’s total unused concessional
contributions accumulate to $37,000 ($21,000 from 2018-19 FY plus $16,000 from 2020-21 FY).
2021-22 Financial Year (Year 3)
Barney’s Total Superannuation Balance has increased to $501,000 as at 30 June 2021. Since the TSB has exceeded $500,000, Barney is not able to use the $37,000 unused concessional contributions accrued from previous FYs. The maximum concessional contributions that Barney can make in the 2021-22 FY is the annual concessional contributions cap of $27,500.
Assume Barney only contributes $12,500 into his SMSF for this year. The unused amount of $15,000 can be carried forward to increase his concessional contribution cap for later years when his Total Superannuation Balance falls under $500,000. At 30 June 2022, Barney’s total unused concessional contributions accumulate to $52,000 ($21,000 from 2018-19 FY plus $16,000 from 2020-21 FY plus $15,000 from 2021-22 FY).
2022-23 Financial Year (Year 4)
Barney’s Total Superannuation Balance as at 30 June 2022 decreases to $490,000. Accordingly, the maximum annual cap for the 2022-23 FY is $79,500, which consists of the $27,500 annual concessional contributions cap and the $52,000 unused cap accrued from previous years.
Barney decides to make $29,500 concessional contributions to his SMSF during the year. He does not exceed the concessional contributions cap in this case even the annual contributions cap is $27,500 as he is able to utilise his unused concessional contributions carried forward from previous years. At 30 June 2023, Barney’s total unused concessional contributions reduce to $50,000 ($52,000 - $2,000 utilised this year).
Note: Where the unused cap is carried forward from more than one of the previous financial years, the earliest unused
cap is applied first. In this example, the $2,000 catch up contribution is accessed from the unused cap in the
2018-19 Financial Year.
2023-24 Financial Year (Year 5)
Barney is 67 years old. He continues to work and meets the work test. Barney’s Total Superannuation Balance as at 30 June 2023 is $480,000. Accordingly, the maximum annual cap for the 2023-24 FY is $77,500, which consists of the $27,500 annual concessional contributions cap and the $50,000 unused cap accrued from previous years.
Barney contributes $32,500 into his SMSF by accessing $5,000 of the unused cap carried forward from the 2018-19 FY. By 30 June 2024, Barney only utilises $7,000 of the unused cap from the 2018-19 FY and therefore the remaining $14,000 expire at the end of the five-year period. At 30 June 2024, Barney’s total unused concessional contributions reduce to $31,000 ($50,000 - $5,000 utilised this year - $14,000 expired this year).
2024-25 Financial Year (Year 6)
Barney is 68 years old. He continues to work and meets the work test. Barney’s Total Superannuation Balance as at 30 June 2024 is $480,000. Accordingly, the maximum annual cap for the 2024-25 FY is $58,500, which consists of the $27,500 annual concessional contributions cap and the $31,000 unused cap accrued from previous years.
Barney made a total of $45,500 concessional contributions to his SMSF. Apart from the $27,500 annual cap, he also accesses $16,000 unused concessional contributions from the 2020-21 FY and $2,000 unused concessional contributions from the 2021-22 FY. At 30 June 2025, Barney’s total unused concessional contributions reduce to $13,000 which is the remaining unused concessional contributions from the 2021-22 FY. Barney has until the 2026-27 FY to access this amount, otherwise it will expire by 30 June 2027.