By Colin Lewis, Head of Strategic Advice, Fitzpatricks Advice Partners
June 2026

A deductible super contribution is a simple and effective way to cut your tax bill while boosting your retirement savings, but your super fund must receive it by 30 June for it to count this tax year.

Here are some ways to do it.

Concessional contributions

A pre-tax contribution provides a tax benefit while topping up your super.

The concessional cap is $30,000 (rising to $32,500 from 1 July).

For wage earners, your employer’s 12 per cent Superannuation Guarantee (SG) contributions (notional contributions in a defined benefit fund), salary sacrifice contributions and any fund administration and insurance expenses paid by your employer, all count towards this cap.

Lodge a notice of intent to claim a deduction with your fund and have it acknowledged before lodging your tax return – and don’t roll over, withdraw, or start a pension from the contribution beforehand.

Don’t make a deductible contribution that drops your taxable income below the effective tax-free threshold – you get no tax benefit but still pay 15 per cent tax in super.

For 2025-26, the effective tax-free threshold (after offsets) is $22,575. For those eligible for the seniors and pensioners tax offset, it’s $35,813 for singles and $31,888 for each member of a couple.

Catch-up contributions

If you didn’t use the full $30,000 cap last tax year, the $27,500 cap each year from 2021-22 to 2023-24, or the $25,000 cap in 2020-21, then any unused amounts may be contributed this year and claimed as a deduction – delivering a bigger tax saving.

The catch: your total super balance must have been less than $500,000 at 30 June 2025.

This is the last year to use any unused 2020-21 amount – use it or lose it.

It could mean a deduction up to $167,500, or $200,000 for SMSF members who make a double contribution.

Employees receiving SG won’t get a deduction this large, but others might – business owners who’ve ploughed money back into their business rather than contributed, retirees under 67 who last worked before 2020-21, or returning expats, looking to offset income or capital gains on an asset sale.

Double contribution

A ‘contribution reserving strategy’ is where a contribution to an SMSF in June is allocated in July.

The deduction is claimed when the contribution is received in June, but doesn’t count towards the cap until allocated in the new tax year (by 28 July).

A second contribution of $32,500 can lift the deduction to $62,500 (plus catch-up amounts) – handy for offsetting income or capital gains on an asset sale.

The SMSF trustee must resolve to defer allocating the contribution to the new year and lodge a Request to Adjust Concessional Contributions form with the ATO by the time the fund’s annual return and your tax return are lodged, otherwise it could be treated as an excess contribution.

Non-concessional contributions

There’s no immediate tax benefit for making these (except spouse contributions) but earnings are taxed at 15 per cent – nil in retirement phase – which may beat your marginal rate.

The cap is $120,000 (increasing to $130,000 on 1 July), available if your total super balance was under $2 million at 30 June 2025.

Bring-forward rule

If you haven’t triggered the bring-forward rule in the last two tax years and were under 75 at 1 July 2025, you may contribute up to $360,000 provided your total super balance was under $1.76 million at 30 June 2025, and up to $240,000 if it was $1.76 million to less than $1.88 million.

Check your contributions since 1 July 2023. Look out for excess concessional contributions not withdrawn from super as they count as non-concessional contributions and may have inadvertently triggered the bring-forward rule – a trap for the unwary.

Co-contribution

The best return on a $1,000 contribution comes from the government: earn under $47,488 (at least 10 per cent from employment or business), be under 71, and it tips in $500 – a 50 per cent after-tax return.

The co-contribution phases out between $45,488 and $62,488 of income.

Spouse contribution

Contributing for your spouse can boost their super or fund their life insurance cover.

If they earn less than $37,000 and you contribute up to $3,000, you can claim an 18 per cent tax offset – worth up to $540, phasing out between $37,000 and $40,000 of their income.

First home super saver scheme

If you’re using super to save for your first home, contributing up to $15,000 helps reach the $50,000 maximum releasable amount under the scheme sooner – but check with your fund that it will release your contributions.

The ground rules

Non-concessional contributions have a total super balance test, while personal deductible contributions have a work test.

From age 67, to claim a deduction you must work at least 40 hours in a consecutive 30-day period during the tax year – or meet the work test exemption.

For the exemption in 2025-26, you must have met the work test in 2024-25, had a total super balance under $300,000 at 30 June 2025, and not previously used the exemption.

Voluntary contributions (excluding downsizer) must be received within 28 days after the end of the month you turn 75.

Pension drawdown – a reminder

If you’re running a pension from an SMSF, don’t forget to make the minimum drawdown before 30 June.  Miss it and the pension will lose its tax-exempt status for the year.

Impending Division 296 tax

SMSF trustees wishing to reset the cost base of assets under Division 296 should consider selling assets with unrealised losses before 1 July.  But don’t sell and quickly buy back assets you want to keep – that’s a ‘wash sale’ which would be problematic if it’s done purely for tax.

Asset growth before 1 July can be protected (lowering earnings subject to the new on sale), but SMSFs must opt in.

Any SMSF can opt in, so worth considering for funds holding assets with large, accrued gains and a member expected to be over $3 million (indexed) in the future.

It’s all in or out of this relief – trustees can’t cherry-pick assets only with gains. Opting in doesn’t happen until the 2027 annual return is due, but you may want to exit assets with unrealised losses now.