Grow your super with your savings
You can add to your super with extra contributions from your take-home pay or savings. After-tax super contributions are a great way to invest the extra money from a pay rise, bonus or inheritance.*
These contributions are also known as non-concessional contributions, voluntary contributions or personal super contributions. There are limits, known as caps, on how much you can contribute before an additional tax applies. Read more about the caps that apply to super.
Make an after-tax super contribution
The easiest way to contribute to your super account is with BPAY®. You can set up a one-off payment or regular contributions.
Log in to your account to get your BPAY details.
You can also send us a cheque. Download the after-tax voluntary contribution form (PDF, 102 KB) and send it back to us with your cheque.
Are after-tax super contributions for me?
You can make after-tax contributions if:
- you’re under 67 or satisfy either the work test or the work test exemption
- you haven’t gone over your non-concessional contributions cap and your total super balance at 30 June of the previous financial year is less than your personal transfer balance cap (between $1.6 million and $1.7 million).
How your extra, after-tax super contributions make a difference over time
As little as $20 a week^ could make a big difference to your super balance in the future.
Adding small amounts of money over time can be easier than finding large sums to add to your super.
Your extra, after-tax contributions will keep earning you money through compound interest, which is when you earn interest on top of interest.
Here’s an example
Frankie and Charlie are both 30 years old and earn $60,000 + super per year.
They both receive 10% employer contributions into their UniSuper account.
Frankie decides to set up a recurring BPAY payment of $20 per week^ from their after-tax salary into UniSuper.
Charlie doesn’t.
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Things you should know about this calculationAssumptions and disclaimers:
- This example is comparing balances at retirement (age 67) between a member who made extra contributions and one who didn’t.
- The opening account balance at age 30 is the same for Frankie and Charlie at $30,000.
- Projected balances at age 67 are in today’s dollars, which means they are adjusted for inflation (allowing for future rise in cost of living and living standards). An inflation rate of 3.0% per year is assumed.
- Both Frankie and Charlie receive standard employer contributions at Superannuation Guarantee (SG) rate. The SG rate is 10% in the first year of projection and will increase to 12.0% as currently legislated.
- Both Frankie's and Charlie's salaries are projected to increase at the same rate of 3.0% per year in the projection.
- ^ For Frankie, the additional after-tax contribution of $20 per week is assumed to increase at the same rate as his salary increases in the future.
- Rate of investment return (net of investment fees, cost and taxes) is assumed to be 6.0% per year.
- Both Frankie and Charlie have 1 unit of default Death/TPD insurance cover with a weekly premium of $1.85 and an annual administration fee of $96 applies to their accounts. The insurance premium and administration fee are assumed to increase by inflation in the projection.
- A contribution tax rate of 15% applies to employer contributions net of insurance premium and administration fee.
- All figures are rounded to the nearest hundred.
- This example is an illustration only and is not guaranteed. Actual outcomes may be different as investment returns are uncertain. Actual fees and insurance premiums may change.
Claim a tax deduction for after-tax contributions
You may be able to claim a personal tax deduction for these contributions. Once you claim a deduction for an after-tax contribution (also known as a non-concessional contribution) it will be treated as a pre-tax contribution (also known as a concessional contribution). You may be able to claim up to $27,500 in after-tax contributions each financial year, however this cap also includes any other pre-tax or employer contributions made during the financial year so you should consider the amount of deductible contributions you make in light of these other contributions. To make a claim, complete a notice of intent before you lodge your tax return.
You can submit a notice of intent via your online account
Once you log in to your account. Select Manage account, scroll down to “Notice of intent to claim a tax deduction for personal super contributions’ and complete the short online form.
Eligibility criteria
To be eligible to claim a tax deduction, you must
- have made a personal contribution to super during the financial year
- meet the age-related requirements (see below)
- you must be between age 18 and 75
- if you’re age 75, you need to make your personal contribution no later than 28 days after the month of your 75th birthday
- if you’re under age 18 at the end of the financial year, you may still be eligible for a tax deduction if you have earned income as an employee or business operator in the same period as your claim
- the funds must still be your UniSuper account at the time of the claim
Additional eligibility criteria may apply, for more information please visit the ATO website.
Notification deadlines
You’ll need to let us know you’re going to claim a tax deduction before:
- any withdrawal or transfer of funds from your UniSuper account including any rollovers to commence an income stream or pension account
- the day you lodge your income tax return with the ATO for the financial year in which the contributions were made
- the end of the financial year following the year when the contributions were made.
Fund confirmation
If your notice is valid, we’ll send you an acknowledgement which you will need in order to complete your tax return. You must receive this acknowledgment before you can claim a tax deduction. We recommend you provide this to your tax adviser or accountant, or on request by the ATO.
For more information about claiming a tax deduction visit the ATO website.
You can generally contribute up to $27,500 in pre-tax contribution and $110,000 in after-tax contributions each financial year without having to pay extra tax. Read more about the caps that apply to super.
