Re-contribution of COVID-19 early release superannuation amounts
If you withdrew money from your super fund through the COVID-19 early release of super program, you can rebuild your super by making personal super contributions.
If these contributions mean you might exceed your non-concessional contributions cap, you may be eligible to have them treated as 'COVID-19 re-contributions', which are excluded from the non-concessional contributions cap.
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Will re-contributions benefit you
When making super contributions, the important thing to remember is that there are caps on the amounts that you can contribute without you having to pay extra tax.
In general, if you make a personal super contribution to your fund out of money that you have already paid tax on and you do not claim a tax deduction for it, this is called a non-concessional contribution and will count towards your non-concessional contributions cap.
The re-contribution of COVID-19 early release amounts into superannuation helps you to build your super balance by ensuring that any personal contributions you make up to the amount you released under the COVID-19 early release are not non-concessional contributions and will not count towards your non-concessional contributions cap.
If you have decided to re-contribute the super that you took out as part of the COVID-19 early release and you are close to going over your non-concessional contributions cap for the year, you may choose to complete and lodge a re-contribution form.
If you are not going to go over your cap for the year by making your re-contribution, it is not necessary for you to complete the form but the amount will count towards your non-concessional contributions cap. You should consider seeking advice from a financial advisor or tax agent on whether this is right for you. You will be ineligible to claim a personal super deduction for any amounts you choose to have treated as a COVID-19 re-contribution.
The re-contribution will count towards your transfer balance cap, which applies when you move your super into retirement phase. It will also count towards your total super balance when it is recalculated to include all your contributions on 30 June at the end of the financial year.
Are you eligible to make a re-contribution
You will be eligible to make a re-contribution of COVID-19 early release amounts to super if you can answer yes to all of the following:
- you accessed superannuation amounts through COVID-19 early release of super program
- the total amount, including any previous COVID-19 re-contributions, you are re-contributing is equal to or less than the total amount you accessed through COVID-19 early release
- you can provide the approved form notifying your fund of the re-contribution on or before the time when the contribution is made
- you re-contribute the amounts to your fund between 1 July 2021 and 30 June 2030
- you are not claiming a deduction in your income tax return for amounts you re-contribute
How much you can re-contribute
If eligible, you can make a re-contribution up to the amount you accessed through COVID-19 early release.
You can make multiple re-contributions, but the total of all your re-contributions must not go over the total amount you accessed through COVID-19 early release.
Example: Not exceeding the non-concessional contributions cap
Chloe accessed $20,000 through COVID-19 early release of superannuation.
Chloe has decided to make a personal contribution of $10,000 into her super.
Chloe's non-concessional contributions cap for the financial year is $110,000 and as she will not be exceeding this amount, decides to not treat this amount as a re-contribution of a COVID-19 early release amount.
As Chloe will not exceed her non-concessional contribution cap this year there is no need for her to complete the COVID-19 re-contribution form.
End of example
Example: Exceeding the non-concessional contributions cap
Scott accessed $10,000 through COVID-19 early release of superannuation.
Scott has decided to make a personal contribution of $120,000 into his super.
Scott's non-concessional contributions cap for the financial year is $110,000 and as he will be in excess of his non-concessional contributions cap, Scott decides to treat $10,000 as a re-contribution of COVID-19 early release amounts so that he will not be in excess.
Scott will need to provide the approved form to notify his fund of the re-contribution on or before the time when he makes the contribution. Scott's fund will report this re-contribution to us.
Scott is ineligible to claim a personal deduction in his income tax return for the amount he re-contributes.
End of example
Example: Claiming a deduction for personal contribution amounts
Tessa accessed $20,000 through COVID-19 early release of superannuation.
Tessa has decided to make a personal contribution into her super of $10,000.
Tessa has decided to claim a personal deduction for her contribution and as such is not eligible to treat the contributions as a re-contribution of COVID-19 early release amounts.
End of exampleHow to make your re-contribution
Re-contributions of COVID-19 early release of superannuation can be made between 1 July 2021 and 30 June 2030.
Before you choose to treat your contribution as a re-contribution of COVID-19 early release amounts , you should:
- Check your non-concessional contributions cap to see if you are likely to go over it in the year you made the contribution. If the contribution will not cause you to exceed your cap, you do not need to complete a form.
- Check your eligibility.
- Confirm with your super fund, that they will accept contributions.
When you choose to make a COVID-19 re-contribution, you will need to complete the Notice of re-contribution of COVID-19 early release amounts (NAT 75394) form. You need to provide this to your super fund before or at the time when you make your contribution. Your fund will report this re-contribution information to us.
One form can be used to cover multiple re-contribution amounts to a single fund in one financial year. If you make COVID-19 re-contributions to multiple funds or in more than one financial year, a separate form must be lodged with each fund for each financial year.
Next step
If you accessed money from your super fund as part of the COVID-19 early release program the re-contribution of COVID-19 early release amounts into superannuation helps you to build your super balance.