Spouse contributions
And splitting your super to your spouse's account
If your partner is earning a low income or taking time off work for caring responsibilities, then it's likely they're not earning much super. This means that their super can fall behind, and it's a big problem in Australia.
Luckily, there are ways you can help your partner's superannuation continue to grow. You can do this by:
- Making a spouse contribution to their super account
- Arranging for contribution splitting (also known as super splitting)
Spouse superannuation contributions can now be made for spouses earning up to $40,000 per year. If your spouse has earnings below $37,000 you can claim the maximum tax offset of $540 when you contribute $3,000 to his/her super.
Who is a spouse?
Under Australian superannuation law, your spouse can be:
a) Your legally married partner with whom you live, or
b) Your de facto partner: i.e. a person you are not married to but live with on a genuine domestic basis in a relationship as a couple.
However, the ATO states that if you are legally married to someone, but you live separately and apart on a permanent basis, then that person will not generally be regarded as your spouse under the superannuation laws.
For the purposes of spouse contribution eligibility, your partner must also be:
- Younger than their preservation age, or
- Between 65 and their preservation age, and has not yet retired.
What is spouse contribution?
A spouse super contribution is a voluntary after-tax contribution into the super fund of a low-income-earning spouse or de facto partner. The person making the payment may benefit from a tax offset (reduction) of up to 18% for contributions up to $3,000 per year. Payments above this are allowed, but tax concessions stop at that limit.
You claim the tax offset via your tax return.
Spouse contribution criteria, tax offsets and limits
If your spouse's total assessable income is $37,000 or less, and you make an after-tax contribution of at least $3,000 then you can access the maximum tax offset of $540.
Where a spouse earns more than $37,000, the offset amount will be progressively reduced. There is no offset available if a spouse earns $40,000 p.a. or more in total assessable income - which includes annual income, fringe benefits and employer super contributions.
You also can't claim this tax offset if your spouse:
- Has exceeded their own non-concessional (after tax) contributions cap for the financial year
- Has a super balance of $1.9 million (for 2023/24) or more, on 30 June of the financial year before the contribution was made
- Is 75 years old or over
A few things to remember in order to qualify for the offset:
- You and your spouse must both be Australian residents when the contributions are made
- You cannot make the payment for family law purposes (e.g. super splitting order from the Family Court)
- The contribution must be paid into your spouse's super fund or retirement savings account
- The contributions must not be deductible to you.
An example of spouse contributions
Greg has a salary of $75,000 per year (before deductions, including tax), and would like to make a contribution into his spouse's superannuation account to help boost her super balance.
| Greg's current situation | |
| Gross salary income: | $75,000 |
| - Income tax: | $16,342 |
| - Medicare levy | $1,500 |
| Disposable income: | $57,158 |
Scenario 1 - Greg's partner doesn't work
Greg contributes $3,000 from his savings into his spouse's super account. He is eligible for a $540 tax offset.
Gross salary income:
| So, here's how it would look based on July 2023 tax and Medicare rates: | |
| Gross salary income: | $75,000 |
| - Income tax: | $16,342 |
| - Medicare levy: | $1,500 |
| + Tax offset: | $540 |
| Disposable income: | $57,698 |
| - Spouse contribution: | $3,000 |
| Income for 2023/24: | $54,698 |
Scenario 2 - Greg's partner earns $38,200 (total assessable income)
Greg contributes $3,000 from his savings into his spouse's super account. He is eligible for a $324 tax offset because his partner earns more than $37,000 but less than $40,000.
| So, here's how it would look based on July 2023 tax and Medicare rates: | |
| Gross salary income: | $75,000 |
| - Income tax: | $16,342 |
| - Medicare levy: | $1,500 |
| + Tax offset: | $324 |
| Disposable income: | $57,482 |
| - Spouse contribution: | $3,000 |
| Income for 2023/24: | $54,482 |
Superannuation contributions splitting
What is contribution splitting?
Super contributions splitting allows you have some of the super paid by your employer, or your own voluntary contributions, directed into the super account of your spouse - as long as they're either, under their preservation age, or over their preservation age but not yet 65 years, and have not retired.
How does super contribution splitting work?
There are two types of contributions that can be split:
- Employer contributions including salary sacrifice, which are the most common type to split
- Voluntary personal contributions, that you have advised your super fund you will claim a tax deduction for.
Splitting some of your super and transferring it into your spouse's account is arranged through your super fund - noting that some funds may charge a fee to do this, and others don't allow it at all. If your fund is fine with contributions splitting, then you simply send a request to your fund, asking them to transfer your chosen amount to your spouse's account. You can transfer up to 85% of your concessional (before tax) contributions from the previous year.
If you're unsure, always seek expert advice
For more details about contributing to your partner's super, have a chat with your super fund or financial advisor, as they'll be able to guide you through the process.