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The new downsizer contribution allows older Australians to top up their superannuation accounts when they sell the family home.

People aged over 65 can unlock the equity in their home and, by adding to their superannuation balances, access a greater tax-free pension to improve their lifestyle in retirement.

You must be aged 65 years or older, have owned your home for at least 10 years, and the home must have been your residence for at least part of the time. You and your partner can contribute up to $300,000 each from the proceeds of the sale of the property.

A downsizer contribution can be a great strategy to unlock the wealth in the family home and increase your tax-free pension from super, but we also need to keep in mind the effect this may have on your Centrelink benefits. This is because the family home is an exempt benefit for Centrelink purposes, but your super account balance is not. Give us a call for a free consultation to see if the downsizer contribution is right for you.

More information from: Downsizer Contribution

There are some great changes to the rules governing concessional contributions in 2018. Concessional contributions are contributions to super that are claimed as a tax deduction; either by your employer, or, by yourself. Concessional contributions are limited to $25,000 per tax payer per year. From 1 July 2017 anyone can claim a tax deduction for making a concessional contribution to super (In the past, only self-employed could do this). This makes is easy to contribute extra to super and reduce your taxable income. Don't forget to take into account any employer contributions, as they also count towards your $25k concessional limit. Another great change, coming from 1 July 2018 is the ability to carry over un-used portions of your concessional contribution limit for up to 5 years. For example, an employee on $100k would have employer contributions of $9,500 going into super. If they made no extra contributions, they have not used $15,500 of their limit that year. This can be carried forward for 5 years, and it is possible that the tax payer could make a tax deductible contribution into super in year 5 of $77,500. Imagine the tax saving if this coincided with the sale of an investment property with significant capital gains.

Welcome to Asset Accounting(QLD) new web site and blog. We will endeavour to bring you interesting and informative articles and ideas to help you understand the tax regime that we all have to live with, and some strategies to help you achieve your goals.