Tax deductions for super

Yes, depending on which type of super contribution you made, you may be able to claim a tax deduction.

You can claim a tax deduction for:

• Personal/voluntary after-tax super contributions, including adding money from your bank account to your QSuper account (e.g. by using BPAY®).
• After-tax standard member contributions made to a QSuper Accumulation account (some employees of the Queensland Government make these).²

You can't claim a tax deduction:

• On before-tax (concessional) contributions (e.g. salary sacrificed contributions or your employer's SG contributions)
• On First Home Super Saver Scheme (FHSSS) amounts or COVID-19 withdrawals you've accessed and then re-contributed to your super fund
• On eligible downsizer contributions
• If you've started an income stream using the before-tax contributions you want to claim
• If the fund no longer has the money (e.g. if you've withdrawn it or switched super funds)
• If the contribution was actually a transfer/rollover from another fund (including foreign pension funds)
• If you want to receive the government's super co-contribution for low income earners on your after-tax contributions.

If you're aged from 67 up to 75 years old, you need to meet the work test or work test exemption to claim a tax deduction. Once you're over 75, you can't make contributions that you could claim a tax deduction on. If you're under 18 at the end of the financial year you made the contributions in, you'll need to earn income as an employee or by running a business.  

There are strict rules for claiming your super contributions as a deduction. For more information, read the factsheet attached to the form (pdf), download our Personal Contributions Guide (pdf), or talk to an accountant or tax agent.

When your employer pays your super or you salary sacrifice to your super, these are before-tax contributions (or concessional contributions) and you pay a 15% tax on these contributions (or 30% tax if your income and before-tax contributions equal more than $250,000/year).

Investment earnings your super makes are also taxed at up to 15%.

If you make an after-tax contribution (personal or voluntary contribution), you don't pay the 15% contributions tax. But when you claim a tax deduction on these contributions, the 15% super contributions tax will apply.

In 2024–25, you can add a total of up to $30,000 in concessional contributions before tax each financial year. These are normally taxed at 15% (an extra 15% tax may apply if your income plus before-tax contributions are over $250,000/year). You could be paying more tax if you haven't given your TFN to your super fund or contribute more than these limits.

You can add up to $120,000 per year in non-concessional (personal/voluntary/after-tax) contributions, depending on your super balance. No tax applies to after-tax contributions unless you go over the limit, then an extra tax may apply.

Learn more about the contribution limits.

Yes, claiming a tax deduction changes your contribution from non-concessional to concessional, and your concessional cap also includes your employer and salary sacrifice contributions. So it's worth checking whether you're close to your before-tax (concessional) contribution cap for the financial year before deciding how much to claim for your deduction.

Also consider the carry-forward and bring-forward rules. These two rules mean that if you're eligible and you haven't contributed up to the full limits in a particular financial year, you could contribute more the next year.

If you're making super contributions, you can't backdate those contributions.

However, it's worth learning about the carry-forward and bring-forward rules, which are similar to backdating super contributions. These two rules mean that if you're eligible and you haven't contributed up to the full limits in a particular financial year, you could contribute more the next year.

You can make more than one claim for tax deductions on super with us before you fill out your tax return for the financial year.

For example, let's say you've made an early claim with us for a super tax deduction within a financial year. After this you make some extra contributions to your super before 1 July and would like to add this money to the amount you're claiming. You can make a second claim — just for the extra amount — before you put in your tax return for that financial year.

Also, if you've put in a claim for a tax deduction but you'd like to reduce the amount you're claiming before doing your tax return, you can tell us by filling in the paper form (pdf). Keep in mind there are time limits for changing the amount you want to claim.

Remember to wait until we let you know that we've processed your claim before submitting your tax return.

Usually, your super fund and employer will automatically report your super balances and contributions to the ATO.

If you're claiming a tax deduction for super contributions, you list the amount you're allowed to claim as a deduction in your tax return. You can check this with your accountant or tax agent at tax time.