Superannuation

What is super splitting?

Super splitting gives your spouse or defacto a chance to reap the benefits of super, too.

It is particularly beneficial for spouses who are on low incomes or do not work.

You may generally be able to split to your spouse’s super 85% of your annual:

employer contributions
personal contributions you claim as a tax deduction.

Contributions from your after-tax income made from 6 April 2007 cannot be split.

You can apply to split after the end of each financial year for the contributions made in the previous financial year. There is an exception to this rule: you can apply to split contributions in the current financial year if you are withdrawing your entire benefit and closing your account.

Further points to note:

Only the fund to which the contributions were made can split them.
You can only split contributions made to accumulation accounts (ie not defined benefits components).
If your benefit is subject to a family law payment split, no contributions splitting may occur.

Tax rebates on spouse contributions

If your spouse earns less than $13,800 per year and you make a contribution into their super account you can receive a tax rebate of up to $540.

The rebate is calculated as 18% of the contribution made. Where earnings (including reportable fringe benefits) are less than $10,800, up to $3,000 of contributions can be counted. For earnings between $10,800 and $13,800 contributions that count are limited to $3,000 less $1 for every $1 of earnings above $10,800.

AMP super contributions splitting is available in the following super funds.