ATO to contact members about deductions for contributions

“The campaign will reach around 11,000 people who self-prepare their tax returns with emails issuing on 12 February, and letters issuing on 25 February,” it said.

Earlier this year, the ATO reminded professionals about some of the common errors that can arise when clients claim deductions for personal super contributions.

Before lodging the client’s 2018 tax return, the ATO said that practitioners should check that their client is eligible to claim and that they made personal (after tax) super contributions directly to their super fund before 30 June 2018.

In order to be eligible for deductions on contributions made on or after 1 July, the contributions cannot have been made to a Commonwealth public sector superannuation scheme in which the client has a defined benefit interest, a constitutionally protected fund, or a super fund that notified the ATO before the start of the income year that it had elected to treat all member contributions as non-deductible.

The client also needs to meet the age restrictions. Clients aged between 65 and 74 may be eligible to use this strategy if they meet the work test.

Practitioners also need to ensure that their client has sent a notice of intent to claim or vary a deduction for personal super contributions to their super fund and has received an acknowledgement.

It also noted that members can only claim deductions for their after-tax personal super contributions and not from before-tax income such as the superannuation guarantee, salary sacrifice or reportable employer super contributions shown on their payment summary.