Spouse contributions
You may be able to make spouse contributions to help grow your spouse’s super and your joint retirement savings. This could make a difference to your retirement savings if your spouse is not working or is a low-income earner.
A spouse is defined as a person (of any gender) who:
- You are legally married to, or
- Lives with you on a bona fide domestic basis (a de facto spouse)
You and your spouse must not be living separately on a permanent basis at the time you contribute.
Check if you qualify for the spouse contributions’ tax benefits
In order to receive spouse contributions, the following criteria must be met:
- You and your spouse must be in an eligible spouse relationship this includes same-sex couples)
- You and your spouse are both Australian residents
- Your spouse is under 67 years of age, and
- If your spouse is aged over 67, but less than 75, you can only contribute if they have worked at least 40 hours in a period of no more than 30 consecutive days in this financial year, or your spouse is exempt from the work test as they have met the following conditions:
- Have reached age 67, but not age 75
- Met the work test in the previous financial year
- A total superannuation balance of less than $300,000 at the end of the previous financial year, and,
- Not previously relied upon the Work Test Exemption to make contributions.
You and your spouse could be eligible for tax benefits
Spouse contributions are treated as non-concessional (after-tax) contributions, which means that, in your spouse’s account, no tax is deducted from the contribution and they are tax-free when the money eventually gets withdrawn.
It’s important to note that since spouse contributions are non-concessional, they will form part of your spouse’s non-concessional contribution cap.
You could receive a tax offset of 18%
A tax offset means you can pay less tax on your income. If you’re the spouse making a contribution, you could receive an 18% tax offset on the contributions you make to your spouse’s account. You can claim the tax offset through your personal tax return.
Note: no tax offset is available when the spouse receiving the contribution has exceeded their non-concessional contributions cap for the financial year, or their total super balance is equal to or exceeds the transfer balance cap (currently $1.9 million1) on 30 June immediately before the 2023/24 financial year.
The tax offset depends on your spouse’s income
If your spouse’s assessable income (disregarding your spouse’s First Home Super Saver scheme released amounts for the income year), plus reportable employer super contributions and reportable fringe benefits add up to less than $37,000 a year, the first $3,000 of any spouse contributions you make are eligible for an 18% tax offset. This is up to the maximum offset of $540 per year.
If your spouse’s total income is higher than $37,000, the tax offset gradually reduces up until your spouse’s total income reaches $40,000. After this point, the tax offset doesn’t apply.
The table below shows how the tax offset works:
| Your spouse’s annual income | Amount paid into your spouse’s account | Maximum amount eligible for tax offset | Tax offset available to you |
|---|---|---|---|
| $20,000 | $5,000 | $3,000 | $540 |
| $37,000 | $5,000 | $3,000 | $540 |
| $39,000 | $5,000 | $1,999 | $360 |
| $40,000 | $5,000 | $0 | $0 |
Your spouse’s final benefit could be taxed at a lower rate
Contributions you make to your spouse’s super account could attract a lower tax rate than benefits paid from their super account.
For example, if your spouse has reached their Commonwealth preservation age, is under 60 and accumulates a limited amount of super benefits before they retire, their final benefit may fall below their low rate cap. This means their final benefit may be taxed at a lower rate or not at all.
How to open an account for your spouse
If your spouse doesn’t have an eligible super account, we can open a GESB Super account for them as soon as you make your first spouse contribution. Once your spouse has received their new member welcome letter, they can then join Member Online and choose an investment plan.
Choose an investment plan
We offer a range of investment plans with different levels of risk and return, designed to give you a choice as to how your money is invested.
Before making an investment choice, we recommend your spouse learns more about the investment plans and you might like to decide together which one suits your shared goals. If your spouse doesn’t choose an investment plan, your funds will be automatically invested in the My GESB Super plan.
Accessing spouse contributions
Spouse contributions are subject to the same conditions of release as the rest of your spouse’s super account.
Your spouse contribution can be accessed once your spouse reaches age 65, or their Commonwealth preservation age, and permanently retire.
How to make your first spouse contribution
Once you’ve decided that you want to contribute to your spouse’s super, you’ll need to download the Spouse contributions brochure and complete the form.
How to make additional spouse contributions
Once you’ve set up your first spouse contribution, you’ll only need to complete the Additional spouse contributions form when you want to make more spouse contributions.
1 $1.9 million is the general transfer balance cap for the 2023/24 financial year.
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Thank you for printing this page. Remember to come back to gesb.wa.gov.au for the latest information as our content is updated regularly. This information is correct as at 27 April 2024.