West State Super and tax
West State Super is an untaxed scheme.
Unlike most other Australian super funds, West State Super does not pay tax on any contributions or investment earnings that your super account receives while it accumulates. You will only be taxed when you access the money in your account. Untaxed does not mean ‘no tax’, so it can be useful to think of it as deferred tax.
Tax applies in different ways to different types of contributions
Here is a guide to how tax applies to your West State Super contributions. While the Commonwealth government provides concessional tax rates to help you use your super to save for retirement, there are some limits, known as caps. For more information, please read the West State Super Product Information Booklet.
West State Super and tax
Contribution type | General treatment | Contribution caps for 2023/24 financial year |
---|---|---|
Concessional (before-tax) contributions
| No tax applies when the contribution is made.
If you are a high-income earner and your income and low tax contributions exceed $250,000 then you may be liable for Division 293 tax. | This is an annual cap that limits the amount of concessionally taxed contributions you and your employer can make each financial year. |
Non-concessional (after-tax) contributions
| No tax applies up to your non-concessional contributions cap. | Your non-concessional contributions cap is:
The amount available under the bring-forward rule depends on your total super balance as at 30 June in the previous financial year. For more information, visit the ATO website. If you make contributions to super over your cap then you may have to pay extra tax. |
Other contributions
|
Find out more about downsizer contributions. |
Factor tax into your retirement planning
If you’re planning for your retirement and considering taking your super out as a lump sum or transferring it into an allocated pension, you need to be aware of the tax that applies in those scenarios.
For a breakdown of your tax components i.e. taxed vs untaxed, call your Member Services Centre on 13 43 72 or use our Live chat and ask for a ‘benefit estimate’.
Find out more about how tax applies on benefits.
Service periods before 1 July 1983 may impact your benefit
If you have an eligible service period that started before 1 July 1983, this may impact how much tax is payable when you access your West State Super benefit. Find out more about Pre-1 July 1983 service and tax.
1 SuperRatings Smart database as at 31 December 2023. Based on an average balance of $50,000, fees for the My West State Super plan, the My GESB Super plan and the RI Allocated Pension Balanced plan are below the industry median. Fees includes administration, investment, and transaction fees and costs. Fees may change periodically.
2 This includes lost and unclaimed account transfers to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).
3 If you are a Gold State Super member and currently employed in the WA public sector, you may be eligible to open a West State Super account, provided you have pre-1 July 1983 service.
4 For the 2023/24 financial year, indexed annually in line with Average Weekly Ordinary Time Earnings, in increments of $5,000 rounded down. The untaxed plan cap applies for each untaxed scheme you are a member of.
5 For the 2023/24 financial year, indexed annually. This cap is equal to four times the general concessional contributions cap (which is currently $27,500).
6 The amount available under the bring-forward rule depends on your total super balance as at 30 June in the previous financial year. Where the bring-forward rule has been triggered, the future years' entitlements are not indexed and the contributions must be made before you turn 75 or within the 28 days following the end of the month in which you turn 75 years old. For more information, please read the Contributing to your super brochure.
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 29 March 2024.