After-tax contributions

After-tax contributions, also known as ‘non-concessional contributions’, is money added from your take-home pay or after-tax salary.

Things you should know

• Contribution caps: There’s a cap on how much you can add to your super. This is set by the Australian Tax Office (ATO) and changes periodically. You can find more information about contribution caps at Tax and Your Super.

Timing of contributions

We recommend that you BPAY or electronically transfer your money before 21 June to allow time for bank transfers and processing into your account prior to 30 June. This seeks to ensure your contributions are reported to the ATO and allocated to your account in the same tax year (i.e. prior to 1 July).

ADF Super and PSSap

If you’re a contributing customer of ADF Super or PSSap, there are four ways you can make after-tax payments:

• BPAY

  BPAY is good for one-off payments, also known as lump sums, or adding some money every now and then.

  To make a BPAY payment, log into CSC Navigator, click on ‘My account’ and then select ‘Contributions’. Your BPAY biller code and Customer Reference Number (CRN) will be listed on screen. Once you’ve obtained your CRN, make a BPAY payment by logging into your personal online banking account. 

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  Note: BPAY can't be used for Downsizer contributions

  How to make a downsizer contribution

• Arrangement with your employer

  You can set up regular automatic contributions from your after-tax salary to your super through your employer’s payroll department.

• Raiz account

  Raiz (formerly Acorns) allow you to round up your spending and save small amounts. You can make a contribution from your Raiz account directly to your super via the Raiz app.

  For further information, visit the Raiz website. The Raiz Invest Australia Fund (Raiz) is offered by Instreet Investment Limited (ABN 44 128 813 816, AFSL 434776). You should consider the product disclosure statement for Raiz, including information about fees and risks, before making a decision to invest in it.

• Cheque or money order

  Send your payment to your super fund using our address details on the Contact us page.

  Please remember to also provide your full name and membership number.

Claiming a tax deduction

If you’ve made an after-tax contribution to your accumulation account, you may be able to claim a tax deduction on your next income tax return.

Eligible deductions

You can claim a tax deduction for after-tax contributions made into your PSSap or ADF Super account. These contributions must still be in your account, meaning you haven’t rolled them out or used them to open a retirement income account.

Non-eligible deductions

You can’t claim a tax deduction for:

• super you transfer from one fund to another (including an overseas retirement fund), or
• super contributions you transfer to start a retirement income account.

How to apply for a tax deduction

Once you make an after-tax contribution, you need to send us a Notice of Intent (NOI) form to let us know that you will claim a tax deduction. You have until the date you submit your tax return to send in your NOI, or 12 months from the end of the financial year that the contributions were received, whichever comes first.

Please complete the Notice of Intent (NOI) form to let us know that you will claim a tax deduction.

Download the Notice of Intent form

Once we’ve received your NOI, we’ll process the request and deduct 15% contributions tax on the amount listed in your NOI. This will be listed as ‘Income Tax Expense’ on your annual statement. The contribution tax is deducted on the effective date when your NOI request is processed.

Once you hear back from us that your NOI was received and processed, we’ll provide you with an ‘Acknowledgement of Notice of Intent to claim a tax deduction’ You can then claim a tax deduction on your income tax return.

If you’re a contributing customer of CSS¹, you can make after-tax contributions by joining PSSap as an ancillary customer.

Joining PSSap won’t change your final benefit from CSS in any way; it means you’ll have more flexibility in how you save for retirement.

Learn more about PSSap Ancillary

Increasing your CSS fortnightly contributions and supplementary CSS contributions

You can choose to contribute 5% basic contributions to CSS, and above that you can make regular or one-off supplementary contributions. If your basic contribution rate is 5%, we can accept supplementary contributions either through your pay or via BPAY. However, if you elect a 0% basic contribution rate, you must make your supplementary contributions via BPAY.

We recommend that your final supplementary contributions are made at least 3–4 weeks prior to your exit, otherwise they may not be applied to your account.

¹ Have been employed by an eligible employer for at least 12 continuous months; and either are a current Contributing or Preserved member of PSS/CSS, or were a contributing member of PSS/CSS at anytime on or after 7 March 2021.

Things to consider:

If you’re planning to split all or part of your contributions with your spouse, but also want to claim a tax deduction for them, let us know that you intend to claim a deduction before you go ahead with the split.

Before-tax contributions

Money that you add to your super before-tax, also known as salary sacrifice payments or ‘concessional contributions’, are taxed at 15% when they enter your account. This means you could pay less tax on salary sacrifice contributions than you would pay if you took that same amount as ordinary income.

How much you add to your super is up to you, so that you can make sure it’s affordable and within your budget.

Things you should know

• Tax: The higher your income, the more benefit you get. The benefits for those earning less than $37,000 per year are limited. If your personal tax rate is greater than 15%, the money you salary sacrifice may attract less tax than it would in your take-home pay.
• Contribution caps: There’s a cap on how much you can add to your super before tax. This is set by the ATO and changes periodically. You can find out more on the ATO website. Your employer may also have a cap on the amount you are allowed to salary sacrifice.
• Less take-home pay: Before-tax contributions will mean you take home less pay each fortnight. You need to weigh up the costs and benefits of salary sacrificing – taking into account your objectives, financial situation and needs – before making any decisions.

How to salary sacrifice

Confirm with your employer that they allow you to salary sacrifice to super (i.e. add money to your super before tax is applied). This may be handled via your payroll department or a third party arrangement.

If salary sacrificing is an option, you can ask your employer or relevant third party to deduct your salary sacrifice amount from your regular pay. Once it’s set up, your money will automatically be deducted from your salary and deposited into your super account until you ask them to stop.

We’ve created tools in online services to help you estimate how much you can salary sacrifice. To use these tools, log into CSC Navigator.

DFRDB and MilitarySuper

If you’re a contributing customer of DFRDB or MilitarySuper, you can add money to MilitarySuper before tax. As before-tax contributions are made above your regular contributions, you’ll need to contact your pay unit for more information.

Spouse contributions

Your spouse may be able to add extra money to your super on your behalf. These payments are called ‘eligible spouse contributions’ and are considered ‘non-concessional contributions’.

A spouse is someone who is:

• legally married to you

• in a bona fide domestic relationship with you (includes same-sex partners).

Your spouse doesn’t have to be a member of your super fund to add money to your account, but you must be a contributing customer. 

ADF Super and PSSap

Your spouse can add money via BPAY through CSC Navigator or by completing a Voluntary Contributions form.

If your spouse wants to add money via BPAY, you will need to log into CSC Navigator, click on ‘contributions’ and follow the prompts to generate a BPAY and Customer Reference Number (CRN). Once you have a CRN, your spouse can make a BPAY payment through their bank or financial institution.