Spouse Contributions

You may be able to contribute to superannuation on behalf of your spouse. Also, if your spouse is not working or is a low-income earner, as the contributing partner, you may be able to claim a tax rebate.

Who is eligible?

The Government has set the following rules regarding spouse contributions:

The spouse making the contributions (the contributing spouse) must be married to or living in a de facto relationship with the person for whom they are making contributions (the receiving spouse) and by law, the relationship must be heterosexual.
The contributing spouse and the receiving spouse must be living together.
The receiving spouse must not be employed by the contributing spouse.
The receiving spouse must be less than 65 years old.

Advantages of contributing for a spouse

The advantages of contributing for a spouse include:

in some cases, being able to claim a tax rebate up to $540, thus reducing the contributor's PAYG tax liability;
investing in a concessionally taxed environment (earnings are generally taxed at a maximum rate of 15% as opposed to the investor's marginal tax rate);
building a large amount of contributions which are tax free if cashed, or paid as tax-free income from an annuity or pension;
the annuity or pension income will be subject to a 15% rebate if paid after preservation age and prior to age 60; and
the annuity or pension income will be paid tax-free after age 60; and
the earnings on the investment will be in a tax-free environment when an income stream (annuity or pension) is commenced. A complying superannuation fund is generally entitled to a tax exemption for as much of its income as is attributable to its liability to pay current pensions.

For more information about spouse contributions and how to open a spouse account, please call our Customer Service Centre on 1300 361 784.