Reportable Superannuation Contributions Explained

What reportable super contributions are🔗

Reportable superannuation contributions (RSC) is an umbrella term for two types of contribution you had some control over, as opposed to the compulsory SG your employer must pay regardless:

• Reportable employer super contributions (RESC): extra super your employer paid because you asked for or negotiated it, most commonly a salary sacrifice arrangement, or extra above the SG minimum built into your package at your direction.
• Personal deductible contributions: personal (after-tax) contributions you paid in and then claimed a deduction for, by lodging a Notice of Intent with your fund. Claiming the deduction makes them concessional, and reportable.

The key test is whether you had influence over the amount. If you did, it is reportable. These are amounts of income you chose to divert into super, rather than income you never controlled.

What is NOT reportable🔗

Why they exist🔗

The framework closes a loophole. Picture someone on $120,000 who salary sacrifices $30,000, dropping their taxable income to $90,000. Without reporting, they could claim benefits designed for someone on $90,000, even though they effectively earn $120,000 and are simply taking part of it as super.

What they affect🔗

Because RSC flow into your adjusted taxable income, they touch a surprisingly long list of tests:

• Family Tax Benefit and Child Care Subsidy (income-tested on family ATI).
• Medicare levy surcharge and the private health insurance rebate.
• Government co-contribution and the spouse contribution tax offset.
• Division 293 tax (the extra 15% for high earners, threshold $250,000 including RSC).
• HELP/HECS repayment income, so sacrificing does not cut your compulsory repayment.
• Child support assessments, where RSC can be included.

This is exactly why salary packaging can quietly trim your Family Tax Benefit or Child Care Subsidy, even though your taxable income looks lower.

Where you see them🔗

Your employer reports RESC on your income statement through Single Touch Payroll, and once payroll is finalised (usually by 14 July), the figure appears in myGov under the ATO section and pre-fills into your return at the income test section. Personal deductible contributions are added separately. Importantly, RESC is a separate line item: it is not added to your taxable income and you do not pay income tax on it directly. It sits alongside your taxable income and feeds the ATI calculation behind the scenes.

Worked example: Alex🔗

Alex earns $110,000 and salary sacrifices $15,000, bringing taxable income to $95,000.

Alex still comes out ahead: the $15,000 is taxed at 15% in super rather than a 34.5% marginal rate, a saving of about $2,925 a year that compounds inside super. But Alex should not expect the sacrifice to boost any government benefit or cut the HECS repayment, because for those tests the income is still $110,000.

Is salary sacrificing still worth it?🔗

In most cases, yes. The tax saving (15% in super vs your marginal rate) is real and compounds over time. But three things are worth modelling first:

• Means-tested benefits will not improve, so if you are near a threshold for FTB, CCS, the health rebate, or the co-contribution, model the full picture including your RSC.
• Personal deductible contributions behave the same way: great for income tax, no effect on your ATI for benefits.
• Division 293 is not avoided by sacrificing more if you are already over $250,000; it just adds to the amount taxed.

Our guides on salary sacrificing into super and concessional vs non-concessional contributions cover the contribution side in full.

Frequently asked questions🔗

Sources🔗

1. ATO, income tests
2. ATO, identify reportable employer super contributions
3. ATO, Division 293 tax
4. Services Australia, Child Care Subsidy

General information only, not personal financial or tax advice. Thresholds and rates change each financial year. Verify current figures with the ATO or a registered tax agent before making decisions.