The 2025 Financial Year Tax & Super Changes You Need to Know!
By Kym Arnold
With the new financial year screaming towards us much quicker than we expected, so do a number of changes to superannuation contribution amounts and the individual tax rates. Below we have outlined these changes and how you may be able to leverage them to your advantage.
Superannuation
From 1 July 2024, the amount you can contribute to super will increase.
The amount you can contribute to superannuation will increase on 1 July 2024 from $27,500 to $30,000 for concessional super contributions and from $110,000 to $120,000 for non-concessional contributions.
For those with the disposable income to contribute, superannuation can be very attractive with a 15% tax rate on concessional super contributions and potentially tax-free withdrawals when you retire. For business owners who might have had an exceptional year or sold their business, it's an opportunity to get more into super. However, the timing of contributions will be important to maximise outcomes.
If you know you will have a capital gains tax liability in a particular year, you may be able to use ‘catch up’ contributions to make a larger than usual contribution and use the tax deduction to help offset your capital gain tax bill. But, this strategy will only work if you meet the eligibility criteria to make catch up contributions and you lodge a Notice of intent to claim or vary a deduction for personal super contributions, with your super fund.
Using the bring forward rule
The bring forward rule enables you to bring forward up to 2 years’ worth of future non-concessional contributions into the year you make the contribution – this is assuming your total superannuation balance enables you to make the contribution and you are under age 75.
If you utilise the bring forward rule before 30 June 2024, the maximum that can be contributed is $330,000. However, if you wait to trigger the bring forward until on or after 1 July 2024, then the maximum that can be contributed under this rule is $360,000.
‘Catch up’ contributions
If your super balance is below $500,000 prior to 30 June, and you want to quickly increase the amount you hold in super, you can utilise any unused concessional super contributions amounts from the last 5 years.
Let’s look at the example of Fred who has only been using $15,000 of his concessional super cap for the last few years. Fred’s super balance at 30 June 2023 was $300,000, so he is well within the limit to make catch up contributions.
Fred could access his $27,500 concessional cap for 2023-24 plus the unused $55,000 from the prior 5 financial years.
If Fred doesn’t access the unused amounts from 2018-19 by 30 June 2024, the $10,000 will no longer be available.
Taxation
The revised stage 3 tax cuts have passed Parliament and will come into effect on 1 July 2024. In the table below we have outlined what the rates currently are and what they will be from the 2025 financial year.
Before the new tax rates come into effect, check any salary sacrifice agreements to ensure that they will continue to produce the result you are after.
Be sure to contact us if you have any concerns or questions.
Beware of current scams relating to ASIC
We would like to alert you to some current scams that may affect you or your business. Scammers are impersonating the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and sending fake emails asking for fees and personal information to renew a business or company name. These emails may contain a link that either requests your ASIC login details or infects your computer with malware. Do not click on the link or reply to the email.
According to ASIC, these are some warning signs that an email is not from them:
It asks you to make a payment over the phone
It asks you to make a payment to receive a refund
It asks you for your credit card or bank details directly by email or phone
It asks you to pay fees that are different to the fees on their website
It arrives outside of ASIC's timeframes - ASIC will only issue a renewal notice 30 days before your renewal date
You can check the authenticity of an email from ASIC by looking at the sender's address, which should be ASIC.Transaction.No-reply@asic.gov.au, and by searching for your business name on their register to see when your renewal is due.
If you receive a suspicious email from ASIC, you can notify them by sending an online inquiry or by forwarding the email to ReportASICEmailFraud@asic.gov.au. If you think you have been scammed, you should report it to your bank or financial institution and seek support from IDCARE, a free national identity and cyber support service.
Always pay directly to ASIC through their online services portal or by following the instructions on their official notices. Do not use third-party companies that claim to offer renewal services for your business name. They may charge you much higher fees than paying directly to ASIC. You can also check the fees for business name registrations on their website and compare them with any invoices you receive from third parties.
For more information, please visit ASIC's scam alert page.
We hope this information helps you protect yourself and your business from these scams. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Who are you and what is your “and”
By Katrina Kowald, reviewed by Ian Richardson.
Creating your identity outside your business to ease the transition to retirement. It is important to have an identity outside of the farm business. Without using your name, family or job title who are you?
A Coffee With… Brendan Taylor
It’s not often that we get the opportunity to interview one of our partners and normally it is a precursor to retirement – I solemnly swear that is not the case here. Given Lincolns has completed another Rural Tour Carryn took the opportunity to chat with Brendan Taylor. Brendan is well versed on all things succession. Not only through advising his clients, but also through his own succession story here at Lincolns.
