Super concessions for downsizers
If you are over 65, have held your home for 10 years or more and are looking to sell, from 1 July 2018 you might be able to contribute some of the proceeds of the sale of your home to superannuation.
The benefit of this measure is that you can contribute a lump sum of up to $300,000 per person to superannuation without being restricted by the existing non-concessional contribution caps – $100,000 subject to your total superannuation balance – or age restrictions.
It’s a way of building your superannuation quickly and taking advantage of superannuation’s concessional tax rates. The $1.6 million transfer balance cap will continue to apply so your pension interests cannot exceed this amount. And, the Age Pension means test will continue to apply.
The downsizer initiative applies to the sale of any dwelling in Australia – other than a caravan, houseboat or mobile home – that you or your spouse have held continuously for at least 10 years. Over those 10 years, the dwelling had to have been your main residence for at least part of the time.
As long as you qualify for at least a partial main residence exemption (or you would qualify for the exemption if a capital gain arose) you may be able to access the downsizer concession. This means that you do not actually need to have lived in the property for the 10 year period being tested.
The rules also take into account changes of ownership between two spouses over the 10 year period prior to the sale.
This could assist in situations where a spouse who owned the property has died and their interest is inherited by their surviving spouse. The surviving spouse can count the ownership period of their deceased spouse in determining whether the 10 year ownership period test is satisfied. This rule could also assist in situations where assets have been transferred as a result of marriage or de facto relationship breakdown.
In general, the maximum downsizer contribution is $300,000 per contributor (so, $600,000 for a couple) but must only come from the proceeds of the sale. The contribution/s need to be made within 90 days after your home changes ownership (generally, the date of settlement) but you can apply to the Tax Commissioner to extend this period. And, the initiative only applies once – you cannot use it again for future properties.
