Top questions from The Gentlewomen's Union - ANSWERED!
Jun 23, 2023
by: Amie Baker, Rekab Advice and Centsability
Note: The below answers are general in nature and should not be treated as financial advice. Should you need financial advice please ensure you are getting advice from a licenced professional who practices under an AFSL and is registered with ASIC
How does salary sacrifice work? 💸
Salary Sacrificing is a way of reducing your personal tax. For example, if you are earning $150,000 + super and you decided to salary sacrifice $10,000.00 toward your super you would be reducing your taxable income to $140,000.00.
Let’s say you put this $10,000.00 into super (claiming your tax deduction) this financial year of 2022-2023:
Your current taxable income is $150,000.00 which means you will pay an estimate of $43,567.00 in tax, your net annual income is $106,433.00 and your weekly take home pay will be $2046.
By contributing $10,000.00 as a salary sacrifice to super your taxable income will reduce to $140,000.00 which means you will pay $39,667.00, your net annual income will now be $100,333.00 and your weekly take home pay will be $1929.00.
The benefit inside super? The contribution will be taxed at 15%, however your future self will be thanking you at retirement when you commute this to an account-based pension which will be tax free and providing you a tax free income stream.
This is what Salary sacrificing verses not Salary Sacrificing into super looks like:
|
Annual Salary and tax details |
After tax option |
Salary Sacrifice contribution option |
|
Before tax salary |
$150,000.00 |
$150,000.00 |
|
Salary sacrifice contributions |
$0.00 |
$10.000.00 |
|
PAYG tax |
$43567.00 |
$39,667.00 |
|
After Tax Contribution |
$10,000.00 |
$0.00 |
|
Take home pay |
$96,433.00 |
$100,333.00 |
|
Super Contributions |
|
|
|
Employers SG contributions |
$15,750.00 |
$15,750.00 |
|
Salary sacrifice contributions |
$0.00 |
$10,000.00 |
|
Contributions tax |
$2,362.50 |
$3,862.50 |
|
After tax contributions |
$10,000.00 |
$0.00 |
|
Net Super contributions |
$23,387.50 |
$21,887.50 |
|
Total take home pay and net super contributions |
$119,820.50 |
$122,220.50 |
Please note the current concessional contribution cap (which is pre tax attracting a personal tax deduction) is $27,500.00.
In 2023-2024 Employer SG contribution will increase to 11% of your gross income (this will increase by 0.5% until it hits 12% in 2025-2026 FY).
If I'm self-employed, am I entitled to government parental leave? 👩
Yes, so long as you meet the work test. You will need to have worked 10 of the 13 months prior your baby’s birth or adoption and a minimum of 330 hours in that 10 month period.
Resource: Services Australia
What do the upcoming changes mean for parental leave? 👪
- The current entitlement of 18 weeks will be combined with the dad/partner pay entitlement of an additional 2 weeks. This means a couple can claim up to 20 weeks of paid parental leave.
- The family income limit is $350,000.00 which is indexed from July 2024
- The changes now allow partners to claim parental leave.
- Parental leave pay offers flexibility for eligible employers to allow the employer to return to work (after 12 weeks of consecutive PPL) part time and receive the payment on the days of the week they elect not to work.
Can my husband take all 20 weeks from the government if I get separate maternity from my company? 🤵♀️
There can only be one primary carer, the primary carer is eligible for the 18 weeks PPL. If your employment agreement offers you paid maternity leave you are still entitled to this payment as well as the PLP – keep in mind eligibility is based on a combined income of $350,000.
If I take a year off with no super contribution what does that look like long term? 💰
This all depends on how much super you have, what your annual contributions are and what the annual returns will be. What needs to also be considered it the long term outcome:
A year off in 2024:
But, if you look at the difference over time this would be $92,102.00 (based on average return of 8% and ongoing gross income of $120k – which is not considering pay increases and CPI)
The key is to catch up on missed years of super contributions or a spouse contribution. There are many contribution options to help get you on track with your future retirement goals – A financial adviser can assist with this.
Thoughts on using long service leave to supplement parental leave. 🤔
This is a very personal decision, keep in mind you are sacrificing your long service leave, is your partner going to do this now or in the future if they have long service leave? Using long service leave is often an option families use to put off or limit child care as a way of saving money as well. It is important to not just consider your desired time to be home with your child as the primary care giver but also consider your career goals as well as your partners options. PPL does offer flexible arrangements up until your child is 2 years old if you go back to work part time – which may also be an option with your employer.
Under the new rules, if my partner earns less than 150K but our household still earns more than 350K can they apply for parental payment from the government? 📜
No, the cap is $350,000 as a household.
How do roll forward concessions work for super? 🔥
The carry forward rule is a great way to catch up on past concessional contributions. The best way to find out what you are eligible to “carry forward” is to go to your MyGov account and then open your ATO portal. Below are screen shots to find this. Like Salary Sacrificing you claim a tax deduction for the amount you carry forward – in otherwards you have already paid tax in previous years, so if you then make a catch up or roll up concessional contribution for years past you will be reducing your personal tax. This is also a great strategy for those who have a capital gains tax issue as well.
Once on the Carry Forward concessional contributions you should be able to see what your amount is (unless you have an SMSF or not PAYG employer – if this is the case your super information may not be up to date with the ATO).
You can then contribute via Bpay to your super fund – you will need to have your super fund provide you with the correct Bpay details, you usually can find this on your statement or when you log into your account.
Once you have made your contirbution complete a notice of intent to claim form https://www.ato.gov.au/
What do you think is the most important thing women can do to help their financial security from early on? ✔️
Always have autonomy over your money, if you are partnered it is ok to have joint accounts to share expenses or financial goals, however it is imperative that you have your own wealth plan. Knowledge is power – learn as much as you can about money management, investing and superannuation. Make sure you have the right insurances in place for yourself (such as income protection).
Practice money mindfulness: tell your money where to go and what to do or it will leave, in other words be organised with your money:
Amie’s Cash flow method:
To help get these numbers go back to at least 90 days of your spending to capture your expenses.
|
Fixed expenses (account 1) |
Variable/ living |
Savings safety net |
Save to invest (Goals) |
|
This account is where your pay is deposited into. All your bills, rent/mortgage Loans/Cards/debt Insurance
Transfer $$ to your Savings, your weekly spending account and to your Goal fund
Basically, anything you have an agreement to pay. Some of these expenses may be quarterly or monthly BUT you can schedule these the same day you are paid and create a regular scheduled payment process in your pay cycle which will automate Bill payments. |
This is for week-to-week spending. Food, take out. Clothes Fun
Not every week you will use all of this, so transfer this back to your fixed account (which if you have a mortgage should be an offset) |
Aim for saving at least 3 months of your expenses.
Note: If you have a mortgage, you may be able to link this as an additional offset. Otherwise, you may keep this in your offset but be aware of how much is there for this safety net. |
Even if you start with just a round up account. It is a great habit to get into building wealth.
You may just be comfortable saving in a high savings account however it would be wise to seek investment advice if this value starts to grow significantly. |
Contact our Ambassador, Amie Baker!
Tax time super contributions
The awesome Trenna Probert from Super Fierce has put together her top tips for Super contributions at tax time! Download it here.
