AAT Ruling on Personal Super Contribution Deduction Claim
Key Notice Requirements and the Impact on Deductions
The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (‘AAT’) recently held that a claim for a deduction for personal super contributions should not be allowed, as the relevant ‘notice requirements’ were not satisfied.
In order to claim a deduction for personal super contributions, an individual must both notify the super fund of their intention to claim a deduction, and receive an acknowledgment from the fund that it received the notice.
During the 2021 income year, the taxpayer made a number of personal superannuation contributions to his super fund totalling $6,550, with the last of those contributions made on 30 June 2021.
Sometime before 9 June 2021, the taxpayer submitted to his fund a notice advising the fund that he intended to claim a personal contribution deduction for $6,550 for the 2021 income year.
However, on 9 June 2021, the fund advised that it was unable to accept the notice because the fund’s records indicated that the amount of contributions listed in the notice was different to the amount of contributions received. This was because the fund received the notice before the taxpayer made his final contribution of $550 on 30 June 2021.
Sometime between 9 June 2021 and 16 July 2021 the taxpayer resubmitted a notice to the fund via post that he intended to claim a deduction for the amended amount of $6,000 (although the fund subsequently advised that it had not received this notice).
On 14 July 2021, the taxpayer lodged his 2021 income tax return, claiming a deduction for $6,000 of personal contributions.
On 22 August 2021, the ATO notified the taxpayer that his claim for a personal contribution deduction had been disallowed, on the basis that the fund had not reported an acknowledged notice that matched his claimed deduction.
The AAT held that, when the taxpayer completed the first notice, he had not made personal contributions of $6,550 (as referred to in the notice), but rather had made contributions of $6,000.
Therefore, the first notice could not be valid as it was not in respect of the contributions that the taxpayer had made.
The AAT also noted that the fund did not provide an acknowledgement of the taxpayer’s second notice, as it had not received it.
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