Can I transfer money from overseas into my superannuation account?

If you are an Australian working or living overseas, you may be wondering if you can transfer your earnings into your Australian superannuation account. The good news is that yes, you can transfer money into your super, but there are certain conditions you will need to meet.

Can I transfer my overseas retirement savings into an Australian super account?

Yes, under Australian tax law, you can transfer funds from a foreign super fund into your Australian super fund. However, your funds may be subject to tax, and subject to obligations in the foreign country. This includes the possibility of paying income tax on some, or all, of the transferred funds.

Additionally, if you transfer funds directly to your Australian super account, it will typically count towards your contributions for the year. If you breach your contribution caps, you may need to pay additional contributions tax.

Conditions to transfer money from overseas into your super account

There are strict conditions around transferring money overseas into your superannuation fund, and these focus on your age, your tax file number, income tax and excess contributions tax. 

• Age conditions

According to the Australian Taxation Authority (ATO), if you are aged 75 or more, your super fund cannot accept member contributions for you – unless it is made in the 28 days after the end of the month you turn 75).

If you’re hoping to make overseas contributions in the 2022-23 financial years, or later, you must be aged under 75 – even if you are not working.

• Tax file number (TFN)

For your Australian super fund to accept a transfer from a foreign fund, you must:

• Provide your Australian super fund with your TFN, or
• Give your Australian super fund your TFN within 30 days of this foreign transfer.

Not everyone has a TFN, but unfortunately if your account does not have this information, then it is obligated to refund this amount to your foreign fund.

• Income tax

Money transferred from overseas will generally count to both your concessional contributions limit and your non-concessional contributions limit. According to the Australian Taxation Authority (ATO), you have to “pay income tax on the applicable fund earnings component of a foreign fund transfer. You may also have to pay excess contributions tax.”

The ATO recommends requesting a private ruling to calculate how much of a transfer is applicable fund earnings.

• Excess contributions tax

As mentioned above, any money you transfer from your foreign super fund into your Australian super account will be considered as contributions for that financial year. You are allowed to make additional contributions to your super, up to a capped limit. 

Funds must report to the ATO on contributions and reportable allocations from reserves that are made to all your super accounts in a financial year. Your Australian super fund will then assess your foreign super fund deposit to determine if you need to pay an excess contributions tax.

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