Can I include salary sacrifice (pre-tax and for FHSS) on the tax return?

 Author: KaraATO(Community Support)Community Support

ATO Certified Response7 Aug 2025

Hi @angela.b.reyes,

I think there might be a bit of confusion around how your super contributions are classified, it’s totally understandable, as it can be tricky to navigate.

See below for an explanation 😊

The $15K you chose to salary sacrifice into your super fund during the 2024-25 financial year is considered a concessional contribution.

These contributions come from your pre-taxed income and are taxed at a lower rate of 15% inside your super fund.

Because they’re not included in your taxable income, you don’t need to (and can’t) claim a separate tax deduction for them in your tax return.

Your plan to use the money under the First Home Super Saver (FHSS) scheme in a few years doesn’t change how the contribution is treated for tax purposes.

If you made any personal after-tax contributions, i.e., income you've received after tax has been withheld by your employer (called non-concessional contributions) and want to claim a tax deduction for them, you’ll need to submit a Notice of Intent form to your super fund.

Here’s a quick look at the difference:

• Concessional contributions are taxed at 15% when they enter your super fund.
• Non-concessional contributions come from money that’s already been taxed, so no more tax is taken off when it goes into super.

If you want to change a non-concessional contribution into a concessional one, you must submit a Notice of Intent by the due date for that financial year.

The purpose of this form is to ask your super fund to treat that money as a concessional (before-tax) contribution.

If approved:

• Your super fund will take 15% tax from that money.
• You can then claim a tax deduction in your tax return, which lowers your taxable income.
• This means you may get some tax back, because your income is now lower and the super fund has already taken the 15% tax.