SMSF News and Strategies Podcast Show · Chris Reed: Certified Practicing Accountant (CPA), FPS and SMSF Specialist Advisor, Director of Business Concepts Group

SMSF NS134: A review of contribtuion strategies, account balance management and strategies for lower income earners.

·21 min·1 clip

At $2 million, non-concessional contributions stop completely.

1. SMSF News and Strategies Podcast Show episode 134 reviews contribution strategies, account balance management, and lower-income-earner strategies after 1 July changes. 2. Chris Reid hosts the episode, and Sarah Power joins him to explain super caps and planning choices that matter for SMSF members. 3. The episode is for reviewing “what changes came in on 1st of July” and deciding whether existing strategies need to be reset. 4. Chris Reid reminds listeners that first-year SMSF lodgers have a 28 February due date for a 2025 return. 5. Sarah Power notes that the super guarantee moved to 12% and that the transfer balance cap increased to $2 million. 6. The hosts say the concessional cap stayed at $30,000 and the non-concessional cap stayed at $120,000. 7. Chris Reid explains that the 12% super guarantee can push salary sacrifice and personal contributions closer to the concessional cap by June. 8. Sarah Power says carried-forward concessional contributions can use unused caps from prior years for up to five years. 9. The episode also covers the non-concessional bring-forward rule, which can bring two future years into one year for a larger contribution. 10. Chris Reid and Sarah Power focus on couple-level account balance management because one member often has a much higher balance than the other. 11. Sarah Power says carried-forward concessional contributions require a total super balance below $500,000 at the start of the financial year. 12. Chris Reid says younger members cannot simply withdraw money and re-contribute it to a spouse before a condition of release is met. 13. Sarah Power points to super splitting as a way to shift up to 85% of contributions from one spouse to the other. 14. Chris Reid says the transfer balance cap changes the ability to make non-concessional contributions as balances move toward $2 million. 15. The hosts identify $1.76 million as the first key threshold for the three-year bring-forward rule. 16. They say $1.88 million reduces the bring-forward rule to one year, and $2 million stops non-concessional contributions entirely. 17. Sarah Power says super splitting needs paperwork and prior-year contribution timing, so it does not happen immediately. 18. Chris Reid says timing matters for downsizer contributions, carry-forward use, and whether to act before 30 June or in the next year. 19. Listeners who manage SMSF couples, contribution caps, and super planning will find the episode directly useful. 20. Listeners who want a story-led episode or do not need superannuation tax planning may skip it.

As heard by us

A practical year-in-review SMSF discussion that maps the contribution caps and the timing pressure around them.

Chris Reid and Sarah Power make SMSF strategy feel like a planning check rather than a lecture. They move cleanly through where the caps sit, what can still be done before they tighten, and how balance levels shape contribution planning.

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Why you'd press play

You want a practical read on SMSF strategy changes, contribution caps, and when balance thresholds start limiting your options.

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