People often overlook the advantages of making significant concessional contributions to their superannuation. By investing large sums of money inside your super, as opposed to assets outside of your super, you may end up saving a significant amount on your tax bill.
Concessional superannuation contributions are voluntary amounts that you contribute from your after-tax income. These are different from non-concessional contributions or before tax contributions. If you are under the age of 50, you may contribute up to $30 000 before tax to your superannuation, and if you are over 50, the limit is $35 000.
When you make concessional contributions to your super you do not have to pay any additional tax, as you will have already paid tax at your marginal rate. You may contribute up to $180 000 of your after-tax income each year to your super.
The advantage to investing within your superannuation fund is that all investment returns will be taxed at the flat rate of 15%. If you are thinking about making investments that will serve you in retirement you may care to investigate making larger concessional contributions to your superannuation.