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Downsizing from the family home? Here’s what it might mean for you

Did you know that you can potentially upsize your super when downsizing your home?

If you’re 55 or older and meet the eligibility requirements, you may be able to make a downsizer contribution into your super of up to $300,000 (each spouse) from the proceeds of selling your home.

How it works

If you’re interested in making a downsizer contribution there are a few things you may want to consider:

1. While there’s no maximum age limit, you must be at least 55 years old to qualify

2. Any contribution you make from the sale of your property into your super can’t be more than the total proceeds from the sale of your property

3. The sale must be of a house or apartment in Australia and excludes any form of mobile home.

4. Generally, the proceeds (capital gain or loss) from the sale of the home are either exempt or partially exempt from capital gains tax (CGT) under the main residence exemption.

5. You or your spouse must have owned the home for at least 10 years before selling.

6. The property must be in you or your spouse’s name (or both).

7. You make a downsizer contribution within 90 days of receiving the proceeds of sale.

8. This is the first time you have made a downsizer contribution to super.

9. You must provide your super fund with the ‘Downsizer contribution into super form’ form (available from your fund), either before or at the time of making the contribution into your account.


You don’t need to buy another home. It’s also important to note that:

  • Any downsizer contribution you make to your super won’t count towards either your concessional or non-concessional contribution caps
  • Any contribution you make using a downsizer contribution will count towards your transfer balance cap, which is applied when you transfer your super savings (contributing while you’re working) to the retirement phase (when you start receiving regular super payments). The earnings on a super account in retirement phase are tax free.

It’s also worth noting that if one person in a couple owned the property, the non-owning spouse can still make a downsizer contribution, as long as they meet all of the other requirements.

Keep in mind…

There are a few things that need to be considered:

  • Making a downsizer contribution to your super will increase your account balance, but it may also impact whether you receive the Age Pension or not. The family home is not generally included in the assets test for the Age Pension, so it’s important to understand the impact this may have on you.
  • From 1 July 2024, there is a maximum of $1.9 million allowed for superannuation money to be transferred into the retirement phase. Any contributions you make using the downsizer option must keep your account balance below this total.
  • If you exceed your personal transfer balance cap you will have an excess transfer balance. In this situation, you’ll need to rectify the excess, noting you will also likely be charged tax at your marginal tax rate instead of the 15% tax you would usually pay on superannuation contributions.

Before deciding if this strategy is right for you, it’s a good idea to speak with a financial adviser who can help provide advice and answer any questions you might have.

For more information and to read more about this Government initiative, please refer to Downsizing contributions into superannuation | Australian Taxation Office (ato.gov.au).

What you need to know

Any advice on this website is provided by Resolution Life Australasia Limited ABN 84 079 300 379, AFSL No. 233671 (Resolution Life), and is general advice and does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on this advice, you should consider the appropriateness of the advice having regard to your objectives, financial situation and needs, as well as the relevant product disclosure statement and/or policy document, available from Resolution Life at resolutionlife.com.au or by calling 133 731, before making a decision on whether to acquire, or continue to hold, the product. 

The Target Market Determinations (TMDs) for our financial products (where applicable) can be found at Target Market Determinations (TMDs). The TMDs describe the key features and attributes of an applicable product that affect whether it is likely to be consistent with the objectives, financial situation and needs of consumers in the target market.

Resolution Life is part of the Resolution Life Group and can be contacted via contact us or by calling the phone number mentioned above.