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

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.

Please note: Some RLA products are unable to accept downsizer contributions, please contact Resolution Life to find out if your product accepts this type of contribution.

• 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.

• 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.