This is because the concessional contributions cap for members over 50 has been halved to $25,000 from 2012-13 to fall in line with the cap applying to other fund members.

The tax office recently updated its Excess contributions tax statistical report, providing an important reminder that tens of thousands of fund members each year have been held liable for tens of millions of dollars in excess contributions tax.

For the financial years from 2007-08 to 2010-11, the ATO had issued:

• More than 120,000 excess-contributions tax assessments for overshooting the annual cap on concessional (tax-deductible) contributions. (The concessional cap came into effect in 2007-08.)
• More than 6000 excess-contributions tax assessments for overshooting the annual cap on non-concessional (after-tax) contributions. (Another 1784 were issued for between 10 May and 30 June 2007 to members who exceeded what was known as the "transitional" contributions cap. Under this temporary cap, individuals could contribute up to $1 million in non-concessional contributions.)
• More than 1700 excess-contributions tax assessments for exceeding both the concessional and non-concessional caps.

From 2007-08 to 2010-11, total tax liabilities were $367.1 million for exceeding the concessional contributions cap, $121 million for exceeding the non-concessional cap and $23.1 million for overshooting both the concessional and non-concessional cap. (Another $49.2 million in tax liabilities arose for exceeding the transitional or million-dollar non-concessional cap.)

This brings the full tax bill for excess contributions to $560.4 million so far – excluding any excess contributions for 2011-12. (These statistics, which were current at 1 January, are updated twice a year. And as the Superannuation & Financial Services Bulletin, published by Thomson Reuters, points out, the assessments for 2010-11 are not yet finalised and could rise in number.)

The Government has proposed to allow members to withdraw any excess concessional contributions made after July 1, 2013. But that proposal will, of course, not provide relief for those who make excess contributions in the current financial year.

The tax office has recently updated its useful publication Excess contributions tax – learner guide , which explains the difference between concessional and non-concessional caps, gives details of the dollar caps and the possible tax consequences for overshooting those caps. And the guide sets out actions that a fund member can consider under current law if the caps are exceeded.

However, the bottom-line for older fund members who are trying to maximise their contributions in the countdown to retirement is clear for 2012-13: take care, extreme care, not to overshoot the contribution caps.

By Robin Bowerman
Smart Investing
Principal & Head of Retail, Vanguard Investments Australia
2nd  May 2013