Re-contribution of COVID-19 early release super amounts

Individuals can now re-contribute amounts they withdrew under the COVID-19 early release of super program without them counting towards their non-concessional contributions cap. These contributions can be made between 1 July 2021 and 30 June 2030.

COVID-19 re-contribution amounts are not a new type of contribution. They are a personal contribution that we will exclude from an individual’s non-concessional contribution cap.

Individuals can make COVID-19 re-contribution amounts to any fund of their choice where the fund rules allow.

What you need to do

Individuals can use the approved form to make a COVID-19 re-contribution. You can choose to design your own Notice of re-contribution of COVID-19 early release amounts approved form for your members, as outlined in the CRT Alert 008/2021Once you receive a completed approved form from your member you need to:

• Check the COVID-19 re-contribution amount, an amount cannot be accepted where it exceeds $20,000. You may wish to confirm with your member if the correct figure has been provided.
• Provide us with the information from the approved forms you have received – you are not required to provide nil lodgment reports.

There is no change for you when accepting and reporting personal contribution amounts that a member is treating as a COVID-19 re-contribution.

Information to record and send to us

We require you to:

• Capture the following information from the Notice of re-contribution of COVID-19 early release amounts approved form.
• Create a comma separated value (CSV) file containing all reported member data per the exact specifications included in the Re-contribution of COVID-19 early release of superannuation amount guideExternal Link (the Guide). A sample template is available at section 2.2 of the Guide.

Table: Information to record and send to us

Field	Data type	Length	Mandatory	Validation
Member's TFN	Integer	9	Y	TFN algorithm
Family Name	String	38	Y	-
First Given Name	String	38	Y	-
Other Given Names	String	38	N	-
Contributor's Date of Birth	String	8	Y	DDMMYYYY
Member account number APRA funds SMSF	String	16	Y N	-
Unique Superannuation Identifier (USI) APRA Funds (if known) SMSF	String	14	Y N	-
Date of Contribution	String	8	N	DDMMYYYY
Contribution Amount	Decimal	5, 2	Y	0.01 to 20000.00
Declaration Signed	String	3	Y	Response must = Yes Validation fails if declaration is not signed
Date of Declaration	String	8	Y	DDMMYYYY
Date Declaration Received	String	8	Y	DDMMYYYY

How to report this information to us

To report Covid-19 re-contribution amounts received from your members, we have developed the functionality for you to use the bulk data exchange facility via online services for business and online services for agents.

To report member COVID-19 re-contribution information to us you will need to undertake the following steps:

1. Log on to online services for businesses or online services for agents and navigate to the 'File transfer' screen, selecting 'Lodge' to open the submission form.
   1. If using online services for business the 'File transfer' screen is available via the 'Lodgments' menu.
   2. If using online services for agents the 'File transfer' screen is available via the 'Reports and forms' menu.
2. Input the details requested within the form and click 'submit', ensuring the following actions are completed
   1. select 'lodge'
   2. attach your CSV file
   3. select to receive a validation report and include an email address
   4. tick to sign the declaration.
3. Check your validation report to ensure that your form has been successfully submitted. If a validation error has occurred, follow the instructions within the validation report to correct the error and resubmit your form using the process above.

SMSFs without access to online services for business and who are not represented by a tax agent can report over the phone by calling our Superannuation Enquiries line on 13 10 20.

When to report this information to us

APRA Funds should report this information to us on a monthly basis and report the contribution as a personal contribution through MATS.

SMSFs need to report this information to us at or before the time of lodging their SMSF Annual Return for the financial year in which the member made the COVID-19 re-contribution. This information must be reported separately through the process outlined above.

Frequently asked questions

Accepting COVID-19 re-contributions

Can your member make a COVID-19 re-contribution without the approved form?

No. Individuals choosing to make a COVID-19 re-contribution must notify you in the approved form, either before or at the time of making the contribution. Individuals can use the approved form or you can choose to design your own Notice of re-contribution of COVID-19 early release amounts for your members

Are you required to hold a valid TFN in order to accept a COVID-19 re-contribution?

Yes. Regulation 7.04 of the Superannuation Industry Supervision Regulations 1994 (SISR) provides that a fund cannot accept any member contributions if the member's TFN has not been provided.

Does a member have to make a COVID-19 re-contribution to the same fund from which they accessed funds through the COVID-19 early release measure?

Members can make COVID-19 re-contributions to any fund of their choice, where the fund rules allow.

Can a member make multiple COVID-19 re-contributions?

Yes, multiple contributions can be made. COVID-19 re-contribution amounts can be made between 1 July 2021 and 30 June 2030.

Are there any restrictions on who can make a COVID-19 re-contribution?

Yes, the general acceptance rules under regulation 7.04 of the SISR applies to COVID-19 re-contributions.

Does the work test apply for COVID-19 re-contributions received this financial year?

COVID-19 re-contributions are personal contributions. The current rules regarding the acceptance of contributions as contained in the SISR apply to this contribution, including the application of the work test or work test exemption.

Are you required to match the amount of the personal contribution against the amount on the approved form or is reporting the information on the approved form received the only requirement?

We will perform the match of the amount on the form compared to the personal contributions reported to us. There is no need for you to match the amounts.

Are members of defined benefit funds eligible to make these contributions into their defined benefit interest (if the fund rules permit)?

The law does not specify the type of super funds to which the COVID-19 re-contribution can be made. The current rules regarding the acceptance of contributions as contained in the SISR apply to the COVID-19 re-contribution. Similarly, the acceptance of the COVID-19 re-contribution is also subject to the acceptance rules of the fund.

What is required of you if the declaration has not been completed by the member?

The law requires the member to declare that the contribution is to be treated as a COVID-19 re-contribution at the time or before the contribution is made. If that declaration, including the date of declaration, has not been made then the contribution cannot be treated as a COVID-19 re-contribution. You are not able to accept the amount as a COVID-19 re-contribution and then later accept a COVID-19 re-contribution form that relates to that earlier contribution. The alternatives available to you are:

• contact the member and have them make the declaration and then accept the contribution after the declaration has been made and report as normal, or
• accept the contribution and don’t report the information on the approved form because that contribution cannot be treated by us as a COVID-19 re-contribution without the declaration. The fund will report the contribution as a personal contribution.

Administering COVID-19 re-contributions

Do you have an obligation to monitor COVID-19 re-contributions across a single financial year, or from year to year?

No, but you must not accept a single approved form declaring more than $20,000 as a COVID-19 re-contribution.

What is the process if we determine a member who has claimed a re-contribution of early release of super is ineligible?

COVID-19 re-contribution amounts are reported as personal contributions. If the member is found to be ineligible it may result in that member exceeding their non-concessional contributions cap.

Is a re-contribution of early release of super a preserved tax-free amount?

The COVID-19 re-contribution will be preserved until the member meets a condition of release as set out in Schedule 1 of the SISR and the amount will form part of the tax-free component of the superannuation interest under section 307-210 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (ITAA 97).

Is the amount excluded from a member's non-concessional contributions cap calculated on an annual or rolling basis?

COVID-19 re-contribution amounts are excluded from the non-concessional contributions cap on an annual basis based on the actual COVID-19 re-contribution amount(s) made during the financial year.

If you report a COVID-19 re-contribution form to us, but the contribution never arrives how will this be treated?

There is no change to the process for funds. You would report the COVID-19 re-contribution to us, we will see from the reporting that there is no related personal contribution, and no amounts would be treated as a COVID-19 re-contribution.

What happens if the COVID-19 re-contribution declared on the form is more than the personal contribution received?

There is no change to the process for you. You would report the COVID-19 re-contribution to us and accept the personal contribution, subject to your acceptance rules, and report it to us. We will see the difference and only treat the amount of the actual contribution as being excluded from the non-concessional contributions cap calculation. We will then treat the portion of the next personal contribution(s) in that financial year if any, as a COVID -19 re-contribution up to the amount on the COVID-19 re-contribution form or the approved early release amount whichever is the lesser.

What happens if the COVID-19 re-contribution declared on the form is less than the personal contribution received?

There is no change to the process for you. You would report the COVID-19 re-contribution to us and accept the personal contribution, subject to your acceptance rules, and report it to us. We will see the difference and only treat the amount of the personal contribution up to the amount included on the member’s form as being excluded from the non-concessional contributions cap calculations (provided that this amount does not exceed the approved COVID-19 early release amount). Any amount of the personal contribution exceeding that, as detailed in the member form, will count as a personal contribution and count towards the non-concessional contributions cap calculation.

Can multiple personal contributions be covered by one approved form be treated as COVID-19 re-contributions?

One approved form may cover multiple contributions in a financial year, as long as the form is provided to the super fund on or before the time when the contributions are made.

If a member submits an approved form to one fund without a personal contribution then makes a personal contribution to another fund, will the contribution be considered a COVID-19 re-contribution?

We wouldn’t accept the contribution to another fund as being a COVID-19 re-contribution as the declaration needs to include the name of the fund and the fund ABN. If the member account number and the USI are known these should be included, SMSFs should leave this information blank. The intent of the provision through the operation of paragraphs 292-103(1)(a) and (2)(b) of the ITAA 97 is that the approved form must be given to the same fund that the contribution will be made to. If the contribution is made to a different fund, then the declaration has not been made in respect of the receiving fund at or before the time a valid declaration has been made for that fund and account.

What considerations are there in relation to the date of contribution provided on the approved form matching the date the payment is received as this may not align due to the nature of digital payments?

The law requires the member to declare that the contribution is to be treated as a COVID-19 re-contribution at the time or before the contribution is made. We will perform the match of the amount on the form compared to the personal contributions reported to us. There is no need for you to match the amounts or dates.

Additional scenarios

Can you update the Notice of intent to claim or vary a deduction for personal super contributions form and the COVID-19 re-contribution form to have the member declare that their intent to claim is not also a re-contribution?

Individuals declare on the COVID-19 re-contribution form that they withdrew amounts under COVID early release, will not contribute more than they withdrew and will not claim a personal super deduction for a COVID-19 re-contribution. Funds will not be required to check that COVID-19 re-contribution amounts are not claimed as a personal super deduction. There will be no changes made to the Notice of intent to claim or vary a deduction for personal super contributions form.

How is a COVID-19 re-contribution reported as part of a rollover?

This would be reported in the same manner as other personal contributions.

Does a COVID-19 re-contribution meet the personal contribution eligibility requirement for a co-contribution?

As long as the member meets all of the eligibility criteria in section 6 of the Superannuation (Government Co-contributions for Low Income Earners) Act 2003, a COVID-19 re-contribution would be an eligible personal superannuation contribution that attracts co-contributions.

Will making a COVID-19 re-contribution impact the selection of a stapled fund?

The Regulations for the stapled fund measure contain the hierarchy rules. In accordance with those Regulations a fund will firstly be a stapled fund in the case where the Commissioner has previously identified the fund as a stapled fund. Then if a stapled fund has not been previously identified the stapled fund will be the one which has received the most recent contributions for the benefit of the employee. As such a COVID-19 re-contribution may cause a fund to be one which has received the most recent contribution.

How will making a COVID-19 re-contribution impact unclaimed and lost member criteria?

A member will no longer be a lost member or meet the definition of an unclaimed super account where a contribution has been made.

Does a COVID-19 re-contribution need to be supported as part of the suite of SuperStream transactions?

No, there is no change required.

If a member provides an approved form notifying of a COVID-19 re-contribution to their fund and a successor fund transfer (SFT) occurs, what are the SFT requirements for the fund and/or member in regard to reporting the COVID-19 re-contribution?

The successor fund reporting protocol states that before closing member accounts, the transferring fund will need to ensure the reporting of member account transactions and contributions is up to date and accurate at the time of the transfer.

It is a requirement of section 292–103 of the ITAA 1997 that the approved form and contribution is given to the same complying super fund.

 

Individuals can now re-contribute amounts they withdrew under the COVID-19 early release of super program.