salary sacrifice, superannuation and all that jazz.

anyone out there doing any salary sacrificing? i am keen to look into it so thought a topic here would be the best way about it. would rather read adelaide massive talk than mumbo jumbo i don't understand.

i read something in the paper the other day about all this and it def made me think. putting a little away now can really add up in the long run.

Since they introduced the dollar for dollar scheme, I use my tax return to pay-up the highest amount they will match.

Makes it easy that way.

Great topic - this is one thing i do not know/ understand enough about - prob need to see a professional about it - but with my company, we will only be able to salary sacrifice to Car or Laptop/ Computer.

I am looking at upgrading my car in the next 12 months, and need to find out the pros/ cons between a salary sacrifice vs a novated lease against my ABN.

At this point in time, I have been advised the ABN option would be the way to go...

If anyone knows any facts or info about this it or has any links - please post them up!

At out work we could salary sacrifice a laptop/pda etc. We would need to purchase the item outright, and then supply work with a receipt. Work could then organise it so that you pay for the item minus a load of the taxes that went on it, andthen you get a pay back of the difference into your salary over the next 6 weeks.

Isn't that what 99% of people do this for anyway?

I don't think you can salary sacrifice course fees which is silly.  Usually just work type junk which most companies would/should supply really if you needed them.  Actually from memory I think there is a few things like gym membership and others depending on what field you work in.

If you're referring to "course fees" directly relating to your work then the employer should (at least if you're a full time employee) be paying for them in the first place.

Well apparently it depends on your super fund and the industry you are in (not just the company you work for).
For example, hospital staff (not sure if its all govt.) are able to salary sacrifice to their mortgages....

Interesting, I had not heard of that. All of the salary sacrificing arrangements I've heard of people putting together are for phones, computers (in particular laptops), and vehicles. Then again I'm really only exposed to the IT industry.

Are you just working for yourself now Frost (you mentioned your ABN)?

Consult an accountant and a financial planner re: Superannuation strategy

Once you reach $150k-$200k in super, you can look to manage your own super fund. Then you can play the stockmarket and make some real money to retire on

At your age Tim, I would look to minimise bad debt (credit cards, store cards, personal loans, car loans etc) and leverae good debt for an investment vehicle (property, managed fund, shares etc). Then look at a super strategy.

How old are you Tim?

Suspicious IMO

i'm 29, had a house, sold it. pissed the money away pretty much. am looking to buy within the next year max. back living with the olds on a good deal of $40/week, my olds are fucking awesome so i am in no real hurry to get away, and honestly i think they are enjoying the company 

i have a managed fund, and will start up a more ethical one once i start working...i am also doing voluntary contributions to my super, not as well as warped fairy has managed (fortnitely payments) but again, once i start working, i will look to contribute even as little as $50 a fortnite..It all adds up in the end!

And once i am full time employed, reckon I will salary sacrifice a comp or summink, dunno bout car! Nurses can salary sacrifice their mortgage! so not fair   (oops, yeah like Mr Frost said)

I salary sacrifice $20 a fortnight to boost up my super.

Then again my super is $10K less than it should be because of my financial troubles a few years ago.

All that it means is I'm taxed $20 less in my overall pay per fortnight, so I pay less income tax. (as opposed to if I decided to pay $20 after tax)

Also the Government matches that 1:1 so I get an extra $1000 to my super per year, on top of what my employer pays.

Now I'm earning more, I may sacrifice more, but the government will only match $1,500 per year.

that is what i am looking at doing. do you have to do it yourself or do you get the pay officer at your work to organise it?

I got the pay officer to do it.

Working for an employer but do bits and pieces on the side also...

Suspicious IMO.

Call the cops.

i did it myself, through my super homepage

yeah, when the goverment brought out the super co-contributions, i went for it!

$19/week out of my pay + usual amount of super, and i get an extra $1200 or so into my super a year i think.  pretty damn easy.  just got my boss to organise it.

http://www.ato.gov.au/individuals/content.asp?doc=/content/42616.htm

have a squizz thru there timmy!

 

What can I say - I am a busy man!

i think fluke wrote pretty much the opposite. he uses his tax return to top it up. wouldn't he be better off paying a bit each week, making his taxable income less, rather than paying tax all year and using that to put into super?

Yes, probably.

Depends on how much he gets back though, really.

But if he gets a government co-contribution for lump sum payments he would be infront (unless he gets taxed over 50% of income)

You get government co-contribution regardless of how you contribute, it's only up to $1,500 per person, and only if you earn under $58,000.

Ah ha, i thought it was a lump sum $1000 minimum or something like that...  I stand corrected

If you make a contribution of $1000 min by the end of June the government chucks in $1500.

You can also use your super rather than have it locked away in a bank or managed shares portfolios. As long as your super is proven to be used for a worth while purpose i.e. land or real estate and is a worth while investment then it is allowed. Having said that you can not live in the house that you have used your super on.

Theres all sorts of stuff that you can do these days if you want to look into it and spend the time setting things up.

Yeah that would be great except for the reality that most employers are cunts when it comes to handing over extra peso's.

Bad luck to people employed by those employers then...

 That's 90% of the world mate

Yeah its sad but thats the way it is - especially when it comes to 'packages'.  If you are negotiating slary you really need to know what you want and whether it will really benefit you. 

So many companies have no idea when it comes to the definition of fixed remuneration.  Superannuation should be on top of this not included in it for example.  A company truck with a big logo plastered all over it isn't my idea of a vehicle being included either.

I work in welfare so can salary sacrifice $30g (grossed up) ($16,XXX, real money).. which sounds good in theory, but when it is time to do tax.. they take into account my FBT and this had given me a $3g debt with the mighty ATO (also have a work car as a benefit)....

This year... the car kms and the amount I have Salary Sacrificed made me go over the allowable limit by $4g (grossed up), meaning I have to pay back work $3+g (real money)....

because they are reportable fringe benefits... exempt benefits are the laptop/super/car etc, which you can put as much money as you like towards without being screwed over (from my understanding)
I never thought things would be so confusing and result in more of a loss than a gain.

Look @ http://www.msa-online.com.au/SalaryPackaging.asp if you work for Govt, School, Welfare, Hospital etc
and for everyone:
http://www.ato.gov.au/print.asp?doc=/content/24632.htm

A salary packaging company is great (I can recommend a Victorian one!).. but at the end of the day, you need a damn good accountant if things start to get as complicated as the above!

Either way... The ATO owns you and will sting you no matter what.. (yes I have a grudge) 

Death and taxes my friend, death and taxes!

The more I think about it, the more it seems like moving the fuck away from this over-taxed over-governed shithole is a great idea.

Are you running your own business?

I reckon I get one letter from the ATO for every bloody invoice I send out.

it's all the same come the end of the year, and i prefer to have more to play with on a weekly basis considering my work is sporadic. i also tend to get at least a few thousand tax return because of this on/off working trend, as i dare say i work only about half a year per year if that due to going o/s or interstate and time between jobs.

i have worked only three weeks in 2008, so i dare say i will be getting a tasty sum this year to help clear my debts and even contribute to saving!!