Tax Refund on Early Release of Super?

Hi Sally, I ended up getting it all back straight to my bank account YAY!!!!! My Accountant said that it's not treated any differently to any other income tax (except in some cases I suppose) and that because I hadn't had any other income for that financial year and was under the tax free threshold I was entitled to it all back.

Having previously worked at a super fund and processing these payments, if you were able to get the tax back, it will go straight back to the super fund, as the tax is paid from your preserved super benefits which you are unable to access until you've reached preservation age.

Would be interested to know the outcome of this and to see if their system works like they say it should :)

Thanks Gleni, will keep you posted ;)

Hi Willbec,
Thank you for your post.
I rechecked the ATO's Superguide website again and I've pasted the following statement:

". Unlike regular income tax deducted from your pay, which you may be able to claim back when you lodge your tax return if your income for the financial year falls below a certain amount, you CANNOT claim back the benefits tax payable on your super benefits."


Good Luck!!!

Okay so just thought I'd add an update to this topic in case anyone else has the same query.

My husband had an appointment with our accountant on Monday and so he decided to ask her about the tax on my early release (not to go against the advice you already gave Gleni :) ) but just because he was already there. 

She said that the early release amount is included as part of your taxable income and so because it is below that tax free threshold and because I've had no other income this financial year I'll get it all back.

Damn, that's really disappointing. Almost makes you feel like you've paid interest to use your own money. Thanks for the response though Gleni, atleast I'm prepared for tax time and won't feel let down then haha.

Hi Willbec,
I'm also a Financial Adviser and unfortunately you won't receive back the tax your superannuation paid to ATO upon withdrawal.
Xx

Anyone???

Hi All,

Just wondering if anyone here has already been through the process of accessing their super on compassionate grounds and then doing their tax return? Specifically what I am wanting to know is if I haven't worked for the entire financial year and the amount I am accessing is under the tax-free threshold would I expect to get back all/part of the money that was taxed from my super account on top of what I applied to withdrew for the surgery?