Personal super & income protection.
Two of the biggest but least-claimed deductions in Australia sit outside your job entirely: personal super contributions and income protection insurance. Both can meaningfully reduce your tax when they're set up correctly.
Personal super contributions
If you contribute your own after-tax money to super, you may be able to claim a deduction for those contributions — turning them into concessional contributions that are taxed at 15% inside super instead of your marginal rate outside.
- You must lodge a Notice of Intent to Claim with your super fund
- The fund must acknowledge the notice before you lodge your return
- The contribution counts toward the concessional cap
- Unused cap from prior years may sometimes be carried forward
Sam earns $110,000 and contributes an extra $8,000 to super from their savings before 30 June. After lodging a valid Notice of Intent to Claim, that $8,000 becomes a deduction — worth about $2,960 in tax at their marginal rate.
The Notice of Intent must be lodged with your fund by the earlier of when you lodge your return or the end of the following financial year — and you can't withdraw or roll over the contribution first. Night Tax reminds you before you get to the return.
Income protection insurance
Premiums for income protection insurance held outside super are generally deductible, because the policy exists to protect your ability to earn income. Life, TPD and trauma premiums are usually not deductible.
- Income protection premiums held in your own name — usually deductible
- Income protection held inside super — not personally deductible (paid from super)
- Life, TPD and trauma insurance premiums — generally not deductible
Alex pays $1,800 a year in income protection premiums to their insurer directly. That $1,800 is generally deductible on Alex's return.
How Night Tax handles both
When Night Tax asks about super and insurance, it walks you through the practical questions: did you contribute personally, have you filed the Notice of Intent, do you hold cover inside or outside super. A registered tax agent reviews the claim before lodgement.
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Night Tax always applies ATO rules on substantiation and compliance. AI suggestions are reviewed by a registered tax agent before lodgement.