Australia · Explainer

Downsizer contributions

Up to $300,000 per person into super from the sale of a home, outside both contribution caps and with no work test. Five tests decide eligibility. Three consequences decide whether it is a good idea.

AU FY2026-27 Law Last reviewed 31 July 2026

What it is

A one-off contribution of up to $300,000 per person from the proceeds of selling a home the member or their spouse has owned for 10 years or more. It does not count toward the concessional or non-concessional caps, there is no work test, and there is no upper age limit — which makes it the only route left for many clients over 55 with a large non-super asset and no cap space.

It is also available from age 55, below preservation age of 60. A client can make the contribution and then have no access to it until a condition of release is met — the contribution is not itself a release event.

Key figures

Downsizer contribution — maximum per person
$300,000
Downsizer contribution — maximum per couple
$600,000
Downsizer contribution — minimum age
55
Downsizer contribution — ownership period
10 years
Downsizer contribution — window after settlement
90 days

The five tests

  • Age 55 or over at the contribution date. Not at settlement, not at exchange — at the contribution. A client approaching 55 can settle first and contribute after the birthday, provided the window is still open.
  • Owned for 10 years or more. Ownership by the member or their spouse counts, and the period runs to disposal — so a spouse who was never on the title can still contribute.
  • A main residence at some point. The main residence exemption need only have applied in part. A property that was always an investment does not qualify.
  • Within 90 days of settlement. The window runs from settlement, not exchange, and the approved form has to be with the fund on or before the contribution is made — not afterwards.
  • Once only. A client who has used it for an earlier sale cannot use it again, at any amount. Worth confirming before it goes in a strategy paper.

The amount is also capped by the proceeds: a couple selling for less than $600,000 cannot contribute more than the sale realised, even though each of them has a $300,000 individual maximum.

Eligibility checker

All five tests must pass. Age is measured at the contribution date, the ownership period runs to disposal, and the 90 days run from settlement — not from exchange.

Minimum 55, with no upper limit.

Ownership by either spouse counts toward the 10 years.

The window is 90 days from settlement.

$900,000

Maximum downsizer contribution

$300,000

All five tests met. Up to $600,000 between a couple from the same sale.

  • Aged 55 or over at the contribution date — met Met. There is no upper age limit and no work test.
  • Home owned for 10 years or more — met Met. Ownership by the member or their spouse counts, and the period runs to the date of disposal.
  • Qualified as a main residence at some point — met Met. The main residence exemption need only have applied in part.
  • Contribution made within 90 days of settlement — met Met, with 45 days of the window remaining. The clock runs from settlement, not exchange.
  • No downsizer contribution made before — met Met. The measure is available once in a lifetime.

Simplified illustration for education — not advice. The amount is capped at $300,000 per person and at the proceeds of the sale.

Three things that decide whether it is a good idea

Eligibility is arithmetic. These are the consequences that decide whether an eligible client should do it — and the reasons the answer is often “yes, but later”.

1. It lands in total super balance, and stays there

The contribution is outside the caps on the way in, and inside total super balance from the following 30 June onward. That figure gates the bring-forward tiers, the ordinary non-concessional cap, the co-contribution and the spouse offset. A large downsizer contribution can therefore be the last non-concessional amount a client is ever able to add.

2. It converts an exempt asset into an assessable one

The family home is exempt from the Age Pension means test. Superannuation is assessed once the member reaches Age Pension age. A client who sells the exempt asset and contributes the proceeds has moved money from outside the test to inside it — which can reduce or end an entitlement that was not in question the day before. For a couple with an age gap, the timing of each contribution matters as much as the amount.

3. Nobody has to actually downsize

There is no requirement to buy another home, and no requirement that anything bought is smaller or cheaper. Clients who assume they must trade down rule themselves out of a contribution they are entitled to make; clients who assume the measure obliges them to buy something make a property decision to fit a super decision. Neither is necessary.

Scenarios

Four positions, all computed by the checker above.

Downsizer eligibility scenarios and the resulting maximum
Position Outcome Maximum
Age 61, owned 15 years, sold for $900,000 All five tests met $300,000
Same client, sold for $400,000 Eligible, but the proceeds bind for a couple $400,000 between two
Age 54 at the contribution date Aged 55 or over at the contribution date — not met Nil
Contribution 120 days after settlement Contribution made within 90 days of settlement — not met Nil

Practical points

  • Sequence it last. Trigger any bring-forward first, then contribute the downsizer amount. Done in the other order, the downsizer amount can lift total super balance past the tier that would have allowed the bring-forward.
  • The form is a condition, not paperwork. The approved form must reach the fund on or before the contribution. A contribution made first and documented afterwards is not a downsizer contribution.
  • Settlement dates slip. The 90 days run from settlement, and settlement moves. Diarise the deadline from the actual settlement date rather than the contract date, and leave room for the fund’s processing.
  • Preservation still applies. At age 55 the money goes in but does not come out. Preservation age is 60, and a condition of release is still needed after that — the contribution does not create one.
  • Both spouses, one sale. Each contribution is made in the member’s own name and each is tested separately, but the pair is bounded by the proceeds of the one sale.

Questions we get asked

Does a downsizer contribution count toward the contribution caps?
No. It sits outside both the concessional and the non-concessional caps, so a client can make one in the same year as a full $130,000 non-concessional contribution or a bring-forward. What it does do is increase total super balance from the following 30 June measurement, which can gate the contributions after it.
Is there an upper age limit or a work test?
No to both. Age 55 is the floor and there is no ceiling — no work test, no requirement to be retired, and no gate on total super balance for the downsizer contribution itself.
Does the client actually have to downsize?
No. There is no requirement to buy another home at all, let alone a smaller or cheaper one. A client can sell and rent, move in with family, or buy something more expensive — the name of the measure describes the intent behind it, not a condition of it.
Can both members of a couple contribute?
Yes — up to $300,000 each, $600,000 between them, and both amounts are capped by the proceeds of the same sale. The ownership test looks at either spouse, so a spouse who was never on the title can still contribute where the other conditions are met.
What if the 90 days window is missed?
The contribution cannot be accepted as a downsizer contribution — it would have to be made under the ordinary caps instead, if there is room. The Commissioner has a discretion to allow a longer period in limited circumstances, but it is an application, not a formality. The clock runs from settlement, not exchange.
Does it affect the Age Pension?
It can. The family home is an exempt asset for the means test and superannuation is assessed once the member reaches Age Pension age, so the contribution converts an exempt asset into an assessable one for any client at or approaching that age. For a client under Age Pension age with an older partner, the timing matters as much as the amount.

Sources

Sourced from the reference below. The figures on this page come from the same reference file as the rates and thresholds page.

Related