Salary sacrifice arrangements are reported to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) by employers primarily through Single Touch Payroll (STP) Phase 2.
It will be reported on your Income Statement as Salary Sacrifice to either Superannuation or Other employee benefits. Also, there may be RESC reported for the amount that may have been sacrificed to superannuation or RFBA reported for the GROSSED UP amount that may have been sacrificed to other employee benefits.
It is important that you correctly declare salary sacrifice in your returns. Errors may result in the underpayment of payroll tax, which is known as a tax default.
Yes, salary sacrifice is a type of reportable employer super contribution. You'll need to add all your salary sacrifice payments to your reportable contributions on your tax return.
Salary sacrifice super
Published: 19 September, 2025
Quick Answer: If you're on a salary sacrifice scheme, you won't always need to enter anything on your Self Assessment; many schemes are handled through PAYE by your employer. However, some benefits in kind (or arrangements not correctly payrolled or reported) may still need to be declared.
What is salary sacrifice? Salary sacrificing is a regular pre-tax contribution from your regular income into your superannuation and is taxed at the lower rate of 15% if your salary package is less than $250,000 per year.
If you have a very low income, your income tax rate may be lower than the 15% contributions tax deducted for salary sacrifice, so you could pay less tax by making after-tax contributions rather than salary sacrifice.
How to report
Salary sacrifice's main disadvantages include reduced take-home pay, potentially impacting daily spending and loan eligibility, locking up funds (especially in superannuation), affecting benefits like redundancy pay, and potentially incurring higher taxes for low-income earners or exceeding contribution caps, negating savings. It also requires careful planning to avoid impacting essential expenses or loan applications, and availability depends on employer offerings, notes the Australian Taxation Office.
Simple salary sacrifice
As you're effectively earning a lower salary, both you and your employer pay lower National Insurance contributions. The amount you save in National Insurance is shown in your take-home pay (net salary) which means your take-home pay will increase.
While salary sacrificing can mean a slight dip in your take-home pay, it's a smart move that supercharges your retirement savings for the long haul, while also potentially reducing what you pay in tax. If you're thinking about setting up a salary sacrifice arrangement, here is what you need to know.
W1 reporting and Salary Sacrifice
The ATO guidelines are very clear that amounts subject to salary sacrifice arrangements should not be reported as W1 on your BAS. To handle this, the system will assign the W1 tax code to all pre-tax deduction liability amounts.
Overall, salary sacrifice can be a good strategy for boosting retirement savings and tax benefits, but it's important to consider the potential drawbacks. Research and evaluate your circumstances before deciding if salary sacrifice is right for you.
APRA-regulated funds must report the 30 June balance for member accounts through MATS by 31 October each year. Lost members can be reported via MAAS. We have issued a fund reporting protocol to help superannuation providers and their administrators meet their legislative obligations for reporting.
When you salary sacrifice into super, you'll generally pay 15% tax on the money contributed. If your total income plus before-tax contributions exceed $250,000, an additional 15% tax may apply2. The cap on before-tax contributions is currently $30,000 per financial year.
To retire on $70,000 a year in Australia, a single person typically needs around $1.1 to $1.5 million, while a couple might need about $800,000 to $1.1 million, depending on retirement age (60 vs. 67), home ownership (assuming you own it outright), and the inclusion of the Age Pension. A good rule of thumb is needing roughly 15 to 20 times your desired annual income saved, with figures varying based on your lifestyle (modest vs. comfortable) and when you stop working.
When you contribute these funds to your super, you can claim a tax deduction on the amount when you do your annual tax return.
The 3-year bring-forward rule allows Members in an SMSF to contribute more than the Non-Concessional Contribution (after-tax Contributions) cap of $120,000 during a 3-year financial period from 1 July 2024. From 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2024, the non-concessional contributions cap was $110,000.
You report salary sacrifice amounts and separately include the pre-sacrificed income amounts in your STP report.
A $75k salary in Australia is decent, above the median income for many age groups and allowing for comfortable living in regional areas, but it can be tight in expensive cities like Sydney or Melbourne, especially for families, with many feeling $100k is needed for stability, though it's a strong starting point for younger professionals. After tax, $75k becomes roughly $58.6k ($4,888/month), meaning lifestyle, location, and financial goals (like saving for a house) heavily influence whether it's considered "good".
There isn't a set maximum figure or percentage of your salary that can be sacrificed, but there are limits. You cannot sacrifice so much of your salary that it reduces it below the limit for the minimum wage and sacrificing more than your pension annual allowance limit could trigger a tax charge.
How to avoid paying higher-rate tax
Disadvantages of Salary Sacrifice
There isn't a specific limit to how much you can sacrifice, although this will change in 2029. However, your reduced salary has to remain above the national minimum wage.