Request to adjust concessional contributions

If an SMSF member wants to adjust their concessional contributions made in one financial year but not allocated until the next financial year, they must complete a form located on the ATO website.

The regulator said this form notifies the Tax Office that concessional contributions were made by the trustee or on the member’s behalf in one financial year (year one) but the SMSF did not allocate them until the next financial year (year two).

The ATO said most SMSFs use provisions in their trust deeds concerning contribution reserves to enable this strategy. Typically, a trustee will have made these arrangements to allow contributions to be recognised for income tax deductibility and other purposes in year one while not being counted towards a member’s concessional contributions cap until year two.

Provided all the associated legal requirements are met, this is a valid strategy under the tax and super laws according to the view outlined in Taxation Determination 2013/22. It is important to check these requirements have been met before completing the form.

It is important this form is used when wanting to apply this strategy effectively, as the SMSF annual return must report a contribution in the year received. The information provided in this form allows the ATO to correctly apply the concessional contributions cap for both years included in the strategy.

This form applies to concessional contributions made from 1 July 2014.

It may be used any time after the contributions have been both made and allocated. The ATO recommends the form is lodged before, or at the same time, as both the fund’s SMSF annual return and the member’s own individual income tax return are lodged to avoid needing to deal with incorrect assessments.

Records need to be kept to support statements in the form including a resolution by trustees in year 1 in accordance with the SMSF’s governing rules not to allocate the contribution when it is made but to accept it into a reserve and evidence of receipt of the contribution by the SMSF.

Additionally, evidence should also be kept of a resolution by trustees to allocate the contribution from the reserve in year two and documentation in relation to any deductible personal contributions.

This form cannot be used by an SMSF member using the reserve strategy for non-concessional contributions, or concessional contributions made for the 2013-14 income year.

Keeli Cambourne

February 27 2026

smsfadviser.com