Downsizing · Superannuation · 2026
Downsizer Super Contribution: Add Up to $300,000 to Your Super
Sell the family home and you may be able to put up to $300,000 each, or $600,000 as a couple, into super, outside the normal contribution caps.
Here is how the downsizer contribution works in 2026, who qualifies and the traps to avoid.
Source: ATO. The contribution cannot exceed your share of the sale proceeds.
What Is the Downsizer Contribution?
For many retirees the family home holds most of their wealth while their super balance lags behind. The downsizer contribution lets you move part of that home equity into super, where earnings in retirement phase can be tax-free.
It is one of the few ways to add a large sum to super late in life. There is no work test, no upper age limit and it does not count towards your concessional or non-concessional caps. You can make it even if your total super balance is above $2 million.
The minimum age was 65 when the scheme began in 2018. It dropped to 60 in July 2022 and to 55 from 1 January 2023, so far more homeowners now qualify.
Who Qualifies?
According to the ATO, to make a downsizer contribution you must meet all of these conditions:
- You are 55 or older when you make the contribution.
- The home is in Australia and is not a caravan, houseboat or other mobile home.
- You or your spouse owned it for at least 10 years before the sale (counted from settlement to settlement).
- The sale is fully or partly exempt from capital gains tax under the main residence exemption (or would be).
- You contribute within 90 days of receiving the proceeds, usually settlement.
- You give your fund the Downsizer contribution into super form before or when you make the contribution.
- You have not made a downsizer contribution before from the sale of another home. It is once only.
You do not have to buy a new home. You can sell and rent, move in with family, move into aged care or buy something of any size, including a bigger place.
How Much Could You Contribute?
Sale proceeds of $1.2 million, a couple both over 55, home owned for 25 years:
| Step | Amount |
|---|---|
| Sale proceeds | $1,200,000 |
| Downsizer contribution, partner one | $300,000 |
| Downsizer contribution, partner two | $300,000 |
| Left to buy the next home and pay costs | $600,000 |
Only one spouse needs to be on the title, but both can contribute up to $300,000 each, provided the total does not exceed the sale proceeds.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- The Age Pension assets test. Your home is exempt, but money in super is counted once you reach Age Pension age. Moving $600,000 from the house into super can cut or remove a pension. Run the numbers first.
- Missing the 90-day window. Late contributions are not accepted as downsizer contributions. Ask your fund for an extension in advance if you need one.
- Forgetting the form. Without the ATO form your fund treats the money as an ordinary contribution, which can break your caps.
- Using it twice. It is a one-off. Plan which sale to use it on.
- Selling before checking ownership dates. The 10 years is measured settlement to settlement.
The downsizer contribution is a tool, not a strategy. Decide first what the move is for, where you want to live and what income you need, then decide how much belongs in super, in the next home and in an income-producing investment.
What to Do With the Rest
Downsizing can free up far more than the contribution limit. Many of our clients split the proceeds across three buckets: a smaller home that suits the next 20 years, the downsizer contribution into super, and an investment property that pays rent in retirement.
Our sister sites cover the investment side: Strategy Before Property on properT network and SMSF Investment Property for property inside super.
Further reading: Super benefits for downsizers and your guide to downsizing.
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properT networkSources: ATO: Downsizer super contributions; Services Australia: Assets test. General information only, current as at October 2026. Rules change: confirm your position with a licensed adviser.
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