Additional super contributions can be:
a deduction from an employee's net (after-tax) pay, known as employee additional super
a deduction from an employee's gross (before-tax) pay, known as salary sacrifice superannuation
a business expense paid by the employer in addition to gross pay, on top of the compulsory super guarantee contributions, known as employer additional super
Need to fix overpaid or underpaid super? See Checking and adjusting superannuation.
Reportable employer super contributions
Super contributions above the compulsory superannuation guarantee might be classified by the ATO as reportable employer super contributions (RESC). To check if a contribution is reportable, see the ATO's guidelines or speak to your accounting advisor.
Set up employee additional super
If an employee wants to contribute one or more extra payments to their super fund from their net (after-tax) pay, here's how to do it.
To set up the employee additional super pay item
From the Payroll menu, choose Employees.
Click the employee's name.
Click the Payroll details tab.
Under Superannuation, click Add superannuation pay item.
If there already is an employee additional super pay item, you can choose it here. Otherwise click Create super pay item.
Enter a Name for the pay item.
From the Contribution type list, choose Employee additional (deduction).
Select the applicable Linked Payable Account.
Assign an ATO reporting category for Single Touch Payroll reporting.
Choose whether to print the employee's additional super on their pay slip.
Set the Calculation basis for the super deduction. The calculation basis determines what other fields then appear.
If the employee additional super amount is:an amount you specify each time you do a pay, choose User entered amount per pay. Every time you do a pay run, you need to enter the employee additional super amount against the salary sacrifice pay item.
a fixed %, choose Equals a percentage of wages and enter the Percentage. Choose what pay item the employee additional super will be a percentage of. If you want, you can exclude an amount of the pay item from the super calculation.
a fixed $ amount, choose Equals dollars per pay period and enter the Dollar amount. In the Per field, choose how frequently this amount will be deducted.
If you want, you can also:
limit the amount of super deducted per pay (either a percentage or dollar amount), or choose No limit.
set a wages Threshold amount that must be exceeded before the employee additional super is deducted
allocate the pay item to other employees
(for the Equals a percentage of wages calculation basis only) choose pay items to be excluded when calculating the employee additional super.
Click Save.
Set up employer additional super
If you as an employer contribute more than the compulsory super guarantee, this is called employer additional super.
It's a tricky area because some employer additional superannuation contributions need to be reported to the ATO as reportable employer super contributions (RESC). For clarification, check the ATO's guidelines or speak to your accounting advisor.
To set up the employer additional super pay item
From the Payroll menu, choose Employees.
Click the employee's name.
Click the Payroll details tab.
Under Superannuation, click Add superannuation pay item.
If there already is an employer additional super pay item, you can choose it here. Otherwise click Create super pay item.
Enter a Name for the pay item.
From the Contribution type list, choose Employer additional (expense).
Select the applicable LInked expense account and Linked payable account.
Assign an ATO reporting category for Single Touch Payroll reporting.
Choose whether to print the employee's additional super on their pay slip.
Set the Calculation basis for the super deduction. The calculation basis determines what other fields then appear.
If the employer additional super amount is:an amount you specify each time you do a pay, choose User entered amount per pay. Every time you do a pay run, you need to enter the employer additional super amount against the salary sacrifice pay item.
a fixed %, choose Equals a percentage of wages and enter the Percentage. Choose what pay item the employer additional super will be a percentage of. If you want, you can exclude an amount of the pay item from the super calculation.
a fixed $ amount, choose Equals dollars per pay period and enter the Dollar amount. In the Per field, choose how frequently this amount will be deducted.
If you want, you can also:
limit the amount of additional super per pay (either a percentage or dollar amount), or choose No limit.
set a wages Threshold amount that must be exceeded before the employer additional super is added
allocate the pay item to other employees
(for the Equals a percentage of wages calculation basis only) choose pay items to be excluded when calculating the employer additional super.
Click Save.
Processing a pay with additional super
Once you've set up an additional super pay item and assigned it to the employee, it will be available when you do a pay for that employee.
To process a pay with additional super
From the Create menu, choose Pay run.
Select the employee to be paid.
Click an employee to open their pay.
Update hours or amounts as required.
If required, enter or change the amount of additional super being deducted. For example, if you chose User entered amount per pay as the calculation basis when you set up the additional super pay item, you need to enter an amount for it.
Click Next.
Finish processing the pay as normal.
One-off super payments
For one-off additional super payments, complete the steps above. Then after making the payment, unlink the pay item from the employee so it no longer appears on their pay.
FAQs
How do I pay a one-off additional super contribution?
Set up a new superannuation pay item for the employee as described above (based on whether it's an employer or employee additional contribution).
Pay the employee and include the one-off super contribution against the new superannuation pay item.
After making the payment, remove the superannuation pay item from the employee (open the employee's record > Superannuation tab > click the delete icon ( ) to remove the superannuation pay item). The superannuation pay item will still exist in your pay item list in case you want to re-use it. Learn more about Assigning pay items to employees.