One off opportunities before June 30

– Maximise your entitlement (up to $1,000) to the government super co-contribution (if eligible) by making a non-concessional superannuation contribution prior to the end of the financial year. This reduces by half for next financial year.

– If you able, prepay your annual Private Health Insurance premium before the end of June 2012 to cover the next 12 months. As of 1 July 2012, the rebate will be means tested and policyholders will no longer be guaranteed the minimum 30% rebate. Under the changes individuals earning above $83,000 and familes on more than $166,000 will progressively lose the insurance rebate. This means that from 1 July 2012, health insurance premiums will increase substantially for high income earners – and this comes on top of an industry average premium increase of more than five per cent since April 1. Please be aware that this is a one-off saving and will not be possible every year.

– If your income is over $300,000pa bring forward any tax deductible superannuation contributions to this year as the tax on contributions will rise from 15% to 30% next year.

– If you can, and only where appropriate, bring forward any medical, dental, and any other health related expenses as well as getting prescriptions filled to before 30 June 2012. Currently you can claim 20% of medical expenses over $2,000, after any reimbursements from your health care insurer or Medicare. Next year this will be means tested with a higher threshold at $5,000 and a lower offset of 10%.

– For those over 50 years of age, top up your Concessional Super Contributions to $50,000. The concessional cap limit will reduce to $25,000 (for everyone) from 1st July 2012.

– Consider bringing forward any golden handshakes as the current (more generous) transitional rules will end on 30th June 2012.

General Advice Warning

This information is of a general nature only and has been provided without taking account of your objectives, financial situation or needs. Because of this, we recommend you consider, with or without the assistance of a financial adviser, whether the information is appropriate in light of your particular needs and circumstances