You're 55 or older
Your age counts at the time you make the contribution, not when you sell. The eligibility age was lowered from 65 to 60 in July 2022, and to 55 from 1 January 2023.
Retirement insights
Selling the family home? Your super could thank you.
The downsizer contribution lets eligible homeowners aged 55 and over put up to $300,000 from the sale of their home into super, outside the normal contribution caps. Here's how the rules work, in plain English.
For most Australians, the family home is the largest asset they'll ever sell, and for decades, none of that value could reach superannuation.
The downsizer contribution changed that. It's a special one-off contribution that lets you move money from the sale of your home into super, even in years when the normal contribution caps would otherwise stop you. Since the eligibility age dropped to 55 in 2023, it's relevant to a much wider group of homeowners than it used to be.
But the rules are exact. Miss a condition, the form, the ten-year ownership test, the 90-day window, and the opportunity can be lost for good. This guide walks through who qualifies, what the contribution does and doesn't do, and what it could look like in practice.
What is a downsizer contribution?
A downsizer contribution is money you move into super from the proceeds of selling (or part-selling) your home. If you're eligible, you can contribute up to $300,000 per person, up to $600,000 for an eligible couple, and the amount doesn't count towards the normal concessional or non-concessional contribution caps.
You don't have to buy a smaller home to use it. There's no requirement that you purchase another property, downsize at all in any formal sense, or move anywhere in particular, the scheme is about the sale of a long-held main residence, not what you do next.
Two limits sit alongside the headline cap. The total you contribute can't exceed the proceeds of the sale, and each person gets the opportunity only once: you can't make a downsizer contribution from the sale of another home later on, or from a part sale of your current home after you've already used it.
Who is eligible?
You must meet all of the following conditions at the time you contribute. These reflect the ATO's published eligibility rules, last updated January 2026.
The home is in Australia
It must be a residential building, a caravan, houseboat or other mobile home doesn't qualify.
You've owned it for 10+ years
You or your spouse must have owned the home for at least ten years before the sale. If only one spouse owned it, the other can still contribute if the other conditions are met.
It was your main residence
The sale must qualify for the main residence capital gains tax (CGT) exemption, fully or partially, or the home would have qualified if it were a CGT asset (for example, a pre-1985 home).
Contract on or after 1 July 2018
The scheme applies to contracts for sale entered into on or after 1 July 2018.
Once per person
You can't have previously made a downsizer contribution from the sale of another home, or from a part sale of your current home. It's a one-off opportunity per person.
The form comes first
You must give your super fund the Downsizer contribution into super form (NAT 75073), or the fund's own version, before or at the time you contribute. Funds can't accept the form afterwards.
Within 90 days of settlement
The contribution must reach your fund within 90 days of you receiving the sale proceeds, usually the settlement date. Extensions are possible, but only with ATO approval, ideally requested before the 90 days lapse.
The two timing rules are where people most often slip up. The form must reach your super fund before or when you contribute, funds can't accept it afterwards, and a contribution without the form may be returned or forced to count towards your normal caps instead. And the money must land within 90 days of you receiving the sale proceeds, unless the ATO grants an extension in advance.
Why downsizers like it
It sits outside the contribution caps
A downsizer contribution doesn't count towards your concessional or non-concessional contributions caps. So it can add to super in years when your normal caps are already used, a common limitation for recent retirees selling assets or receiving redundancy payments.
No work test to pass
Unlike some voluntary contributions for older Australians, there's no requirement to be working or to pass a work test. If you meet the downsizer conditions, your employment status is irrelevant.
Up to $600,000 per couple
Each eligible person can contribute up to $300,000, and each spouse is assessed separately. For an eligible couple, that's up to $600,000 moving into super, provided the total doesn't exceed the sale proceeds.
It can't be clawed back
Once accepted, the contribution counts as part of your super balance like any other, but note the flip side in the misconceptions below: it can't be withdrawn just because you change your mind.
What it doesn't do
The downsizer contribution is genuinely useful, but it's often oversold. Four things it is not:
- It isn't a boost to the Age Pension Money in super can affect Age Pension entitlements, and selling your home changes your assets altogether. The downsizer rules interact with Centrelink means testing in ways that are easy to get wrong, check the effect before you commit.
- It isn't reversible Super is preserved until you meet a condition of release such as retirement. Once the contribution is in, it's part of your super, it can't be withdrawn simply because your plans change.
- It isn't invisible to the super rules The contribution doesn't count towards contributions caps, but it is added to your total superannuation balance at the end of the financial year, and it counts towards your transfer balance cap when your super moves into retirement phase. That can affect other entitlements and thresholds.
That last point matters most. A larger super balance can change your total superannuation balance, your transfer balance cap headroom and your Age Pension means testing, all of which are worth understanding before the contribution is made, because none of it can be undone afterwards.
A worked example: downsizing in practice
Meet David and Margaret, both 62. They sell the family home they've owned for 28 years for $1,150,000 and buy a smaller, easier-to-manage home nearby for $450,000, leaving $700,000 in proceeds.
Both meet every eligibility condition. Each contributes the maximum $300,000 to their own super accounts within 90 days of settlement, $600,000 between them, moved into super without touching their concessional or non-concessional caps. The remaining $100,000 of proceeds stays in savings for their next stage of life.
What $600,000 could look like over time
The same money, left untouched, in super earning a balanced-style return, versus in a savings account. This is an illustration of compounding, not a prediction.
Source: FI Advice. Hypothetical example for illustrative purposes only.
| Years after contribution | In super (5.5% p.a.) | In savings (3.0% p.a.) |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | $784,176 | $695,564 |
| 10 | $1,024,887 | $806,350 |
| 15 | $1,339,486 | $934,780 |
| 20 | $1,750,654 | $1,083,667 |
Assumptions
- A one-off contribution of $600,000 made at the start of year one and left untouched, no further contributions and no income drawn from it.
- Returns of 5.5% a year in super and 3.0% a year in savings, compounded annually. The figures are chosen for illustration and are not drawn from any fund, index or historical dataset.
- No fees, taxes or insurance premiums are deducted. In practice, investment earnings within super are generally taxed at a maximum of 15% in the accumulation phase, and actual returns vary, some years will be negative.
- Eligibility is assumed: both David and Margaret were 55 or older at the time of contribution, the home had been their main residence for 28 years, and each used their one-off downsizer opportunity for the first time.
- The example ignores the effect of the contribution and the home sale on Age Pension entitlements, which depends on each household's broader circumstances.
This is a simplified hypothetical example prepared by FI Advice for illustrative purposes only. It does not represent actual investment returns and does not take into account an individual's objectives, financial situation or needs.
If you'd like to test numbers closer to your own situation, our super projection calculator and retirement income calculator are a useful starting point.
How downsizing fits a bigger plan
A downsizer contribution is one move in a larger game. Whether it makes sense depends on the things around it: when you'll retire, what income your super needs to produce, whether the Age Pension is part of your picture, and what you're giving up by moving out of the housing market.
Our Australian retirement planning guide walks through those questions, how much you may need, the ASFA lifestyle benchmarks, and where the Age Pension fits. And the retirement readiness checklist is a free way to see where you stand before making a move this significant.
Timing matters too. Because a downsizer contribution is a one-off per person, it's worth thinking about whether now is the right home sale to use it on, not just whether you qualify for it.
The key takeaway
If you're 55 or older and selling a home you've owned for a decade or more, the downsizer contribution is one of the most flexible super opportunities available, up to $600,000 per couple, outside the normal caps, with no work test.
But it's also unforgiving. The form must reach your fund before or when you contribute, the money must land within 90 days of settlement, and the opportunity is single-use. And because the contribution touches your total super balance, the transfer balance cap and Age Pension means testing, the right amount isn't always the maximum.
Get the rules right, and the family home can do one last piece of work for you. Plan, grow, prosper, sometimes the growing continues with a smaller set of keys.
Considering a downsize?
If you're weighing up selling the family home and what it would mean for your super, retirement income and entitlements, speak with FI Advice before you commit.
References
- Australian Taxation Office 2026, ‘Downsizer super contributions’, viewed 21 September 2026, https://www.ato.gov.au/individuals-and-families/super-for-individuals-and-families/super/growing-and-keeping-track-of-your-super/how-to-save-more-in-your-super/downsizer-super-contributions
- Australian Taxation Office 2026, ‘Downsizer contribution into super form’, NAT 75073, viewed 21 September 2026, https://www.ato.gov.au/forms-and-instructions/superannuation-downsizer-contribution-form
- Australian Taxation Office 2018, ‘LCR 2018/9 Housing affordability measures: contributing the proceeds of downsizing to superannuation’, viewed 21 September 2026, https://www.ato.gov.au/law/view/view.htm?docid=%22COG%2FLCR20189%2FNAT%2FATO%2F00001%22
- Australian Taxation Office n.d., ‘GN 2018/2 Downsizer contribution’, viewed 21 September 2026, https://www.ato.gov.au/law/view/document?docid=GDN%2FGDN20182%2FNAT%2FATO%2F00001
This article contains general information only. It has been prepared without taking into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on any of this information you should consider its appropriateness, having regard to your own circumstances, and seek personal financial advice. Tax and Centrelink rules can change; the eligibility conditions described here reflect the ATO's guidance as at September 2026. Past performance is not an indicator of future performance.
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