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James Coyle
James has over 35 years experience in financial services with particular expertise in two of the key components of retirement finance - Superannuation and the Age Pension. He is passionate about providing the guidance and support that can help older Australians enjoy their best possible retirement. He lives in regional Victoria surrounded by dogs and chooks.
We have 13 grandchildren,/ 4 children plus spouses – 21 in total and usually give them $100 each for birthday’s and christmas. Would these count towards our gift total of $10,000/year? Also we give 2500/year to our local church – is this counted as part of the $10,000
Hi Robert, great question! Centrelink’s wording around gifting only mentions the amounts which causes the gift to be counted as an asset, technically the wording does leave the door open for them to count $100 to a grandchild as a gift however there is an element of common sense that needs to be applied also.
In Centrelink’s own words “It is optional for you to notify us of any changes in your bank balance of $2,000 or less” so that is the guide that we follow. In your instance the total amount may be $2,100 however we presume this is divided into multiple, smaller transactions and therefore as no one figure that you give exceeds $2,000 you are not required to notify Centrelink.
“Gifting” is also applied when helping family with vital overseas medical costs for serious diseases/illness not treated in Australia.
Very compassionate.
My son is getting married this year and my husband and I plan to give him $25k to help with wedding expenses. Will we be penalised since the amount is more than the $10k per annum limit?
Hi Mercedes, thanks for reaching out! Given the amount you are gifting you will need to declare this to Centrelink and your pension may be reduced. If your pension is being assessed based on income and not assets there may be no impact to the amount of pension your receive.
If you paid for some of the expenses for the wedding, would it not count as gifting?
I do not have a Pension Account set up within my Superannuation and have chosen instead to withdraw approx $10,000 per year to supplement my pension. I receive a full single aged pension and have about $185,000 in superannuation. If I continue to withdraw $10,000 each from my super, could this be seen as ‘gifting’?
Hi Lorraine, thanks for getting involved in the conversation! The scenario you have mentioned would not be considered gifting as you are still the owner of the funds, you simply transfer the money from your super to your bank account. Gifting would be if you gave the $10,000 to someone else.
Do all these examples relate to eligibility to receive the old age pension?
I am not eligible to receive the old pension, so I have to survive on SMSF pension in my retirement.
Am I/they taxed if I gift money to my children’s families directly from my SMSF?
Hi Denis. The gifting rules mentioned here relate to the Age Pension. You won’t be taxed on money you give away but it could affect Age Pension entitlements
Your examples are an embarrassment. After an inheritance, I’ll have access to 100k and own a modest houser. I am on a full pension. Do I have the ability to help our single mother daughter with an autistic child to get into a cheap house or not?
Hi Mick, thank you for your feedback and I am sorry to hear you did not find the article useful. We have another article that also talks about gifting HERE, I think you will find the alternate perspective on gifting more relevant to your question.
I am 69 years old and not entitled to a pension. I only have a “ seniors commonwealth card” My husband and I recently sold a property and are gifting my daughter 350,000. Will I loose my card?
Thank you for your response ,
Hi Anna, always good to get confirmation! The Commonwealth Seniors Health Card only tests your income, not your assets. Therefore there is no impact from gifting to worry about.