Super
Super when someone dies
Super is paid under the fund’s rules and the form on file. A will does not, by itself, decide it. This page does not work out the tax.
Binding nomination
The ATO page says that if the fund rules allow a binding death benefit nomination, you can nominate one or more dependants and/or your legal personal representative, the executor of the estate. The regulation linked below is the nomination rule. This page does not restate it in shorter words than the regulation.
Non-binding, or no form
The same ATO page says that if the nomination is non-binding, or there is no nomination, the trustee may decide which dependant to pay, and may pay the legal personal representative so the estate deals with it under the will.
Tax when the person is not a dependant
Tax on a super death benefit depends on whether the person is a dependant under the tax rules, and on whether the amount is a tax-free component, a taxed element, or an untaxed element. Schedule 12, published 17 June 2026, applies to payments from 1 July 2026. Its table says withholding on a death-benefit lump sum paid to a non-dependant is 17% of the taxed element and 32% of the untaxed element. Withholding on a payment to a dependant, and on a payment to the trustee of the estate, is nil in that table. The schedule does not mention the Medicare levy. A non-dependant is not able to receive a super income stream from the death benefit. This page does not multiply a balance by a rate.
- ATO — superannuation death benefits ↗
- SIS regulation 6.17A — the nomination rule ↗
- ATO — Schedule 12, super lump sums, published 17 June 2026 ↗
- ATO — death of an SMSF member ↗
What doctors often miss
A binding nomination and a non-binding nomination do different jobs. Tax on a payment to someone who is not a dependant is on the ATO page, not calculated here.
Included / Not included
Included
- ATO superannuation death benefits ↗ · Binding and non-binding nominations
- ATO Schedule 12 — super lump sums ↗ · Published 17 June 2026, payments from 1 July 2026. Non-dependant withholding 17% taxed element, 32% untaxed element
- SIS regulation 6.17A ↗ · Nomination rule
Not included
- Tax on a particular death benefit
- A binding nomination form filled in
- Funeral costs and insurance
Assumptions you can edit are the inputs on this page. This is a model, not a prediction, a tax assessment, or a recommendation.
A rough figure — not advice. Terms
Advertisement — labelled, never inside the number.