I had two superannuation accounts and recently consolidated them to save on fees. The receiving fund has informed me that I will lose $18,500 to the tax office due to the transfer of an untaxed component of $123,000. Why, when transferring money between superannuation funds, is there any tax? And surely, someone should have flagged that this tax will be charged before the consolidation happened.

An untaxed component within super is fairly rare these days, and so I can easily see how this might have been missed. For most of us, when our employer makes contributions into our super fund, 15 per cent tax is collected by the fund and passed onto the tax office.

Combining two super accounts? Beware any untaxed portions.Credit: Simon Letch

For untaxed super, this 15 per cent has not been deducted at the time of contribution. Untaxed super is no free lunch, though. The can is just being kicked down the road. At........

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