Seven money tricks that just became a whole lot better

May 16, 2026 — 5:01am

Australians are a pretty resilient bunch when it comes to money. Every time the rules change, we find the new angles, the smarter structures and the opportunities still sitting in the system for us to use. And after the budget, a few specific ones come into focus.

Yes, this budget will sting for some people, particularly those with wealth sitting outside super and younger Australians still trying to build a deposit.

The government’s decision to replace the 50 per cent capital gains tax discount with an inflation-adjusted cost base indexation and a minimum 30 per cent tax on capital gains from July 1, 2027, is a significant shift. Combine that with negative gearing being limited to new builds from the same date, and the investing landscape has truly changed.

But here’s what I want you to do: instead of spending the next six months fuming about it, look for the opportunities that just got a lot more interesting – particularly if you’re a Gen X parent trying to help your adult kids get ahead while also navigating your own path toward an epic retirement.

Here are seven money moves worth paying attention to this week that might not have been as appealing before.

1. Teach your adult kids about the First Home Super Saver Scheme

This one might be the sleeper hit of the whole budget conversation. The First Home Super Saver Scheme (FHSS) lets eligible first home buyers make voluntary contributions of up to $15,000 per year into their super, then withdraw up to $50,000 of those contributions (plus deemed earnings) to buy their first home.

Why does this matter now more than ever? Because those voluntary concessional contributions are taxed at just 15 per cent inside super. Under the new CGT rules from 2027, investments outside super could face a minimum 30 per cent tax on gains.

Super just became one of the most tax-effective places a young person can build a home deposit.

The government may have accidentally created the country’s best first-home savings account. If your kids haven’t heard of the FHSS scheme, now’s the time for a family conversation.

2. Gift your kids $1000 and potentially get a near-instant 50 per cent return

This one always surprises people when they hear it for the first time.

Here’s how it works. A parent gifts money to their adult child. The child contributes it to their own super account as a personal after-tax contribution. If that child earns under $47,488 per year (for the 2025-26 financial year) and contributes $1000 from their own after-tax income, the government chips in up to $500 extra through the super co-contribution scheme.

That’s a potential $1500 from a $1000 contribution, just for having the knowledge to use the system properly. And it gets better: if the child is eligible for the FHSS scheme, those contributions can later be withdrawn to help buy their first home.

A few important notes on the rules: the contribution must be made by the child themselves, not directly by the parent into the child’s super. Income thresholds and contribution caps apply.

And the co-contribution tails off gradually for incomes between $47,488 and $62,488, where it disappears entirely. But for younger adults on modest incomes, this is one of the decent opportunities still hiding in plain sight.

3. Use catch-up concessional contributions

This is one of the biggest opportunities many Gen X Australians still don’t realise they have, and with the CGT rules changing from 2027, it’s become even more valuable.

If your total super balance was under $500,000 at the end of last financial year, you can use unused concessional contribution caps from up to five previous financial years to make larger tax-deductible contributions this year.

The concessional cap for 2025-26 is $30,000 (rising to $32,500 from 1 July 2026), and those contributions are taxed at just 15 per cent inside super rather than at your marginal tax rate.

The budget may not stop Australians investing. It may simply change where the smart money goes.

For someone earning $120,000 and paying 37 per cent income tax on the top portion of their earnings, moving money into super via catch-up contributions instead of holding it in taxable investments is a significant saving, and now also a way of avoiding what could be harsher CGT treatment outside super from 2027 onwards.

Many Australians spent their 40s paying mortgages and raising children rather than maximising super contributions. If that sounds like you, catch-up contributions are your chance to accelerate. Receive an inheritance, have a bumper income year or sell an investment? This is precisely when catch-up contributions can be incredibly powerful.

One important reminder: the door closes when your total super balance tops $500,000, so don’t wait. Check your MyGov account if you’re curious whether the opportunity still stands for you.

4. Time your downsizer contribution carefully

If you’re 55 or over and thinking about selling the family home, the downsizer contribution rules are worth understanding deeply right now.

You can contribute up to $300,000 each (or $600,000 as a couple) from the sale proceeds of an eligible home you’ve owned for at least 10 years, directly into super, outside the normal contribution rules. This applies even if you’re already over the Total Super Balance (TSB) thresholds where ordinary after-tax contributions would otherwise be blocked.

But here’s the timing consideration: once a downsizer contribution is in super, it counts toward your TSB cap, which is heading to $2.1 million from 1 July 2026. That can close off your ability to make further non-concessional contributions later.

For some people, it will make more sense to exhaust other contribution strategies first, then use the downsizer later in life. This is a conversation worth having with a financial adviser before you sign any contracts.

5. Sell assets gradually

For years, many Australians planned to sell investment assets once they retired and their income dropped, paying a lower rate of tax on any gains. From 2027, with a minimum 30 per cent tax floor on capital gains, that old “wait until retirement to sell” strategy becomes far less effective.

Spreading asset sales gradually across multiple financial years, using available capital losses to offset gains, and progressively moving money into super while your contribution windows are still open will increasingly be the smarter approach.

Understanding how your spending and income can shift over time is one of the most powerful financial planning tools you have. The same principle applies here: think in stages, not in one big move.

6. Know the value of your family home

The budget may have inadvertently reinforced something the books have always said: the two most tax-effective assets in Australia are super and the family home.

Investments outside those structures now face materially tougher treatment. The family home remains largely exempt from capital gains tax. Super remains concessionally taxed and tax-free in retirement for most people.

That means paying down the mortgage faster, considering whether an upgrade to a principal place of residence makes strategic sense, and maximising super contributions while your windows are still open may all deserve a fresh look. Especially when you remember, the principal place of residence is not counted in the Assets and Income assessment for the age pension.

7. Consider helping your children earlier

This budget may accelerate a trend already well under way: parents helping their children financially much earlier in life, rather than leaving it all to an inheritance.

The maths is pretty compelling. Helping a child into a home at 28 instead of 38 could save them years of mortgage payments and get them building tax-free wealth through a CGT-exempt asset far sooner.

The earlier the help, the greater the long-term compounding benefit. And if you’re doing well in your 50s or 60s, that money is probably sitting in assets that will face heavier tax treatment from 2027 onwards, whereas in your child’s home it’s completely CGT-free.

Whether that looks like a gifted deposit, a family guarantee arrangement, contributions to an offset account or simply a frank conversation about the FHSS scheme, getting money working in a CGT-free asset earlier in life looks smarter than ever under the new rules.

The irony in all of this is that the budget may not stop Australians investing. It may simply change where the smart money goes. And right now, that looks increasingly like super, family homes and getting very, very strategic about timing.

Bec Wilson is author of the bestseller How to Have an Epic Retirement and the newly released Prime Time: 27 Lessons for the New Midlife. She writes a weekly newsletter at epicretirement.net and hosts the Prime Time podcast.

• Advice given in this article is general in nature and is not intended to influence readers’ decisions about investing or financial products. They should always seek their own professional advice that takes into account their own personal circumstances before making any financial decisions.

Expert tips on how to save, invest and make the most of your money delivered to your inbox every Sunday. Sign up for our Real Money newsletter.