Can I do that? With less than a week to go to the end of the financial year, you're cutting it fine. But if you get your skates on, there's still time to get some concessionally taxed money into your super account. Just remember that to qualify for any tax concessions this financial year, the money must be in your account by June 30.

So what do I do? The key question is what tax concessions are you entitled to? If you're an employee, you are probably ineligible to claim a tax deduction on your personal super contributions but you may be eligible for concessions such as the super co-contribution or the tax offset on spouse contributions. Now is also the time to be putting salary sacrifice arrangements into place for next year, as you can only sacrifice prospective wages and salary not money that you have already earned.

If you're self-employed or receive less than 10 per cent of your income from employment, you should be able to claim a tax deduction on your personal super contributions and may also qualify for some of the other tax breaks. As this 10 per cent test is changing from July 1 to include salary sacrificed super contributions, this may affect your ability to contribute in future years.

As most people will be aware, the Government has also announced cuts to the maximum deductible contribution limits from July 1. But this year you can still receive concessional contributions of up to $50,000 if you're under 50 and $100,000 if you're 50 or older to boost your retirement savings. Those amounts will halve next year.

What tax breaks can I get if I can't make personal deductible contributions? The most popular is the super co-contribution. To be eligible you must have total income of less than $60,342, be under 71 at June 30, and earn 10 per cent or more of your income from employment, running a business, or a combination of both. If you fit the bill, you'll need to make an after-tax personal contribution to your super fund of up to $1000 before June 30. The pay-off is that the Government will then kick in $1.50 for each dollar you've contributed up to a maximum $1500. You're eligible for the full $1500 co-contribution if your income is less than $30,342 but this maximum is reduced by 5 cents for each dollar you earn above this limit. So if your income is $45,000, for example, your maximum co-contribution will be $767 and you'll need to contribute $512 to qualify for that amount.

The co-contribution means test is also changing from July 1 to include salary sacrifice super contributions, which will make it tougher to qualify in future years. The technical marketing manager at Aviva, Martin Breckon, says you may also be eligible for a tax offset of up to $540 if you make a contribution for your spouse. This offset applies to contributions made on behalf of non-working or low income-earning spouses, whether married or de facto.

To qualify for the full offset, your spouse must have less than $10,800 in assessable income plus reportable fringe benefits. If that's the case, you're entitled to an 18 per cent tax offset on after-tax contributions made on their behalf up to $3000 generating a maximum $540 tax break.

If your spouse earns more than $10,800, the $3000 is reduced by $1 for each extra dollar earned and the offset is phased out where they earn more than $13,800. So if, for example, your spouse earns $12,000, you'll be entitled to an 18 per cent offset on contributions of up to $1800 generating a maximum tax offset of $324.

Is it worth contributing to super if I can't claim a tax break? If your marginal tax rate is more than 15 per cent, it is still generally more tax effective to save through super. Because super funds are taxed at a concessional rate of 15 per cent on their earnings (or 10 per cent on capital gains where assets are held for 12 months or more) your money should grow faster than if you had invested in your own right. You can contribute up to $150,000 a year after-tax to super and, if you're under 65, you can bring forward two years of contributions, allowing a maximum contribution every three years of $450,000.

Both concessional and non-concessional excess contributions attract penalty taxes, so investors should ensure they won't exceed the limits before contributing. Spouse contributions and any personal contributions you make to qualify for the co-contribution (but not the Government's co-contribution itself) are both counted in the non-concessional cap, along with any excess concessional contributions.

With the concessional caps being cut next year, employees should also ensure that their current salary sacrifice arrangements won't push them over the limit next year.

In addition to salary sacrifice, this cap also includes any compulsory super paid on your behalf and some fund expenses paid by employers.