Is the amount in my super the same for both?

Yes. The same dollar amount (before 15% contributions tax) goes in; after 15% tax in the fund, the amount in super is identical.

Why would I use after-tax if I have salary sacrifice?

You might get a bonus or extra income during the year and want to add it to super and claim a deduction. Or your employer might not offer salary sacrifice.

Does after-tax mean I pay more tax?

No. Once you claim the deduction, your taxable income is reduced by the same amount as with salary sacrifice, so your total tax is the same. You get a refund because more was withheld during the year.

Can contributing to super get me under the Medicare levy surcharge threshold?

No, and neither route helps. Income for surcharge purposes is your taxable income plus your reportable super contributions — which the ATO defines as reportable employer super contributions plus deductible personal super contributions, so both options here are added straight back. On $106,000 of salary with no hospital cover you are still rated above the $105,000 threshold after contributing. The surcharge itself is charged on your taxable income, so it does fall a little — but the threshold test does not move at all.

Will either option reduce my HELP repayment?

No. Compulsory HELP and HECS repayments are worked out on your repayment income, which adds reportable super contributions back for the same reason the Medicare levy surcharge does. Salary sacrificing to super lowers your taxable income but not your repayment income, so the compulsory repayment is unchanged either way.

Salary Sacrifice vs After-Tax Super

Compare putting the same amount into super as salary sacrifice or as an after-tax contribution with a deduction

The amount that ends up in your super (after 15% contributions tax) is the same either way. The difference is cash flow and when you need the money.

Your numbers

Same concessional amount in both options

Annual salary

Concessional amount ($/year)

Amount going into super (before 15% contributions tax in the fund)

Tax year

Private hospital cover

Without appropriate cover the Medicare levy surcharge applies above $105,000. Contributing to super does not avoid it — income for surcharge purposes adds reportable super contributions back.

Comparison

Same amount in super (after 15% contributions tax): $4,250

Salary sacrifice

Take-home: $60,800

Amount goes from pay to super; no cash out of pocket during the year.

After-tax + deduction

Take-home during year: $64,200

You contribute $5,000 from your bank to super.

Refund when you claim deduction: $1,600

Effective take-home (after refund): $60,800

How to Use This Calculator

1Enter your annual salary and the amount you want to add to super (concessional)
2Compare take-home pay: salary sacrifice (automatic from pay) vs after-tax (you pay from bank, then get a refund when you claim the deduction)
3Notice that the amount in super after 15% tax is the same in both cases

What’s the difference?

Salary sacrifice: your employer pays the amount into super from your pre-tax salary. You never see it in your pay; tax is calculated on the reduced amount.

After-tax + deduction: you contribute from your bank account (after tax has been withheld from your pay). You then lodge a notice of intent to claim a tax deduction with your fund and claim the deduction in your tax return. You get a refund. The net result in super is the same; the difference is you need to have the cash during the year, then get the refund at tax time.

When to use which

Salary sacrifice: Easier if your employer offers it; no need to have cash upfront; consistent from each pay.
After-tax + deduction: Useful if your employer doesn’t offer sacrifice, or you get a lump sum (e.g. bonus, side income) and want to add it to super and claim a deduction. You must lodge the notice of intent with your fund before lodging your tax return.
Concessional cap: Both count toward your concessional contributions cap ($32,500 for 2026–27). Employer SG + sacrifice or deduction must stay under the cap.

Notice of intent

•Lodge your notice of intent to claim a deduction with your super fund before you lodge your tax return (and within the required time limits).
•Once you claim a deduction, that contribution is concessional and counts toward the cap; the fund will deduct 15% contributions tax.
•Claiming the deduction is not automatically the better move. Under $64,293 of total income (2026–27), a contribution you do NOT claim stays non-concessional — no 15% contributions tax — and can attract the government co-contribution, which can be worth more than the deduction is. Worth checking both before you lodge the notice of intent.

Frequently Asked Questions

Official Sources

Rates checked against the ATO — verified 27 July 2026

Estimates only. Not financial or tax advice. Full disclaimer for your rights and our limitations of liability.

Rates and thresholds last updated for the 2026–27 financial year.

About this calculator

This calculator exists to show you the arithmetic. It applies published Australian rates, thresholds and formulas to the numbers you enter and shows the working, so you can check it. That is all it does — it produces a number and describes what the number is. It does not recommend anything and it holds no opinion about any financial product.

What can move this result

It only knows the figures you type in. Offsets, deductions, prior-year losses, other income, your partner's position and anything you have not entered are not in the result, and any of them can move it a long way.
Rates and thresholds change, sometimes mid-year and occasionally with retrospective effect. Each calculator shows the financial year and the verification date it is working from — outside that year the result is wrong rather than approximate.
Assumptions are set to a reasonable default and every non-statutory one can be changed. Defaults are not predictions, and a small change to a growth or inflation assumption compounds into a large change in a long projection.
Where a result reaches two or more years into the future it is shown in today's dollars as well as future dollars, because a future-dollar figure overstates what the money will actually buy.
It is a generic calculator. It is not built around any particular product, it does not compare the market, and it cannot tell you whether a product is suitable for you.

This calculator is not intended to be relied on for the purposes of making a decision in relation to a financial product. Before you make a financial decision, consider obtaining advice from someone who holds an Australian Financial Services Licence. We do not, and we cannot advise you.

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About this calculator

What can move this result

It only knows the figures you type in. Offsets, deductions, prior-year losses, other income, your partner's position and anything you have not entered are not in the result, and any of them can move it a long way.
Rates and thresholds change, sometimes mid-year and occasionally with retrospective effect. Each calculator shows the financial year and the verification date it is working from — outside that year the result is wrong rather than approximate.
Assumptions are set to a reasonable default and every non-statutory one can be changed. Defaults are not predictions, and a small change to a growth or inflation assumption compounds into a large change in a long projection.
Where a result reaches two or more years into the future it is shown in today's dollars as well as future dollars, because a future-dollar figure overstates what the money will actually buy.
It is a generic calculator. It is not built around any particular product, it does not compare the market, and it cannot tell you whether a product is suitable for you.