How much can I contribute?

Up to the concessional cap ($32,500) minus employer SG and any existing contributions. Carry-forward can increase this if eligible.

When does Division 293 apply?

When your Division 293 income (taxable income + reportable fringe benefits etc) plus concessional contributions exceeds $250,000. Salary sacrificing does not usually increase it: the sacrifice comes off the income side of the test and goes onto the contributions side, so the combined figure is unchanged.

What counts towards the concessional cap?

Employer Super Guarantee, any salary sacrifice you arrange, and personal contributions you claim as a tax deduction all count towards the same concessional cap — they aren't separate allowances.

What is the carry-forward (catch-up) rule?

If your total super balance was under $500,000 at the end of the previous financial year, you can use unused concessional cap from the past five years on top of the current year's cap — useful if your income has risen or you took time out of the workforce.

Is salary sacrifice always better than a personal deductible contribution?

Both are taxed the same way (15% in the fund) and count towards the same cap. Salary sacrifice happens automatically through payroll before you're paid; a personal deductible contribution requires you to pay from your own account and lodge a notice of intent with your fund before claiming the deduction.

What happens if I exceed the concessional cap?

The excess is added to your assessable income and taxed at your marginal rate (with a 15% offset for tax already paid in the fund), plus an interest charge — the ATO calculates this automatically after you lodge your tax return.

Super Contribution Optimiser

Model extra salary sacrifice against your concessional cap, tax and Division 293

See a modelled concessional contribution scenario and its estimated tax impact

Your Details

Enter your income, super balance and existing contributions

Annual income ($)

Total super balance at 30 June 2026 ($)

Carry-forward eligibility is tested on your total superannuation balance at 30 June 2026 (the end of the previous income year), not today’s balance. You can carry forward unused cap only if it was under $500,000.

Existing concessional contributions this year ($)

Leave 0 to use employer SG only

Carry-forward unused cap ($)

From ATO online services if eligible

Tax year

Modelled Scenario

Modelled concessional contribution and estimated tax impact

Employer SG$12,000

Concessional cap$32,500

Cap headroom$20,500

Carry-forward eligible (TSB < $500k)Yes

Modelled Contribution

Modelled extra concessional$20,500

Income tax saved$6,560

Less 15% contributions tax in the fund−$3,075

Net benefit$3,485

Salary sacrificing $20,500 uses your cap headroom and cuts $6,560 from your tax bill. After the 15% contributions tax the fund pays on the way in ($3,075), you are $3,485 better off for the year.

Marginal tax rate: 32.0%

Official sources

Concessional cap, carry-forward eligibility and Division 293 thresholds follow current ATO rules and are indexed periodically.

How to Use This Calculator

1Enter your annual income and current super balance
2Add existing concessional contributions if you have any
3Include carry-forward unused cap from ATO if eligible
4See your recommended contribution and tax saving

What is the Super Contribution Optimiser?

This tool recommends how much extra to salary sacrifice to super, considering the concessional cap ($32,500), your employer SG and Division 293 tax for high earners.

It shows your cap headroom and the net benefit after the 15% contributions tax the fund pays on the way in and after any extra Division 293.

The optimiser exists because the concessional cap is a single shared bucket — employer Super Guarantee, salary sacrifice and personal deductible contributions all draw from the same limit — so the 'right' amount to add yourself depends on what your employer is already contributing, not a flat figure everyone can use.

Key factors

Concessional cap: $32,500 p.a. (2026-27). Employer SG counts toward this, and your employer stops paying SG once your earnings reach the maximum contribution base — so headroom is not simply the cap less 12% of your salary.
Carry-forward: If TSB < $500k, you can use unused cap from previous years.
Division 293: Extra 15% tax when Division 293 income + concessional contributions exceed $250,000.
Contributions tax: Concessional contributions are taxed at 15% inside the fund going in — usually well below your marginal tax rate, which is the core of the tax saving. The net benefit above has it subtracted.

Tips

•Check ATO online services for your carry-forward amounts
•Set up salary sacrifice through payroll for automatic contributions
•Consider cash flow before maxing out the cap
•Recheck your headroom if your income changes mid-year — a bonus or pay rise can push you into Division 293 territory unexpectedly

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.

Related Tools

Salary Sacrifice Super

Calculate tax savings from salary sacrifice

Superannuation Calculator

Project your super at retirement

Division 293 Calculator

Extra tax on high earners

Loading calculator…

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.