Super Contribution Caps 2025-26

Super contribution caps limit how much you can put into super each financial year while receiving favourable tax treatment. Going over the cap triggers additional tax. Understanding the caps — and how to maximise them — is essential for anyone serious about building their retirement savings.

Contribution caps for 2025–26

Cap type	Limit (2025–26)	Tax rate on contributions
Concessional (before-tax)	$30,000	15% (or 30% if income + contributions > $250K)
Non-concessional (after-tax)	$120,000	Nil (already taxed)
Non-concessional bring-forward (under 75)	$360,000 over 3 years	Nil

What counts as concessional contributions?

Concessional contributions include:

Employer SG contributions (12% of ordinary time earnings)
Salary sacrifice contributions
Personal deductible contributions (claimed as a tax deduction)

All of these are taxed at 15% inside super (or 30% if Division 293 applies). The $30,000 cap includes all concessional contributions — so if your employer pays $12,000 in SG, you can salary sacrifice or claim a deduction for up to $18,000 more.

Carry-forward unused concessional cap

If you have a total super balance below $500,000 at 30 June of the previous financial year, you can carry forward unused concessional cap space from the past 5 financial years. This allows you to make large catch-up contributions in years when you can afford it.

Example: You only used $20,000 of your $30,000 cap in each of the last 3 years. You have $30,000 in unused cap space. In 2025–26 you can contribute up to $60,000 as concessional contributions (this year's $30,000 + $30,000 carry-forward) — all taxed at just 15%.

Non-concessional contributions

Non-concessional (after-tax) contributions are capped at $120,000 per year. These come from money you've already paid income tax on, so they're not taxed again inside super. If you're under 75, you can bring forward up to 3 years' worth ($360,000) in a single year — useful for contributing a lump sum from a property sale or inheritance.

Total super balance limit: You cannot make non-concessional contributions if your total super balance is $1.9 million or more (2025–26 threshold). The bring-forward amount also reduces proportionally as you approach this cap.

What happens if you exceed the caps?

Excess concessional contributions: The excess is added to your assessable income and taxed at your marginal rate (with a 15% tax offset for tax already paid by the fund). You can choose to have up to 85% of the excess released from your fund to pay the tax.
Excess non-concessional contributions: You can elect to withdraw the excess plus associated earnings. If you don't, the excess is taxed at 47%.

Strategies for maximising contributions

Use carry-forward to make catch-up contributions in high-income years
Self-employed? Claim a personal deduction for contributions
Use salary sacrifice for automatic, regular concessional contributions — see our salary sacrifice guide
Consider spouse contribution splitting to equalise balances and maximise tax benefits for both partners

Related guides

Important information The information on SuperFind is general in nature and does not take into account your personal financial situation, needs, or objectives. It is not personal financial advice. Before making any financial decisions about your superannuation, consider whether the information is appropriate for your circumstances and consider seeking advice from a licensed financial adviser. Super fund data including fees and performance returns shown on this site were current as of April 2026 — always verify figures on the fund's website. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. Data sourced from APRA, ATO, and individual fund disclosures. SuperFind is a DecisionLab publication.