What is the concessional contributions cap?

It is the annual limit on before-tax super contributions taxed at the concessional 15% rate, including employer Super Guarantee, salary sacrifice, and personal deductible contributions. For 2025-26 the standard cap is 30,000 AUD.

How does carry-forward of unused cap work?

If you do not use your full concessional cap, the unused amount can be carried forward for up to five financial years. You can only use carry-forward in a year where your total super balance on the previous 30 June was under 500,000 AUD.

What counts toward the cap?

Employer Super Guarantee, additional employer contributions, salary-sacrifice amounts, and personal contributions you claim a tax deduction for all count. Non-concessional (after-tax) contributions are a separate cap and are not included here.

What happens if I exceed the cap?

Excess concessional contributions are included in your assessable income and taxed at your marginal rate (with a 15% offset for the tax already paid in the fund). You can also elect to withdraw up to 85% of the excess. The tool flags any over-cap amount.

Does the 500,000 AUD balance test use this year's balance?

No. It uses your total super balance on the 30 June immediately before the start of the current financial year. If that figure was 500,000 AUD or more, you cannot use carry-forward this year, even if you have unused cap available.

Australia Concessional Contributions Cap Checker

Australia caps before-tax (concessional) super contributions each year. If your total super balance is modest you can also tap carry-forward of unused cap from up to five earlier years. This checker combines the standard cap, the balance test, and your carry-forward to show how much you can still contribute.

How it works

standard cap     = 30,000 (2025-26)
carry-forward ok = total super balance (prior 30 June) < 500,000
usable carry     = carry-forward if eligible, else 0
total cap        = standard cap + usable carry
excess           = max( 0 , contributions − total cap )
remaining        = max( 0 , total cap − contributions )

The carry-forward only unlocks when your total super balance on the previous 30 June was below 500,000 AUD. The standard cap is indexed in 5,000 AUD steps and was 27,500 AUD before rising to 30,000 AUD for 2024-25 onward.

Example

You have made 20,000 AUD of concessional contributions, carry forward 18,000 AUD of unused cap, and your total super balance was 420,000 AUD. Because that is under 500,000 AUD, carry-forward is available: your total cap is 30,000 + 18,000 = 48,000 AUD, leaving 28,000 AUD of room.

Notes

The five-year carry-forward window means unused cap from the oldest year drops off if not used. Non-concessional contributions and the separate non-concessional cap are not modelled here. Confirm exact figures with the ATO or your fund.