Concessional Contributions Cap Calculator: How Much Can You Put Into Super Tax-Effectively in 2025-26?

If you're thinking about topping up your super or using salary sacrifice to cut your tax bill, understanding the concessional contributions cap is essential. In FY 2025-26, most Australians can contribute up to $30,000 in concessional (pre-tax) super contributions per year — but that figure includes your employer's compulsory contributions, so there's often less room left than people expect. This guide explains how the cap works, how to calculate your available space, and what happens if you go over.

What Are Concessional Contributions?

Concessional contributions are pre-tax super contributions that are taxed at a concessional rate of 15% inside your super fund — rather than at your marginal income tax rate (which could be up to 45%). This is what makes them so attractive: high earners can save a significant amount of tax by redirecting income into super.

Concessional contributions include:

• Employer Super Guarantee (SGC) contributions — your employer's compulsory 12% contributions in FY 2025-26
• Salary sacrifice contributions — additional pre-tax contributions you arrange with your employer
• Personal deductible contributions — contributions you make yourself and then claim as a tax deduction (available to self-employed people, and also to employees who meet certain conditions)

All of these count toward the same concessional cap. This is a point many people miss: your employer's SGC already uses up a portion of your $30,000 cap before you make a single voluntary contribution.

Note: if your income exceeds $250,000, you'll also pay an additional 15% tax on concessional contributions under the Division 293 rules, bringing the effective tax rate to 30% — still lower than the 45% top marginal rate, but worth factoring in.

The FY 2025-26 Concessional Cap: $30,000

The concessional contributions cap for FY 2025-26 is $30,000. This applies to most Australians regardless of age (the previous age-based rules were removed in earlier years).

Source: ATO concessional contributions cap. The cap is indexed to AWOTE in $2,500 increments.

How to Calculate Your Available Cap Space

Your available concessional cap space is simply:

Your employer's SGC is calculated as 12% of your ordinary time earnings in FY 2025-26. Here's how the numbers work at different salary levels:

Note: SGC is capped at the maximum super contribution base ($65,070 per quarter in FY 2025-26). Above this salary, employer SGC is not required to increase further.

As you can see, if you earn $250,000 or more, your employer's SGC alone will fill your entire $30,000 cap — leaving zero room for voluntary concessional contributions without triggering excess contributions tax.

To see how salary sacrifice affects your take-home pay and tax bill, use our Salary Sacrifice Calculator. And to understand your full income tax position, try the Income Tax Calculator.

Carry-Forward Unused Cap Amounts

One of the most powerful (and underused) rules in Australian super is the ability to carry forward unused concessional cap amounts from previous years. If you didn't use your full cap in earlier years, you may be able to make a larger concessional contribution in a future year — potentially far above $30,000.

The rules are:

• Carry-forward applies to unused cap amounts from FY 2018-19 onwards (unused amounts before this date cannot be carried forward)
• Unused amounts can be carried forward for up to 5 years before they expire
• To use carry-forward, your total super balance must be below $500,000 on 30 June of the previous financial year
• You can check your unused cap amounts in ATO Online Services via MyGov

For example, if you had a super balance below $500,000 at 30 June 2025, and you didn't use your full cap in FY 2022-23, FY 2023-24, and FY 2024-25, you could potentially contribute significantly more than $30,000 in FY 2025-26 on a concessional basis — using those accumulated unused amounts.

This is particularly useful if you've had periods of lower income (for example, parental leave, part-time work, or career breaks) and now have higher income and want to boost your super in a tax-effective way.

What Happens If You Exceed the Cap?

Going over the concessional cap is a situation you want to avoid. Here's what happens:

• Excess concessional contributions are included in your assessable income and taxed at your marginal rate — just like regular income
• You receive a 15% tax offset to reflect the contributions tax already paid by your super fund
• The ATO issues an excess concessional contributions determination. You can either leave the excess in super (which will also count toward your non-concessional contributions cap) or have up to 85% of it released from super to help pay the tax
• You'll also be charged the excess concessional contributions charge — a shortfall interest charge — for the period the excess was in your super fund

The key takeaway: exceeding the cap doesn't lead to a dramatic penalty, but it does mean you lose the tax advantage of super contributions — you end up paying your marginal rate anyway, just more slowly and with extra admin hassle.

Tips to Stay Within Your Cap

Here are some practical steps to manage your concessional contributions effectively:

• Check your YTD contributions: Log into MyGov → ATO Online Services → Super → Concessional contributions to see how much has been contributed so far this financial year
• Factor in your SGC first: Always start your calculation from your employer's 12% SGC — this is already using part of your cap
• Set a salary sacrifice amount carefully: If you're salary sacrificing, make sure the total of SGC + sacrifice stays at or below $30,000 for the year. This is easy to miscalculate if your salary changes mid-year
• Watch out for employer super above SGC: Some employers make contributions above the minimum SGC (for example, in enterprise agreements or salary packages that include super). These also count toward your concessional cap
• Time personal deductible contributions carefully: If you're self-employed or making personal contributions and claiming a deduction, lodge your Notice of intent to claim a deduction before you lodge your tax return — and check you haven't already used your cap via SGC

For a full picture of your take-home pay — including how salary sacrifice and super contributions affect your net income — use our Take-Home Pay Calculator. To project how contributions grow your retirement balance over time, see the Superannuation Calculator.

Summary: Concessional Contributions Cap in FY 2025-26

• The concessional contributions cap is $30,000 in FY 2025-26
• It includes all concessional contributions: employer SGC (12%), salary sacrifice, and personal deductible contributions
• Contributions are taxed at 15% inside the fund (or 30% for incomes above $250,000 under Division 293)
• Your employer's SGC alone can use $7,200–$30,000 of the cap, depending on your salary
• Unused cap amounts can be carried forward for up to 5 years if your super balance is below $500,000
• Exceeding the cap means the excess is taxed at your marginal rate, negating the tax benefit
• Check your current contributions and available cap in MyGov → ATO Online Services

Use our free calculators to make the most of your concessional contributions:

• Salary Sacrifice Calculator — calculate the tax savings from pre-tax super contributions
• Superannuation Calculator — project your super balance with extra contributions
• Take-Home Pay Calculator — see your net pay after salary sacrifice and other deductions
• Income Tax Calculator — understand your marginal rate and the tax benefit of contributing to super
• Medicare Levy Calculator — check your Medicare Levy and Surcharge obligations