Super contribution caps for 2026–27: what's changed and what it means for you

6 min read · General information only

Every 1 July, the amount you're allowed to add to super before extra tax kicks in gets reviewed. For the 2026–27 financial year, the caps have moved up again — which opens up a bit more room for people looking to build their balance in a tax-effective way.

The headline numbers

The concessional cap covers employer Super Guarantee payments, salary sacrifice, and any personal contributions you claim as a tax deduction. It's indexed to wages growth, which is why it tends to creep up every couple of years rather than every year.

The non-concessional cap — contributions from money you've already paid tax on — is set at four times the concessional cap, so it moves in step.

Who this actually matters for

• Business owners and higher-income earners who salary sacrifice or make personal deductible contributions to reduce taxable income each year — there's now an extra $2,500 of headroom.
• Anyone doing a large one-off contribution — such as from an inheritance, a business sale, or downsizing the family home — where the bring-forward rule lets you use up to three years of non-concessional cap in one go.
• People with unused concessional cap from previous years — if your total super balance was under $500,000 at last 30 June, you may be able to carry forward unused amounts from the past five years, on top of this year's $32,500.

A common scenario

Say you're 55, running your own business, and you've had a strong year. You might use salary sacrifice to bring your concessional contributions up to the new $32,500 cap — reducing this year's taxable income while adding to super at the concessional 15% tax rate rather than your marginal rate. If you've also got unused cap from prior years and a balance under $500,000, that gap could be considerably larger.

On the other side, if you've just sold an investment property or received an inheritance, the bring-forward rule means you could potentially contribute up to $390,000 in after-tax dollars in a single year — effectively three years of cap brought forward — subject to your total super balance and age.

What to check before you act

• Your total superannuation balance as at last 30 June — this determines both your carry-forward eligibility and whether you can make non-concessional contributions at all.
• Whether you've already triggered the bring-forward rule in a previous year — if so, you're generally locked into the old cap amounts until that period ends.
• Your Division 293 position if your income is above $250,000 — an extra 15% applies to concessional contributions above that threshold.

The caps are a ceiling, not a target — the right contribution amount depends on your cash flow, your other savings goals, and how close you are to retirement. Getting the timing wrong (particularly around the bring-forward rule or the total super balance thresholds) can be costly to unwind.