Contribution caps

What are contribution caps?

Contribution caps are limits the Australian Government puts on amounts you can contribute to your super without paying extra tax. There are different caps for your concessional (before tax) and non-concessional (after tax) contributions.

All contributions you make to any super fund during the financial year count towards your caps.

The simplest way to track concessional contributions to your Brighter Super Accumulation account is by logging into Member Online, where your account dashboard will display your contribution totals for the financial year. To view contributions across multiple funds, you will need to log in to your MyGov portal.

Concessional contributions cap

A concessional contribution is one made to your super account from before-tax money, including employer contributions, salary sacrificed contributions and any contributions you claim as a tax deduction.

Everyone has a concessional contributions cap of $30,000 for the 2024/25 financial year. All concessional contributions are taxed at 15% when they are paid into your super account.

Carry-forward concessional contributions

It is possible to carry forward unused concessional contributions cap amounts from 1 July 2018. What this means is that your concessional contribution cap may be higher than the annual rate, depending on the amount of concessional contributions you have made in previous years and provided you have a total superannuation balance of less than $500,000 at the end of 30 June in the previous year.

Unused amounts are available for a maximum of five years, and will expire after this.

You can keep track of the amount of your concessional contributions by logging into your myGov account and going to ATO online services. The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) also provides an example of how you can work out what is available to you as a carry-forward concessional contribution.

What if I go over the concessional contribution cap?

Excess concessional contributions are included in your taxable income, taxed at your marginal tax rate less a 15% tax offset to account for the contributions tax already paid by your super fund. If you exceed the annual cap you can elect to withdraw up to 85% of your excess concessional contributions (this is the amount of your contribution less the 15% contributions tax that has already been paid to the ATO on these amounts) from super. The ATO will contact you to explain your options. If there’s a chance you could exceed your cap, talk to your payroll area or contact us.

Tax deduction for personal contributions

Anyone under age 67, or anyone aged 67 to 74 who satisfies the work test, can claim a tax deduction for contributions made from after-tax money. However, when claimed as a tax deduction, these contributions will count towards the concessional contributions cap and be taxed at 15% when paid into a super account.

What if I don’t reach the concessional contributions cap?

Anyone with a total superannuation balance of less than $500,000 (at the end of a financial year), can carry forward the unused portion of their concessional contributions cap on a rolling basis for a period of 5 years. This means from 1 July 2024, you can add the unused portion of your annual concessional contributions cap from the last five financial years to your 2024/25 annual cap. Amounts not used will expire after five years.

Defined benefits

If you have a defined benefit, a specific formula is used to work out the value of concessional contributions that have been made and these are referred to as your notional taxed contributions (NTC).

If your NTC exceeds the concessional contributions cap, your contributions are still considered to be within the cap and will not be subject to additional tax. However, any additional concessional contributions on top of the NTCs (in excess of the concessional contributions cap) will be subject to the additional tax. Read the relevant defined benefit guide to find out more about NTC calculations.

Non-concessional contributions cap

Non-concessional contributions are made from income you have already paid tax on. The annual non-concessional contributions cap is $120,000 for the 2024/25 financial year.

^{*If an individual entered into a bring forward arrangement before 1 July 2021, the previous bring forward limit of $300,000 will apply. Bring forward amount also depends on your Total Superannuation Balance at 30 June of the previous year.}

What if I exceed the non-concessional contributions cap?

Contributions made above the cap will be taxed at the maximum rate of 47% (including the Medicare levy). If you go over your non-concessional contributions cap, you can elect to withdraw any excess contributions and associated earnings from your super as determined by the ATO.

Bring forward arrangements

If you are under age 75 at any point in a financial year, you may be able to ‘bring forward’ the next 2 years’ non-concessional contributions caps. This means you can contribute up to $360,000. Eligibility criteria may apply so please contact us for more information.

It is important to note that if you entered into a bring forward arrangement in a year where the non-concessional contributions cap was different to the current amount (e.g. if you entered into an arrangement before 1 July 2021 where the cap was $100,000 instead of the current $120,000), then the previous bring forward limit will apply.

Upper threshold for non-concessional contributions

If you are under age 74 at any time during the financial year, you can bring forward up to two years of non-concessional contributions, providing your Total Superannuation Balance at 30 June of the previous year was less than $1.66 million.

^{*This is based on the current non-concessional contributions cap of $120,000 for the 2024/25 financial year.}

Where the bring forward rule is used, total non-concessional contributions made in the three-year period (starting on 1 July of the first financial year in which non-concessional contributions exceeded the cap) cannot exceed the bring forward cap for the year in which the bring forward is triggered. This means the bring forward cap available for the three-year period is not indexed if the non-concessional contributions cap is indexed in that period.

Before making a contribution, read more on the ATO website or contact us for financial advice on how this may impact your personal circumstances.

Additional tax for high income earners

If you’re a high-income earner, you may be liable for an additional tax on your superannuation contributions, known as Division 293 tax.

Division 293 tax is an additional 15% tax on certain contributions and is generally payable if your combined income and concessional contributions for Division 293 purposes is more than $250,000 in the financial year.

If you are liable for this extra tax, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) will calculate the amount payable when you submit your annual tax return and advise you accordingly.

You can find out more about Division 293 tax, including examples, on the ATO website