Super calculator 2026–27 (Australia)

How super is paid and taxed

Your employer must pay the Super Guarantee of 12% of your ordinary earnings into your super fund, on top of your salary. These are concessional (before-tax) contributions: your fund pays 15% contributions tax on them, which is less than most people’s income tax rate. Salary sacrifice works the same way, so moving part of your salary into super usually saves tax.

Example: $85,000 salary, $5,000 salary sacrifice

• Employer super: 12% of $85,000 = $10,200 a year.
• Salary sacrifice: $5,000 costs you $3,400 in take-home pay, because you save 30% income tax and the 2% Medicare levy on it.
• Into super: $15,200 before tax, $12,920 after the 15% contributions tax.
• You’re ahead by $850 a year: $4,250 lands in super for $3,400 of take-home pay.
• At 67: starting with $60,000 at 35, growing 6.5% a year with 0.8% fees, your super could be worth about $900,000 in today’s money.

Caps and limits for 2026–27

• Concessional cap: $32,500 a year, including your employer’s 12%. If your total super balance was under $500,000 on 30 June, you can use unused cap from the last five years.
• Non-concessional cap: $130,000 a year of after-tax contributions, or up to $390,000 in one go under the bring-forward rule.
• Division 293 tax: if your income plus concessional contributions is over $250,000, you pay a further 15% on the contributions above that line.
• Low income super tax offset: on income up to $37,000, the government refunds the 15% tax on your contributions, up to $500. From 1 July 2027 this rises to income up to $45,000.
• Payday Super: from 1 July 2026 employers must pay super at the same time as wages, so it should reach your fund within seven business days of payday.

When salary sacrifice makes sense

• It saves the most on incomes over $45,000, where your tax rate is 30% or more against 15% in super.
• It saves little on lower incomes. There, an after-tax contribution with the government co-contribution may be better.
• The money is locked away until you reach preservation age (60) and retire, or turn 65. Check your employer still pays 12% on your full salary before sacrificing.

Withdrawals from super after 60 are tax-free, and the Age Pension may come on top from 67. To see your whole pay, use the Australia pay calculator. This calculator uses 2026–27 tax rates for a resident with the tax-free threshold. It treats growth as after investment tax and fees as a percentage, and doesn’t include insurance premiums. Growth is not guaranteed.