Super contributions caps (2025/2026)

Financial years	Yearly concessional contributions cap
July 2025 – June 2026	$30,000
July 2024 – June 2025	$30,000

Carrying forward your unused concessional contributions caps

Unused concessional contributions cap amounts can be carried forward and allow you to make additional concessional contributions above the yearly cap, if eligible. The idea is that you can increase your concessional contributions in a particular year by taking advantage of any unused cap amounts from previous financial years. You could be eligible if:

your total super balance is less than $500,000 at the end of the previous financial year
you have unused concessional cap amounts available from up to the previous five financial years

Learn more on the ATO website.

Case study: Macy wants to carry forward her unused caps

On 30 June 2025, Macy had a total super balance of $260,000. She hasn’t used up her concessional contributions caps in the past five financial years, so she’s eligible to carry forward her unused caps.

To work out how much she can carry forward in 2025-26, she adds up her total unused caps from the past five years (the difference between her contributions and the total cap for that year):

$7,000 in 2020-21
$13,000 in 2021-22
$15,500 in 2022-23
$0 in 2023-24
$15,000 in 2024-25

Macy’s total available carry-forward amount for 2025-26: $50,500

For 2025-26, the concessional contributions cap is $30,000. However, Macy is able to use her unused cap amounts from the past five financial years on top of the 2025-26 concessional contributions cap.

Macy’s maximum concessional contribution for 2025-26: $50,500 + $30,000 = $80,500

This means she can contribute up to $80,500 as a concessional contribution for the 2025-26 financial year without exceeding the yearly cap.

Financial year	Concessional contributions cap	Macy’s concessional contributions	Unused concessional contributions cap available to carry forward
2020-21	$25,000	$18,000	$7,000
2021-22	$25,000	$12,000	$13,000
2022-23	$27,500	$12,000	$15,500
2023-24	$27,500	$27,500	$0
2024-25	$30,000	$15,000	$15,000
		Total unused concessional contributions:	$50,500
		2025-26 Concessional Contribution Cap:	$30,000
		Max concessional contribution for 2025-26:	$80,500

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What happens if you exceed your concessional contributions cap?

If you exceed your concessional contributions cap, you’ll pay additional tax. The ATO will tell you your options if you do go over the cap.

Concessional contributions are generally taxed at 15%. You may have a higher tax rate if your combined income and concessional super contributions are more than $250,000 in a financial year.

Any contributions over the cap gets taxed at your marginal tax rate, minus the 15% you've already paid. The excess amount is then considered a non-concessional (after-tax) contribution and will count towards your non-concessional contributions cap (more on this below).

You can choose to take this excess amount out. Doing so will mean it won't count towards your non-concessional contributions cap.

For more information on the concessional contributions cap, visit the ATO website.

Non-concessional (after-tax) contributions cap

The non-concessional (after-tax) contributions cap is $120,000 for 2025-26. But not everyone can make these contributions – you won’t be able to make any after-tax contributions without paying additional tax if your total super balance is over $2 million on 30 June 2025.

Non-concessional contributions include personal contributions you make from your after-tax pay and spouse contributions. If you have more than one super fund, all non-concessional contributions made to all your funds are added together and counted towards the cap.

Thinking of making an after-tax contribution?

If you’re a Rest member, you can manage these on the go in the Rest App.

Check out the Rest App

Bringing forward your non-concessional contributions caps

The bring-forward rule lets you make after-tax contributions above the cap without having to pay additional tax, if you’re eligible. The idea is that you’d use up to three years' worth of caps at once. So, instead of spreading out your extra contributions over multiple years, you can add them all in one go.

Like with most super-related policies, there are rules around eligibility and how much you can bring forward. To be eligible, you must:

be under the age of 75 at any time in the financial year*
have a total super balance of less than $2 million.

The contribution cap amount you can bring forward depends on how much super you have at the end of the previous financial year. To take maximum advantage of the bring-forward rule and access three years of caps, your total super balance must be less than $1.76 million.

*includes up to 28 days after the end of the month in which you turn 75.

Learn more about the ‘bring forward arrangement’ on the ATO website.

What happens if you exceed your non-concessional contributions cap?

If your non-concessional contributions go over the cap, you’ll get a determination letter from the ATO. According to the ATO, if you have exceeded your cap, you should wait until you receive the determination letter and have selected your option for how the excess will be treated before you apply to your super fund to take out the excess amount.

If you receive a determination letter from the ATO, you have 60 days to tell them what you want to do. You can do this either:

online via logging on to the ATO online services portal
completing an ‘Excess non-concessional contributions election’ form, either online or by ordering a paper form
through your tax agent, if you have one.

There are generally two options you can take:

Option 2: Leave it in your super account and pay the tax

You can choose to leave the excess amount in your super fund. If you do this, you’ll pay the excess non-concessional contributions tax at the highest marginal tax rate plus Medicare Levy, which is currently 47%.

Need help?

Contributions caps can be confusing. If you’re a Rest member, speak with a Rest Adviser. For simple advice, there is usually no extra charge to you* – it’s part of being a member of Rest.

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^*Rest Advice is provided by Rest staff (Rest Advisers) as Authorised Representatives of MUFG Retire360 Pty Limited ABN 36 105 811 836, AFSL 258145. Rest Advisers are paid a salary and do not pay or receive commissions or fees for advice provided to you. Rest Advice may be accessed by members without incurring additional fees for simple advice on your super account. If you need more complex advice from a Rest Adviser you’ll be charged a fee which will vary depending on the complexity of the advice and will be agreed with you before advice is given. You can obtain a full copy of the Rest Advice and Retire360 Financial Services Guide at rest.com.au/pds or by contacting us.