Worried about investment market movements?
We've got your back on market ups and downs. Here's why it's important to think about your super long term, especially when you're making extra contributions.
What are extra super contributions?
Putting extra money into your super while you’re working can help you feel more confident about retirement. You may also save some tax along the way. Even small amounts now can make a difference later.
Why make extra contributions?
By making extra contributions, you can benefit from compounding returns.
Compounding means your super earns returns on your savings, as well as the returns that build up over time.
Learn about the benefits of compound interest.
Before-tax and after-tax contributions
What's the difference between these types of contributions?
Before-tax contributions
These are also known as concessional contributions. These are contributions you make from your salary before tax is applied.
After-tax contributions
These are also known as non‑concessional contributions. These contributions are made from money you’ve already paid tax on, like your take-home pay.
You may choose to claim a tax deduction on your after‑tax contributions. This counts towards your concessional contribution cap. Learn more with the How to claim a tax deduction on personal super contributions factsheet (PDF).
Contributions caps
You can add to your super using before‑tax or after‑tax money, but there are limits on how much you can contribute each year. Staying within these caps helps you avoid paying extra tax.
| Before-tax (concessional contributions) | After-tax (non-concessional contributions) |
|---|---|
| $30,000* per financial year | $120,000 per financial year |
*This includes compulsory employer contributions.
Ways to contribute more than your annual caps
If you’re eligible, you may be able to use unused caps from other years to make a larger contribution, without paying extra tax.
Before-tax contributions: Carry forward rule
If your total before-tax contributions (including employer contributions) are below the annual cap in a year, the unused amount may be carried forward for up to five years.
The concessional cap has been:
- $25,000 between 1 July 2020 and 30 June 2021
- $27,500 between 1 July 2021 and 30 June 2024
- $30,000 from 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025
To use carried forward amounts:
- Unused caps expire after five years
- Your total super balance must be less than $500,000 at the previous 30 June
How to check your available amount
- Log in to your ATO account
- Select Super
- Choose Information
- Click Carry forward concessional contributions
- View Unused concessional contributions available to carry forward
After-tax contributions: Bring-forward arrangement
If you contribute more than $120,000 in a financial year, you may be able to access future year caps. This is called a bring forward arrangement.
If you’re under 75, you may be able to contribute up to three times the annual cap in one year. How much you can bring forward depends on your total super balance.
Example:
- Mei has a super balance of $400,000 and receives a $250,000 inheritance
- Using the bring forward arrangement, she could contribute the full $250,000 to super in one go
- To avoid extra tax, she needs to make sure her total non concessional contributions don’t exceed $360,000 over three financial years.*
* Example is for illustrative purposes only.
Worried about investment market movements?
Advice and resources
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Our Advice team can help talk you through your options and answer general questions about contributions.