Superannuation contribution caps for 2026-27: what changed on 1 July 2026

Indexation in line with average weekly ordinary time earnings (AWOTE) lifted the concessional contributions cap on 1 July 2026 for the first time since July 2024 — and because the non-concessional cap is set as a multiple of the concessional cap, the after-tax cap and the bring-forward tiers moved with it. The general transfer balance cap was indexed on the same day, and the new Division 296 tax on large balances applies for the first time. The figures below are the ATO’s published settings for 2026-27.

The general concessional cap is $32,500 for 2026-27, up from $30,000 in 2024-25 and 2025-26 (and $27,500 in the three years before that), per the ATO’s contributions caps page updated 24 April 2026. The cap applies at all ages and is assessed across all your funds together — it covers before-tax amounts such as employer contributions (including salary sacrifice) and personal contributions claimed as a tax deduction.

If your total superannuation balance was under $500,000 at 30 June 2026, the carry-forward rules can increase your 2026-27 cap by unused concessional cap amounts from the previous five financial years (no earlier than 2018-19). Unused amounts expire after five years. Applying that five-year rule to 2026-27, the years in scope are 2021-22 to 2025-26 — so an unused 2021-22 amount lapses if it is not used by 30 June 2027.

Exceeding the concessional cap works as an unwinding rather than a flat penalty: the excess is included in your taxable income and taxed at your marginal tax rate (the separate excess concessional contributions charge no longer applies to contributions made on or after 1 July 2021), and any excess not released from the fund also counts towards your non-concessional cap. Higher earners weighing up concessional contributions should also read our companion resource on Division 293 tax.

The non-concessional contributions cap is $130,000 for 2026-27, up from $120,000, per the ATO’s non-concessional cap guidance updated 7 May 2026 — the cap is a multiple of the concessional cap and is reviewed annually against AWOTE. Two total-super-balance tests sit on top of it, both measured at 30 June 2026: a balance of $2.1 million or more (the general transfer balance cap) makes your 2026-27 non-concessional cap nil, and below that, your balance sets which bring-forward tier is open to you.

The bring-forward arrangement is available only if you were under 75 at some time during the financial year, subject to age-related and other restrictions on the contributions your fund may accept. Once triggered, the arrangement is locked to the cap that applied in its first year: later indexation does not increase it, and the remaining cap for the second or third year falls to nil for any year where your total super balance at the previous 30 June is at or above the general transfer balance cap.

The general transfer balance cap was indexed by $100,000 to $2.1 million on 1 July 2026. Anyone starting their first retirement-phase income stream on or after that date is entitled to the full $2.1 million as their personal cap. Anyone who already had a personal cap — and has not previously reached or exceeded it — receives only a proportional share of the $100,000 indexation based on their unused cap space, per the ATO’s SMSF newsroom article of 19 February 2026. Your personal cap is visible in ATO online services through myGov.

This indexation matters even if retirement is a long way off: the total-super-balance tiers that govern non-concessional contributions are built off the general transfer balance cap, which is why the bring-forward thresholds moved to $1.84 million and $1.97 million for 2026-27. For how the cap operates across pensions and personal cap tracking, see our full explainer on the transfer balance cap.

The better targeted superannuation concessions measure — Division 296 tax — is now law, enacted through the Treasury Laws Amendment (Building a Stronger and Fairer Super System) Act 2026 and the Superannuation (Building a Stronger and Fairer Super System) Imposition Act 2026, and applies from 1 July 2026, per the ATO’s new-legislation page updated 7 July 2026. It applies 15% tax to taxable super earnings — a portion of earnings determined by the extent your total super balance exceeds the large super balance threshold — with an additional 10% on the portion relating to a balance above the very large super balance threshold. For 2026-27 those thresholds are $3 million and $10 million.

Both thresholds will be indexed to CPI — the large threshold in $150,000 increments and the very large threshold in $500,000 increments. For 2026-27, Division 296 applies only if your total super balance at the end of the income year exceeds the $3 million threshold. The tax can generally be paid from your super fund, first assessments for 2026-27 will begin issuing in the later half of the 2027-28 income year, and limited recourse borrowing arrangement amounts are disregarded when calculating total super balance for Division 296 purposes.

• Super guarantee stays at 12%. The super guarantee rate is 12.00% for 2026-27 and remains 12.00% from 1 July 2027 onwards — see our companion resource on super guarantee rates and employer dates.
• Payday Super commenced 1 July 2026. Employers must now pay super guarantee for each payday, calculated on qualifying earnings.
• The maximum contribution base became an annual amount: $270,830. For 2026-27 it is calculated as the concessional contributions cap × 100 ÷ 12, rounded down to the nearest $10.
• The small business CGT cap is $1,935,000 (2025-26: $1,865,000) — a lifetime limit for excluding eligible small business CGT contributions from the non-concessional cap, indexed to AWOTE in $5,000 increments.
• Total super balance is calculated under new rules. The ATO states that from 30 June 2026 the new law introduces the concept of “total super balance value” — in most cases the withdrawal value of a super interest, with regulations prescribing values for some interests such as defined benefit interests. The ATO also notes that changes to fund valuation methods “will impact your TSB from 30 June 2027 onwards” and that it is drafting a law companion ruling to support funds.