Division 293 tax explained: the extra 15% on super contributions for higher earners

Division 293 tax is an extra 15% tax on some or all of your concessional (before-tax) super contributions, payable when your combined income and concessional contributions for Division 293 purposes exceed $250,000 in an income year. The ATO assesses it automatically once it has your tax return and your fund’s contribution reporting; you can pay it with your own money or elect, within 60 days of the assessment, to release the amount from super.

Key points:
- Division 293 tax applies when combined Division 293 income plus concessional super contributions exceed **$250,000** — a threshold that has applied since 2017–18 and remains current as at 12 July 2026, per the [ATO’s key super rates](https://www.ato.gov.au/tax-rates-and-codes/key-superannuation-rates-and-thresholds/division-293-tax).
- The 15% tax applies only to the *lesser* of your concessional contributions or the amount by which you exceed $250,000 — someone just over the threshold pays Division 293 tax on only a small slice of contributions.
- For the contributions caught, the combined effect is 30% — the standard 15% contributions tax paid by the fund plus the 15% Division 293 tax. The law is titled “Sustaining the superannuation contribution concession”: it reduces, rather than removes, the concession.
- Division 293 income is broader than taxable income: it adds back reportable fringe benefits and net financial investment and rental property losses, so negative-gearing losses cannot reduce it, and one-off events like a capital gain, termination payment or back pay can trigger the tax in a single year.
- There is nothing extra to lodge — the ATO issues a Division 293 notice of assessment automatically, and the tax is due 21 days after the notice under section 293-65 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997.
- You can elect within 60 days of the assessment to release the amount from super via an ATO release authority — but the election cannot be withdrawn or reversed, and it does not extend the payment due date.
- Excess concessional contributions are excluded from the Division 293 calculation, but contributions covered by [carry-forward (catch-up) cap amounts](/technical-resources/glossary#carry-forward-concessional) are all counted — relevant now the general concessional cap is $32,500 for 2026–27.