Every conversation about salary sacrifice eventually hits the same question: how much room do I actually have? The answer is governed by a single number — the concessional contributions cap, $30,000 for 2025–26 — but what counts toward it surprises a lot of people. Your employer’s super guarantee contributions eat into the same cap as your salary sacrifice, and personal deductible contributions share it too. Misunderstand the cap and you can accidentally sacrifice money that ends up taxed at your full marginal rate anyway.
This guide sets out exactly what counts toward the $30,000 cap, what does not, how to work out your remaining room, what happens if you go over, and the carry-forward rule that can give you tens of thousands of dollars of extra room. Use our free salary sacrifice calculator to model your own position.
The $30,000 concessional cap: what counts toward it
Concessional contributions are contributions made from pre-tax income. The $30,000 cap for 2025–26 covers all of the following combined:
| Counts toward the $30,000 cap? | Contribution type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | Super guarantee (SG) from your employer — 12% in 2025–26 | The biggest item for most employees; often $10,000–$25,000 on its own |
| Yes | Salary sacrifice contributions | Any amount you agree to forgo from pre-tax pay |
| Yes | Personal contributions you claim a tax deduction for | Requires a notice of intent acknowledged before you lodge your return |
| Yes | Employer contributions above SG (e.g. award or contractual top-ups) | Any employer contribution from pre-tax money counts |
| No | Personal after-tax contributions (non-concessional) | These count toward the separate $120,000 non-concessional cap instead |
| No | Spouse contributions | Count toward the contributing spouse’s own caps, not yours |
| No | Government co-contributions | Not counted against your caps |
| No | Downsizer contributions | Separate rules; do not count toward either cap |
The critical insight is that the cap is not “$30,000 of salary sacrifice on top of your employer’s super” — it is $30,000 of everything concessional combined. On a $100,000 salary, SG of 12% uses $12,000, leaving $18,000 of room. On a $150,000 salary, SG uses $18,000, leaving $12,000. On a $250,000 salary, SG uses $30,000 and there is no room left at all — any salary sacrifice on top would exceed the cap.
How to work out your remaining cap room
Start with your salary and multiply by 12% to estimate your SG for the year — remembering that SG is paid on ordinary time earnings, which for most salaried employees is close to their full salary but may exclude some overtime and bonuses. Subtract that from $30,000, then subtract any salary sacrifice amounts you have already arranged and any personal deductible contributions you plan to make. What remains is your room.
| Salary | SG at 12% | Cap room remaining | Max salary sacrifice |
|---|---|---|---|
| $80,000 | $9,600 | $20,400 | $20,400 |
| $100,000 | $12,000 | $18,000 | $18,000 |
| $120,000 | $14,400 | $15,600 | $15,600 |
| $150,000 | $18,000 | $12,000 | $12,000 |
| $200,000 | $24,000 | $6,000 | $6,000 |
| $250,000 | $30,000 | $0 | $0 |
For an exact figure, check your myGov ATO account: under the Super section you can see concessional contributions reported for you so far in the financial year. Your fund’s own reporting can lag, so cross-check with your payslips. If you changed jobs during the year, remember that contributions from both employers count toward the same single cap — a common trap for mid-year job changers.
The carry-forward rule: extra room you may already have
If your total super balance was under $500,000 at 30 June of the previous financial year, you can carry forward unused concessional cap amounts from up to the previous five financial years. This is a powerful and underused rule: someone who contributed only SG of $12,000 a year for five years has up to $90,000 of unused cap space banked, and can make a large catch-up concessional contribution in a single year.
The ATO applies carry-forward amounts automatically if you exceed the standard cap, starting with the oldest unused amount first, and the amounts expire after five years. You can see your available carry-forward balance in myGov. This rule is particularly valuable in a year when you receive a large bonus, sell an asset, or otherwise have a spike in income — a big deductible contribution in a high-income year can save tax at your top marginal rate.
What happens if you exceed the cap?
Exceeding the concessional cap is not a disaster, but it does erase the tax benefit. The ATO will issue an excess concessional contributions determination: the excess amount is added to your assessable income and taxed at your marginal rate, you receive a 15% tax offset for the contributions tax your fund already paid, and interest charges apply. You can elect to release up to 85% of the excess from your super fund to help pay the resulting tax bill. If you do not release it, the excess also counts toward your non-concessional cap, which can create a second problem.
There is also Division 293 to consider: if your income plus concessional contributions exceed $250,000, an additional 15% tax applies to the lesser of your concessional contributions and the amount above $250,000. For most employees under that threshold it is irrelevant, but for high earners it effectively halves the tax benefit of concessional contributions, and it is worth factoring into any sacrifice decision.
Common traps that push people over the cap
- Two jobs, one cap: SG from both employers counts toward the same $30,000. If both pay SG on substantial salaries, you can breach the cap without sacrificing a dollar.
- SG on bonuses: If your bonus attracts SG, a large bonus year can push your total concessional contributions higher than expected.
- Forgetting personal deductible contributions: A lump-sum personal contribution you plan to claim as a deduction shares the cap with your SG and salary sacrifice — it is easy to double-count your room.
- Timing across financial years: Contributions count in the year your fund receives them, not the year you arranged them. A June salary sacrifice paid into your fund in July counts toward the next year’s cap.
- Not checking myGov: Fund reporting lags and employer payroll errors both happen. The ATO’s figure is the one that matters, so verify it before making a large contribution.
Strategies for using the cap well
First, treat the cap as a budget: allocate it deliberately across SG, sacrifice and deductible contributions rather than letting each decision happen in isolation. Second, if you have carry-forward room, consider using it in your highest-income years, when the tax saving per dollar is greatest. Third, if you are close to the cap, prefer a personal deductible contribution over salary sacrifice for the final amount — you can set the exact figure after the year ends, once you know your SG total, rather than guessing mid-year. Fourth, if you hold multiple jobs, you can apply to the ATO for an employer shortfall exemption certificate so one employer stops paying SG once you expect to exceed the cap — this avoids the excess problem at the source.
How the cap interacts with the super guarantee charge
One more interaction is worth knowing about: if an employer fails to pay SG on time, the super guarantee charge (SGC) regime applies, and SGC amounts are not concessional contributions — they are treated differently and do not use cap room in the same way. This matters if you are reconciling a year in which an employer paid late: your myGov concessional total may look lower than you expected, which could mean you have more cap room than your payslips suggest. Conversely, if an employer pays SG quarterly in arrears, a payment for the June quarter may not reach your fund until July, shifting it into the next financial year’s cap. When you are planning a large deductible contribution near 30 June, always confirm the date your fund actually receives the money, not just the date you sent it.
Frequently asked questions
What is the concessional contributions cap for 2025-26?
$30,000. It covers employer SG contributions, salary sacrifice amounts and personal contributions you claim a tax deduction for, combined.
Does my employer’s super guarantee count toward the $30,000 cap?
Yes. SG is a concessional contribution and uses cap room dollar for dollar — on a $150,000 salary, SG of about $18,000 leaves only $12,000 of room.
What counts as a concessional contribution?
Any contribution made from pre-tax income: SG, salary sacrifice, personal deductible contributions, and employer contributions above SG. After-tax personal contributions are non-concessional and count toward the separate $120,000 cap.
Can I exceed the cap if I have carry-forward room?
Yes, effectively: if your total super balance was under $500,000 at the previous 30 June, unused cap amounts from the last five years can be used, so your effective cap in a given year can be well above $30,000.
What happens if I go over the cap?
The excess is added to your taxable income and taxed at your marginal rate, with a 15% offset and interest charges. You can release up to 85% of the excess from super to pay the bill.
Does Division 293 tax apply to me?
Only if your income plus concessional contributions exceed $250,000. Below that threshold, Division 293 does not apply.
The bottom line
The $30,000 concessional cap is a single shared budget, not a per-strategy allowance: your employer’s 12% SG, your salary sacrifice and your deductible personal contributions all draw from the same pool. Work out your SG first, subtract it from $30,000, check your carry-forward room in myGov, and only then decide how much to sacrifice. Managed deliberately, the cap is one of the most valuable tax-planning tools available to Australian employees — model your position with the salary sacrifice calculator before committing.