If you are putting after-tax money into your super — a lump sum from a property sale, an inheritance, or spare savings you want working harder for retirement — there is a strict limit on how much you can add each year. For the 2025-26 financial year, the super non-concessional contributions cap is $120,000. Exceed it, and the excess can be taxed at 47%.
This guide explains exactly what the cap is, how the bring-forward rule lets eligible Australians contribute up to $360,000 across three years, and the practical steps to make a large contribution without tripping the limit. Before you contribute, it is worth checking your numbers with a super calculator so you can see how extra contributions grow your balance over time.
What Is a Non-Concessional Contribution?
Super contributions fall into two buckets, and the distinction matters for tax. Concessional contributions come from pre-tax money — your employer’s Super Guarantee (SG) payments, salary sacrifice, and any personal contributions you claim a tax deduction for. They are taxed at 15% inside your fund, and the concessional cap for 2025-26 is $30,000.
Non-concessional contributions are the opposite: after-tax money. No one claims a tax deduction for them. The most common examples are:
- Personal contributions from your take-home pay or savings, where you do not claim a deduction
- Contributions your spouse makes to your super account
- Contributions made on behalf of a child
- The after-tax portion of a lump sum, such as proceeds from selling an investment property or shares
Because tax has already been paid on this money, non-concessional contributions are not taxed when they enter your fund. The $120,000 cap is simply the maximum the law allows you to add this way in 2025-26.
The 2025-26 Non-Concessional Cap at a Glance
Here are the key figures for the current financial year, confirmed against ATO guidance on the non-concessional contributions cap:
| Rule | 2025-26 figure |
|---|---|
| General non-concessional cap | $120,000 per financial year |
| Bring-forward maximum (3 years) | $360,000 for eligible individuals |
| Age eligibility | Under 75 at any time during the year |
| Balance measured at | 30 June 2025 (the end of the previous financial year) |
| General transfer balance cap | $2.0 million |
The $120,000 cap is unchanged from 2024-25. It is indexed to the concessional cap and the general transfer balance cap, and it rises to $130,000 from 1 July 2026. If you are planning a large contribution, the timing across the 2026 boundary can matter — more on that below.
The Bring-Forward Rule: Up to $360,000 Over Three Years
The bring-forward rule is the part of the non-concessional cap most people should understand. If you are under age 75 and your total super balance (TSB) on 30 June 2025 is below $2.0 million, you can bring forward up to two future years of the non-concessional cap and use them in the current year.
The rule is automatic. You do not lodge a form or apply to the ATO. If your non-concessional contributions in 2025-26 exceed $120,000, a bring-forward period is triggered automatically — but only if your TSB on 30 June 2025 qualifies you for one. The amount you can bring forward depends on which balance tier you sat in:
| Total super balance on 30 June 2025 | 2025-26 non-concessional cap | Bring-forward period |
|---|---|---|
| Less than $1.76 million | $360,000 | 3 years |
| $1.76 million to less than $1.88 million | $240,000 | 2 years |
| $1.88 million to less than $2.0 million | $120,000 | No bring-forward |
| $2.0 million or more | Nil | Not available |
Your TSB is the total of your balances across every super account you hold — accumulation accounts, retirement-phase accounts, and self-managed super — measured at 30 June 2025. Check it in your myGov account before you contribute.
A critical point: once a bring-forward period is triggered, your limit is locked in for the full period. If you triggered a three-year period in 2025-26 with $360,000 of cap space, that same total covers 2026-27 and 2027-28 as well. Any non-concessional contribution in those years counts against the same $360,000 — there is no fresh $120,000 each year while the period is running.
Example: Sarah has a TSB of $900,000 on 30 June 2025. In October 2025 she contributes $200,000 from the sale of an investment property. Because this exceeds $120,000, a three-year bring-forward period triggers automatically, giving her $360,000 of total cap space. She can contribute another $160,000 before 30 June 2028 without exceeding the cap — but nothing more.
What Counts (and Does Not Count) Towards the Cap
Most after-tax contributions count. A few important ones do not:
- Spouse contributions count towards your non-concessional cap, and your spouse may also be eligible for a tax offset of up to $540.
- Downsizer contributions (up to $300,000 per person from selling your home, available from age 55) sit outside the non-concessional cap entirely — they do not use up your $120,000. However, they do increase your total super balance, which affects future bring-forward eligibility.
- Personal injury compensation and eligible small business CGT contributions may be excluded under specific elections — but the rules are technical, so get advice before relying on them.
- Concessional contributions are a separate cap. Your employer’s SG payments (12% of your ordinary time earnings in 2025-26 — see the ATO’s guide to how much super employers must pay) and any salary sacrifice go towards the $30,000 concessional cap, not the $120,000 non-concessional cap. If you earn well, watch both: at 12%, a $250,000 salary already uses the full $30,000 concessional cap through SG alone (employers are not required to pay SG on earnings above the $62,500 quarterly maximum contribution base).
What Happens If You Exceed the Cap?
Breaching the non-concessional cap is expensive. The ATO identifies excess non-concessional contributions through the data your fund reports, and the consequences are:
- Excess contributions tax of 47% applies to the excess amount if it stays in super.
- You get a choice. The ATO will give you an option: withdraw the excess contributions plus 85% of the deemed earnings on them, or leave the excess in super and pay the 47% tax.
- Associated earnings are also taxed. If you withdraw, the remaining 15% of the deemed earnings is added to your assessable income and taxed at your marginal rate (with a 15% tax offset).
- Breaches can follow you. If a bring-forward period is running, an excess in year one eats into cap space for the remaining years, compounding the problem.
Example: James has no bring-forward running and contributes $150,000 of non-concessional money in 2025-26 with a TSB below $1.76 million on 30 June 2025. That is fine — the $150,000 exceeds $120,000, so a three-year bring-forward triggers automatically, and $150,000 is well within his $360,000 limit. But if James had already triggered a $240,000 two-year bring-forward in 2024-25 and contributed $200,000 that year, his remaining space in 2025-26 is only $40,000. A further $150,000 contribution would leave him $110,000 over the cap.
How to Avoid Breaching the Non-Concessional Cap
The rules are unforgiving, but breaches are avoidable with a few habits:
- Check your TSB at 30 June before you contribute. Log into myGov and confirm the exact figure your bring-forward eligibility turns on. Do not estimate.
- Know whether a bring-forward period is already running. A large contribution you made last year may have triggered a period that is still active — your cap space is not refreshed until it ends.
- Confirm no one will claim a deduction. A personal contribution you intended as non-concessional becomes concessional if you (or your fund, through a valid notice) claim a deduction for it — and then it counts against the $30,000 concessional cap instead.
- Time contributions around 1 July with care. Caps reset each financial year. If you contribute $360,000 on 28 June, it all lands in one year and may breach; the same contribution on 2 July starts fresh in the new year. The same applies in reverse — delaying can use next year’s higher $130,000 cap.
- Keep concessional and non-concessional money clearly separated in your records and fund notices.
If you are weighing a lump sum against ongoing salary sacrifice, run both scenarios through a super calculator to compare the long-term growth before committing.
Looking Ahead: 2026-27 Changes
From 1 July 2026, the caps shift upward:
- Non-concessional cap rises from $120,000 to $130,000
- Concessional cap rises from $30,000 to $32,500
- Three-year bring-forward maximum rises from $360,000 to $390,000
- General transfer balance cap rises from $2.0 million to $2.1 million
If you are planning a very large contribution and your TSB is near a threshold, the new year could change which bring-forward tier you qualify for. This is one case where professional advice usually pays for itself.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the super non-concessional cap for 2025-26?
The non-concessional contributions cap for 2025-26 is $120,000 per financial year. It applies to after-tax contributions where no tax deduction is claimed. If your total super balance was $2.0 million or more on 30 June 2025, your non-concessional cap is nil for 2025-26.
How does the bring-forward rule work in 2025-26?
If you are under 75 and your total super balance on 30 June 2025 was below $2.0 million, the bring-forward rule triggers automatically when your non-concessional contributions exceed $120,000 in 2025-26. Depending on your balance tier, you can contribute up to $360,000 over three years, $240,000 over two years, or just the standard $120,000 with no bring-forward. Once triggered, the limit is fixed for the whole period.
What is the penalty for exceeding the non-concessional cap?
Excess non-concessional contributions are taxed at 47% if left in super. The ATO will offer you the option to withdraw the excess plus 85% of the associated earnings instead. Tracking your contributions against your cap — especially during an active bring-forward period — is the best way to avoid this outcome.
Do employer super contributions count towards the non-concessional cap?
No. Employer Super Guarantee contributions (12% in 2025-26) count towards the separate $30,000 concessional contributions cap. The $120,000 non-concessional cap only covers after-tax contributions where no deduction is claimed, such as personal top-ups from savings or spouse contributions.
Can I still use the bring-forward rule after age 65?
Yes — the old age-65 work test for the bring-forward rule was removed. In 2025-26, the rule is available to anyone under 75 at any time during the financial year, subject to the total super balance thresholds. Note that claiming a tax deduction on personal contributions between ages 67 and 74 still requires meeting the work test.
Should I contribute $120,000 this year or wait until 2026-27?
It depends on your total super balance and plans. If your balance is just under a threshold on 30 June 2025, waiting changes nothing for the current year’s eligibility — eligibility is locked to 30 June 2025. But contributing in 2026-27 gives you the higher $130,000 cap and $390,000 bring-forward maximum. Model both options with a super calculator to see the difference in projected retirement savings.
Conclusion: Know Your Cap Before You Contribute
The $120,000 non-concessional cap is straightforward on its own, but the real power — and the real risk — sits in the bring-forward rule. Get your total super balance right at 30 June 2025, know whether a bring-forward period is already running, and you can move up to $360,000 into super tax-effectively. Get it wrong, and the 47% excess tax is a harsh lesson.
Before you transfer a lump sum, check your balance in myGov, confirm your eligibility tier, and run the numbers on our free super calculator to see exactly how your extra contributions could grow your retirement balance.