Two things make 2026 a landmark year for Australian superannuation. The compulsory rate an employer pays reached its legislated ceiling of 12 percent, and a new tax on very large balances passed into law. The first change quietly lifts what lands in almost every worker’s fund; the second reshapes the calculus for a small number of people with more than three million dollars saved. Between those bookends sit the annual caps, the thresholds and the tax settings that decide how much you can put in and what the fund keeps. Here is where all of it stands for the year ended 30 June 2026 and what shifts on 1 July.
The guarantee reaches 12 percent
From 1 July 2025 the Superannuation Guarantee is 12 percent of ordinary time earnings, and 2025-26 is the first full financial year at that rate. It climbed in half-point steps from 9.5 percent over the past decade, and 12 percent is the end of the schedule, so there is no further rise pencilled in. On a salary of $90,000 paid as ordinary time earnings, the employer now pays $10,800 a year into super, up from $10,350 when the rate was 11.5 percent. The gap widens with pay:
| Ordinary earnings | SG at 11.5% (2024-25) | SG at 12% (2025-26) | Extra per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| $60,000 | $6,900 | $7,200 | $300 |
| $80,000 | $9,200 | $9,600 | $400 |
| $100,000 | $11,500 | $12,000 | $500 |
| $150,000 | $17,250 | $18,000 | $750 |
| $200,000 | $23,000 | $24,000 | $1,000 |
There is a ceiling on the earnings that attract compulsory super. For 2025-26 the maximum contribution base is $62,500 a quarter, so an employer is not obliged to pay the guarantee on earnings above that in any single quarter. From 1 July 2026 the quarterly base is replaced by a single annual cap of $270,830, which stops a person paid unevenly across the year from losing entitlements. You can see the guarantee alongside income tax and the Medicare levy for any wage with the Australia salary calculator.
What you can add, and the tax on it
Employer contributions, salary sacrifice and personal contributions you claim a deduction for are all concessional, and they share one annual cap. For 2025-26 that cap is $30,000. It rises to $32,500 from 1 July 2026, the first movement since it was set at $27,500 through mid-2024. On a $90,000 salary the $10,800 guarantee leaves room to salary sacrifice about $19,200 more before reaching the 2025-26 limit. Contributions inside the cap are taxed at 15 percent as they enter the fund, which is below the marginal rate of most full-time earners, and that gap is the reason salary sacrifice works.
If you did not use the full cap in earlier years you may be able to carry the unused amount forward for up to five years, provided your total super balance was under $500,000 on the previous 30 June. That lets someone who took time out of the workforce make a larger deductible contribution in a single high-income year.
After-tax money you put in without claiming a deduction is non-concessional, capped at $120,000 for 2025-26. The bring-forward rule lets you use up to three years at once, so as much as $360,000 in one hit, if your total super balance is far enough below the limit. Once your balance reaches $2 million on the prior 30 June, the non-concessional cap drops to nil. From 2026-27 the non-concessional cap follows the higher concessional cap up to $130,000.
Division 293 and the government’s helping hand
High earners pay more than 15 percent on their concessional contributions. Division 293 adds a further 15 percent, for 30 percent in total, once your income plus those contributions passes $250,000. That threshold has held at $250,000 for years and does not move for 2026.
At the other end of the scale, two measures top up smaller balances. The government co-contribution matches personal after-tax contributions up to $500 for people earning below $47,488 in 2025-26, tapering to nothing at $62,488. The low income super tax offset refunds the 15 percent contributions tax, up to $500, for anyone with adjusted taxable income up to $37,000, so the lowest earners are not taxed more on their super than on their take-home pay. Both are paid automatically once your fund and tax return are matched.
The Division 296 tax on large balances
The headline change for 2026 targets the top of the system. The Treasury Laws Amendment (Building a Stronger and Fairer Super System) Act received Royal Assent in March 2026 and starts on 1 July 2026, so the first year it touches is 2026-27, with the first assessments based on total super balances at 30 June 2027. It applies an extra 15 percent to the earnings attributable to the part of a balance above $3 million, lifting the rate on that slice to 30 percent, and a further step to 40 percent on the part above $10 million.
The version that passed differs from the original proposal in one important way: it taxes realised earnings, the income and gains actually banked when assets are sold, rather than paper gains on assets still held. Both the $3 million and $10 million thresholds are indexed to inflation, moving in steps of $150,000 and $500,000. A worked case shows the scale. Someone with $4 million in super has $1 million, or a quarter of the balance, above the threshold. If the fund books $200,000 of realised earnings, a quarter of that, $50,000, is attributable to the excess and attracts the extra 15 percent, an added $7,500 for the year. For the roughly 0.5 percent of people affected, the FIRE number calculator and the compound interest calculator are useful for testing how a balance grows against the fixed thresholds over time.
Getting the money out
Preservation age, the point you can first reach your super, is now 60 for everyone, having finished its long climb in mid-2024. Reaching 60 lets you start a transition-to-retirement income stream while still working; retiring or turning 65 opens full access. When you move savings into a tax-free retirement pension, the amount you can transfer is limited by the transfer balance cap, which rose to $2 million on 1 July 2025. Earnings on money kept in the accumulation phase are still taxed at up to 15 percent, while earnings supporting a retirement pension within the cap are untaxed. To see how a target balance translates into yearly income, the retirement savings calculator works through the drawdown.
Frequently asked questions
What is the super guarantee rate in 2025-26? It is 12 percent of ordinary time earnings, the first full year at the final legislated rate. It rose from 11.5 percent on 1 July 2025 and is not scheduled to increase further.
How much can I contribute before extra tax applies? The concessional cap is $30,000 for 2025-26, covering employer, salary-sacrifice and deductible personal contributions, rising to $32,500 from 1 July 2026. The non-concessional (after-tax) cap is $120,000, or up to $360,000 using the three-year bring-forward.
Who pays the Division 296 tax? People whose total super balance is above $3 million. It adds 15 percent to the earnings attributable to the portion over $3 million, and a further step above $10 million, starting from 1 July 2026 and assessed first on balances at 30 June 2027.
Does Division 296 tax unrealised gains? No. The Act that passed applies to realised earnings, the income and gains actually received when assets are sold, not paper gains on assets you still hold.
When can I access my super? Preservation age is 60 for everyone. At 60 you can start a transition-to-retirement pension while working; retiring after 60, or turning 65, gives full access.
These figures are an estimate for orientation, not financial advice. Sources: the Australian Taxation Office key super rates and thresholds (guarantee rate, contribution caps, Division 293 threshold, transfer balance cap and government contributions), and the Treasury and Parliament record for the Building a Stronger and Fairer Super System Act (Division 296). Confirm your own position with your fund or a licensed adviser.
Sources
- Australian Taxation Office, Key superannuation rates and thresholds.
- Australian Taxation Office, Super guarantee percentage.
- Australian Taxation Office, Contributions caps.
- The Treasury, Better targeted superannuation concessions (Division 296).