When is the total super balance measured?

At the 30 June 2026 before the trigger year — the year the client first contributes more than the annual $130,000 cap. The balance on the day of the contribution is irrelevant; so is a balance that rises afterwards.

Is the bring-forward something the client elects into?

No. It triggers automatically in the first year non-concessional contributions exceed $130,000, provided the balance and age tests are met. There is no form and no choice — which is why an accidental $130,001 contribution locks the client into a period they may not have wanted.

Can a bring-forward already triggered be interrupted?

The tier is not recalculated once the arrangement has started. The separate nil-cap rule still applies, though: in any year — including the second or third of a period — where total super balance at the prior 30 June is at or above the general transfer balance cap of $2,100,000, the cap for that year is nil. The period keeps running while the room is unavailable.

What does the 75 age test actually require?

That the member is under 75 at some time in the financial year. A client who turns 75 during the year was under it at the start, so the arrangement can still be triggered; a client already 75 at 1 July 2026 cannot.

Do downsizer or small business CGT amounts use the cap?

No — both sit outside the non-concessional cap, so they can be made alongside a bring-forward. The small business CGT lifetime cap is $1,935,000. Downsizer amounts do add to total super balance from the following measurement date, which can close the tier for a later contribution.

What happens if the client contributes more than the cap?

The ATO issues an excess non-concessional contributions determination. The client can release the excess together with an amount of associated earnings, which is then taxable to them, or leave it in and have the excess taxed at a penalty rate. Neither outcome is a planning position — check the tier before the contribution, not after.

Australia · Explainer

Bring-forward contributions

Up to $390,000 of non-concessional contributions in one year, instead of $130,000. Which period a client can use is decided by one number on one day — their total super balance at the 30 June 2026 before the trigger year.

AU FY2026-27 Law Last reviewed 31 July 2026

What it is

The bring-forward arrangement lets a client use up to two future years’ non-concessional cap in the current year: $390,000 across three years, or $260,000 across two, all of which can go in at once. It triggers automatically the first time contributions exceed the annual $130,000 cap — there is nothing to elect.

Two tests decide what is available: total super balance at the 30 June 2026 before the trigger year, and being under 75 at some time in the year. The balance test is the one that does the work, and it is a set of hard steps rather than a taper.

Key figures

Non-concessional contributions cap: $130,000
Bring-forward — two-year period: $260,000
Bring-forward — three-year period: $390,000
Bring-forward — age limit: 75

How it works

The trigger year sets the period. Exceeding $130,000 in a year starts the arrangement, and the tier is fixed by the balance at the 30 June 2026 before it. The period then runs whether or not the client contributes again.
Nil at the general cap. A total super balance at or above $2,100,000 takes the non-concessional cap to nil for the year — no annual cap, no bring-forward. That is the same figure as the general transfer balance cap, doing a second job.
Under 75 at some time in the year. Age is tested across the financial year, not at the contribution date, so a client who turns 75 in October was still under it at 1 July 2026.
Some contributions sit outside it entirely. Downsizer amounts and contributions under the $1,935,000 small business CGT lifetime cap do not use non-concessional cap space — though downsizer amounts do lift total super balance for later years.

Bring-forward calculator

The balance that matters is the one at the 30 June 2026 before the trigger year — the year the client first contributes more than the annual cap. A later balance movement does not disturb an arrangement already triggered.

Total super balance at 30 June 2026

$1,000,000

Age at 1 July 2026

A bring-forward needs the member to be under 75 at some time in the year.

Non-concessional contributions available

$390,000

Three-year bring-forward — $390,000 across 3 years, all of which can be contributed in the first year.

Bring-forward availability by total super balance at 30 June 2026
Total super balance at 30 June 2026	Available	Cap
Under $1,840,000	Three-year bring-forward	$390,000
$1,840,000 to under $1,970,000	Two-year bring-forward	$260,000
$1,970,000 to under $2,100,000	Annual cap only — no bring-forward	$130,000
$2,100,000 and above	Nil — no non-concessional contributions	Nil

Simplified illustration for education — not advice. Availability is nil at or above the general transfer balance cap of $2,100,000.

Worked examples

Four clients, all under 75, differing only in their balance at the 30 June 2026. Every figure is computed by the calculator above.

Bring-forward availability at four total super balances
Balance at 30 June 2026	Available	Amount
$1,000,000	Three-year bring-forward	$390,000
$1,900,000	Two-year bring-forward	$260,000
$2,000,000	Annual cap only — no bring-forward	$130,000
$2,100,000	Nil — no non-concessional contributions	Nil

The step from $1,900,000 to $2,000,000 costs $130,000 of contribution room, and the step from there to $2,100,000 costs the rest. A client sitting just under a boundary at the end of June is worth a conversation in May.

Practical points

Trigger before the downsizer contribution. A downsizer contribution is outside the caps, but it lifts total super balance from the following measurement date — which can drop the client a tier, or out of the tiers altogether, for the year after.
One dollar over the annual cap starts the clock. There is no election and no undoing it. A contribution of $130,001 triggers a period that constrains the next two years as surely as a full $390,000 would.
Spouse balances are separate. The test is on each member’s own total super balance. Splitting a couple’s contributions toward the lower balance keeps both under a tier boundary for longer.
The balance test is a point in time. A strong June quarter can move a client across a boundary and cost a tier for the following year. The measurement date is the 30 June 2026 — nothing after it counts, and nothing before it is locked in.
Concessional space is a different question. Non-concessional room and carried-forward concessional space are gated by different total super balance thresholds. A client can easily qualify for one and not the other.

Questions we get asked

When is the total super balance measured?: At the 30 June 2026 before the trigger year — the year the client first contributes more than the annual $130,000 cap. The balance on the day of the contribution is irrelevant; so is a balance that rises afterwards.
Is the bring-forward something the client elects into?: No. It triggers automatically in the first year non-concessional contributions exceed $130,000, provided the balance and age tests are met. There is no form and no choice — which is why an accidental $130,001 contribution locks the client into a period they may not have wanted.
Can a bring-forward already triggered be interrupted?: The tier is not recalculated once the arrangement has started. The separate nil-cap rule still applies, though: in any year — including the second or third of a period — where total super balance at the prior 30 June is at or above the general transfer balance cap of $2,100,000, the cap for that year is nil. The period keeps running while the room is unavailable.
What does the 75 age test actually require?: That the member is under 75 at some time in the financial year. A client who turns 75 during the year was under it at the start, so the arrangement can still be triggered; a client already 75 at 1 July 2026 cannot.
Do downsizer or small business CGT amounts use the cap?: No — both sit outside the non-concessional cap, so they can be made alongside a bring-forward. The small business CGT lifetime cap is $1,935,000. Downsizer amounts do add to total super balance from the following measurement date, which can close the tier for a later contribution.
What happens if the client contributes more than the cap?: The ATO issues an excess non-concessional contributions determination. The client can release the excess together with an amount of associated earnings, which is then taxable to them, or leave it in and have the excess taxed at a penalty rate. Neither outcome is a planning position — check the tier before the contribution, not after.

Sources

Verified against the primary sources below. The caps and the general transfer balance cap come from the same reference file as the rates and thresholds page.

Total super balance — the measure behind every tier here, and the other thresholds it gates.
Personal transfer balance cap — the same $2,100,000 figure in its first job, and how a personal cap differs from it.
Downsizer contributions — outside the caps on the way in, inside total super balance afterwards.
Super rates and thresholds — every FY2026-27 contribution figure in one table.
All knowledge-hub references