Australia · Explainer
Carry-forward concessional contributions
Unused concessional cap space from the 5 prior years can be used this year — if the total super balance test is met. Here is the gate, the window, the ordering, and what the figure actually comes to.
What it is
A member who does not use their full concessional cap in a year can carry the unused part forward and use it later — for up to 5 years, after which it expires. In FY2026-27 that means the unused cap from 2021-22 to 2025-26 sits on top of this year’s $32,500 cap.
Two conditions do all the work: the total super balance must be below $500,000 at the prior 30 June, and the amount must still be inside its 5-year window. Everything else is arithmetic — each year’s unused amount is that year’s cap less the concessional contributions actually made, which includes employer SG and salary sacrifice, not just personal deductible contributions.
Key figures
- Concessional contributions cap
- $32,500
- Carry-forward total super balance threshold
- $500,000
- Carry-forward window
- 5 years
- Maximum concessional contribution with full carry-forward
- $175,000
How it works
The $500,000 gate
Measured at the prior 30 June — 30 June 2026 for FY2026-27 — and tested again every year the client wants to use carried-forward space. It is a hard line, not a taper: $499,999 qualifies, $500,000 does not. It is not indexed, so it catches more clients each year in real terms.
A balance above the threshold in one year does not destroy the unused amounts — they keep accruing and stay in the window. What it does is burn a year of the window: an amount can age out while the client is ineligible to use it.
The 5-year window, oldest first
The current year’s cap is used first, then carried-forward amounts oldest first. That ordering is what makes expiry bite: the 2021-22 amount is always the one about to be lost. In FY2026-27, unused 2021-22 cap is in its final year.
What indexation does — and does not — do
Indexation lifts the current year’s cap (AWOTE, in $2,500 increments), not the value of older unused amounts. Unused space from 2021-22 is worth that year’s $27,500 cap, not today’s. That is why the theoretical maximum for FY2026-27 is $175,000 rather than six times the current cap: $27,500 × 3 + $30,000 × 2 + $32,500.
Concessional cap by financial year
The cap that applies to each year’s unused amount. The shaded years are the ones available in FY2026-27.
| Financial year | Concessional cap | In the FY2026-27 window |
|---|---|---|
| 2021-22 | $27,500 | Yes — final year |
| 2022-23 | $27,500 | Yes |
| 2023-24 | $27,500 | Yes |
| 2024-25 | $30,000 | Yes |
| 2025-26 | $30,000 | Yes |
| 2026-27 current year | $32,500 | Current-year cap |
Worked example
A client with $400,000 in super at 30 June 2026 and a patchy contribution history — one year at the cap, then four years of SG only.
| Year | Cap | Contributed | Unused |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-22 | $27,500 | $27,500 | $0 |
| 2022-23 | $27,500 | $10,000 | $17,500 |
| 2023-24 | $27,500 | $10,000 | $17,500 |
| 2024-25 | $30,000 | $10,000 | $20,000 |
| 2025-26 | $30,000 | $10,000 | $20,000 |
| Carried forward | $75,000 | ||
| FY2026-27 cap | $32,500 | ||
| Available this year | $107,500 | ||
The balance is under $500,000 at 30 June 2026, so the full $75,000 of unused space is available on top of this year’s $32,500 cap. Had the balance been $500,000 or more, the answer would have been $32,500 — with the $75,000 still sitting in the window, a year closer to expiry.
Available cap calculator
Enter the client’s total super balance at 30 June 2026 and their concessional contributions for each of the five prior years. Contributions include employer SG, salary sacrifice and personal deductible contributions.
$400,000
Available concessional cap — FY2026-27
$175,000
$32,500 current-year cap + $142,500 carried forward.
Balance is under $500,000 at 30 June 2026, so carried-forward amounts are available.
$27,500 of unused cap from 2021-22 drops out of the window after FY2026-27.
| Year | Cap | Contributed | Unused |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-22 | $27,500 | $0 | $27,500 |
| 2022-23 | $27,500 | $0 | $27,500 |
| 2023-24 | $27,500 | $0 | $27,500 |
| 2024-25 | $30,000 | $0 | $30,000 |
| 2025-26 | $30,000 | $0 | $30,000 |
| Unused cap in the window | $142,500 | ||
Simplified illustration for education — not advice. The $500,000 test is applied at the prior 30 June, as the law requires.
Practical points
- SG eats the cap first. At the 12% SG rate, employer contributions alone use $12,000 of cap for every $100,000 of salary — before any salary sacrifice. The earnings base an employer must contribute against is capped at $270,830 per year.
- The balance test is a point in time. A client sitting either side of $500,000 at 30 June is decided by that day’s balance — a strong June quarter can close the door for the following year.
- Total super balance is all interests. Every super interest counts toward the $500,000 test, not just the account being contributed to.
- The oldest year is the one on the clock. Unused 2021-22 cap is available in FY2026-27 and then gone — the natural trigger for a pre-30-June conversation with clients who have been under-contributing.
- The value depends on the marginal rate. A deduction is worth the client’s marginal rate — resident bands for FY2026-27 are on the rates page, alongside the 2% Medicare levy.
Questions we get asked
- Can I use carry-forward if my balance is over $500,000?
- No. The total super balance must be below $500,000 at the prior 30 June for carried-forward amounts to be used in that year — and the threshold is not indexed. The test is on using the space, not on accruing it: unused amounts keep accruing while the balance is above the threshold, they simply cannot be drawn on until a year when it is below.
- Do unused amounts expire?
- Yes — after 5 years, oldest used first. In FY2026-27 the years in play are 2021-22 through 2025-26, so any unused 2021-22 amount is in its final year.
- Which year’s cap applies to an unused amount?
- The cap of the year the amount arose. Unused space from 2021-22 is worth $27,500 less what was contributed that year — indexation of the current cap does not uplift older unused amounts.
- Is the $500,000 threshold indexed?
- No. Unlike the contribution caps, it is a fixed figure — which means it catches more clients each year in real terms.
- What is the most a client can contribute concessionally in FY2026-27?
- $175,000 — the $32,500 current-year cap plus $142,500 of unused space, for a client with no concessional contributions at all in the five prior years and a total super balance under $500,000 at 30 June 2026.
- In what order is the cap used?
- The current year’s cap is applied first, then carried-forward amounts oldest first. That ordering is what makes the five-year expiry bite — the oldest unused amount is always the one at risk.
Sources
Sourced from the reference below. The caps on this page come from the same reference file as the rates and thresholds page.