Australia · Reference
Total super balance
One number, measured on one day, gates almost every contribution strategy: carry-forward, the bring-forward tiers, the co-contribution, the spouse offset — and it is the measure Division 296 is built on. Here is every threshold it controls, and where each one bites.
AU FY2026-27 Law
Last reviewed 31 July 2026
What it is
Total super balance is the value of all of a member’s superannuation interests at a point in time — accumulation and retirement phase together, across every fund. Rollovers in transit at the measurement date are counted; structured settlement contributions are subtracted; members of an SMSF with a limited recourse borrowing arrangement may have to add a share of the outstanding balance.
It is measured at 30 June, and the figure that matters is the one at the 30 June before the year in question — 30 June 2026 for FY2026-27. Nothing that happens after it changes that year’s answer, and nothing before it is locked in until the day itself.
Key figures
- Carry-forward total super balance threshold
- $500,000
- General transfer balance cap
- $2,100,000
- Division 296 first threshold
- $3,000,000
- Non-concessional contributions cap
- $130,000
Every threshold it gates
All measured at the prior 30 June unless noted. Each row links to the page that works it through.
| Measure | Total super balance | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Carry-forward concessional contributions | Under $500,000 | Unused concessional cap from the five prior years can be used. At or above the threshold, only the current-year cap is available — the unused amounts keep ageing in the window. Carry-forward concessional contributions → |
| Bring-forward — three years | Under $1,840,000 | $390,000 of non-concessional contributions across three years, all available in the first. Bring-forward contributions → |
| Bring-forward — two years | $1,840,000 to under $1,970,000 | $260,000 across two years. Bring-forward contributions → |
| Non-concessional cap | Nil at $2,100,000 | At or above the general transfer balance cap the non-concessional cap is nil for the year — no annual cap, no bring-forward. Personal transfer balance cap → |
| Government co-contribution | Under $2,100,000 | Eligibility also requires non-concessional contributions not to exceed the cap. Worth up to $500, phasing out between $49,293 and $64,293 of income. Co-contribution figures → |
| Spouse contribution tax offset | Receiving spouse under $2,100,000 | The test is on the receiving spouse's balance, not the contributor's — and their non-concessional cap must not be exceeded by the contribution. Contribution caps → |
| Division 296 | Measured above $3,000,000 | An additional 15% on the share of earnings attributable to the balance above the threshold — the only entry here that uses total super balance at the end of the year rather than the prior 30 June. Division 296 → |
What sits outside it — and what lands in it
Two contribution types are outside the caps but not outside total super balance, which is where most of the sequencing errors come from.
- Downsizer contributions. Outside both caps going in; inside total super balance from the next 30 June. A large one can close a bring-forward tier the client would otherwise have had — see downsizer contributions.
- Small business CGT cap amounts. A $1,935,000 lifetime cap, outside the non-concessional cap — and, like the downsizer amount, inside total super balance afterwards.
- Division 293 is not a total super balance test. The high-income contributions surcharge is tested on income plus contributions, not on balance. A client with a small balance and a large salary is squarely in it.
Practical points
- One day decides the year. Everything on this page turns on the balance at a single 30 June. A market move in the last week of June can change a client’s tier, their carry-forward eligibility and their co-contribution entitlement at once.
- The thresholds move at different speeds. $500,000 is fixed; the general cap indexes; the Division 296 threshold indexes in its own increments. Any file note that lists them together will age unevenly — the current set is on the rates page.
- Couples are tested separately. Each member has their own balance and their own tier. Directing contributions toward the lower balance — or splitting concessional contributions to a spouse — keeps both under a threshold for longer.
- Reported balances lag. Fund reporting to the ATO is not instant, so the figure a client sees online part-way through a year is not necessarily the one that will be used. For a decision near a boundary, work from the fund’s own 30 June statement.
- Every interest counts. A forgotten small account, a pension in another fund, an SMSF interest — all of it is in the measure. Checking the tier off one statement is how clients end up with an excess contributions determination.
Questions we get asked
- When is total super balance measured?
- At 30 June — the 30 June before the year in question, which is 30 June 2026 for FY2026-27. Every contribution threshold on this page is tested on that one day's figure, so a balance that moves in July has no effect until the following year. Division 296 is the exception: it measures the balance at the end of the income year.
- Is total super balance the same as the transfer balance account?
- No. Total super balance is a balance measure at a point in time and gates contributions. The transfer balance account is a running ledger of amounts moved into retirement phase and gates the transfer itself. A client can have a large total super balance and a nil transfer balance account.
- What is included in it?
- Broadly, every super interest the member holds — accumulation and retirement phase — plus rollovers in transit at the measurement date, less any structured settlement contributions. Members of an SMSF with a limited recourse borrowing arrangement may also have to add a share of the outstanding balance.
- Do downsizer contributions count toward it?
- Yes, from the next 30 June after they are made. They are outside the contribution caps going in, but they are inside total super balance afterwards — which is what makes sequencing a downsizer contribution against a bring-forward a real decision rather than a formality.
- Which of these thresholds are indexed?
- $500,000 for carry-forward is not indexed and has never moved. The general transfer balance cap is indexed, which moves the bring-forward tiers with it. The $3,000,000 Division 296 threshold is indexed in its own increments. A client's position against these thresholds therefore changes without the client doing anything.
- Can a client reduce their total super balance before the measurement date?
- Where a condition of release is met, a withdrawal before the measurement date reduces it. Splitting concessional contributions to a spouse moves balance from one member to the other, which can keep both under a threshold. Market movements do the rest, in both directions — which is why a June review is worth more than a September one.
Sources
Verified against the primary sources below. Every figure on this page is read from the same reference file as the rates and thresholds page.
The rest of the cluster
- Carry-forward concessional contributions — the $500,000 gate, the five-year window and a calculator.
- Bring-forward contributions — the tiers derived from the general cap and the $130,000 annual cap.
- Downsizer contributions — outside the caps, inside this measure, and the sequencing that follows.
- Personal transfer balance cap — the other measure that shares the $2,100,000 figure.
- Division 296 — the tax built directly on total super balance, from $3,000,000.
- Division 293 tax — the one on this list that has nothing to do with balance.
- Super rates and thresholds — every FY2026-27 figure, dated and sourced.
- All knowledge-hub references