Superannuation is one of the most tax-effective ways to build wealth in Australia, but the compulsory employer contribution alone is rarely enough to fund the retirement most people have in mind. Voluntary contributions are how you close that gap, and how you structure them has a direct bearing on how much of that money you actually keep.
Getting this right requires more than simply knowing the caps. The interaction between contribution types, income levels, super balances, and timing means there are better and worse ways to approach it depending on your situation. At Stones Sharp, we work with clients to make sure they are contributing in the most tax-effective way available to them, and that they are not leaving planning opportunities on the table.
Here is what you need to understand about voluntary contributions, particularly heading into the 2026/27 financial year.
Concessional Contributions
Concessional contributions are made from pre-tax income and are taxed at 15% inside your super fund rather than at your marginal income tax rate. For most people, that represents a meaningful tax saving, and it is one of the levers we use most regularly in annual tax planning. They include your employer’s compulsory Super Guarantee contributions, any salary sacrifice arrangement you have in place, and personal contributions you intend to claim as a tax deduction. All of these count toward the same annual cap, which is $32,500 for 2026/27.
Contributions count when they are received by your fund, not when the payment is sent. If you are making contributions close to 30 June, we make sure there is enough time for the fund to receive them before the financial year closes.
For higher-income earners, it is also worth knowing that if your income plus concessional contributions exceeds $250,000 in a financial year, those contributions are taxed at 30% rather than 15% under Division 293. This does not eliminate the tax advantage of contributing concessionally, but it reduces it, and it is a factor we account for in planning conversations with clients in that income range.
Non-Concessional Contributions
Non-concessional contributions are made from after-tax income and are not taxed again inside your super fund. The annual cap for 2026/27 is $130,000. Your eligibility depends on your total super balance at 30 June of the prior financial year. If your balance is $2.1 million or above, the cap reduces to nil.
If you are under 75, you may also be able to use the bring-forward rule to contribute up to three years of non-concessional caps in a single financial year. Depending on your total super balance, the maximum bring-forward amount in 2026/27 is $390,000. The bring-forward rules have some complexity around prior-year triggers, and we confirm your position before recommending a large contribution in a single year.
Cash-Forward Concessional Contributions
If you have not used your full concessional cap in previous years, you may be able to carry forward the unused amounts and make a larger concessional contribution in a single year. Up to five years of unused cap amounts can be carried forward, provided your total super balance is below $500,000 at 30 June of the prior year.
For clients with available cash flow who have not been maximising their concessional contributions, this is one of the more significant planning opportunities available right now, and one we raise proactively in our tax planning conversations.
The maximum potential concessional contribution in 2026/27 for an eligible individual is $175,000, combining the current year cap with the maximum carry-forward amount from prior years.
The Super Guarantee
Your employer is required by law to contribute a minimum of 12% of your ordinary time earnings into your super fund. This is the Super Guarantee, and it forms the baseline of most people’s super balance. It also counts toward your concessional contributions cap, which means the room available for salary sacrifice or personal deductible contributions depends on what your employer is already putting in.
For clients who are self-employed or company directors, there is no employer making contributions on your behalf. Super planning in that context looks different, and we factor it into the broader tax and business structure conversation rather than treating it in isolation.
Balances Above $3 Million
Division 296 is now law. From 1 July 2026, individuals with a total super balance above $3 million will pay an additional 15% tax on earnings attributable to the balance above that threshold, bringing the effective rate on those earnings to 30%, with a further 10% applying to balances above $10 million. Both thresholds are indexed to CPI, and the first assessments will be issued after the 2026/27 tax return is lodged.
This affects a smaller subset of clients, but for those it does affect, the implications for how they approach further contributions and investment strategy within super are meaningful. We are working through this with affected clients on a case-by-case basis.
Working With Us on Your Super
The contribution rules interact with each other in ways that are not always obvious. Your income, your balance, your age, your business structure, and your timeline to retirement all affect which options are available to you and in what order to use them. We look at super as part of the broader picture rather than a separate compliance item, and we help clients make deliberate decisions about how and when to contribute rather than defaulting to the minimum.
If you would like to review your super contribution strategy, get in touch with our team.
