For the 2026–27 financial year, the concessional (before-tax) contribution cap is $32,500 and the non-concessional (after-tax) cap is $130,000. If you’re eligible for the bring-forward rule, you can contribute up to $390,000 of non-concessional contributions in a single year. The Transfer Balance Cap is $2,100,000.
Those figures changed on 1 July 2026 and apply until at least 30 June 2027. Historical caps going back to 2007 are set out in the tables below.
Why are there contribution caps?
Superannuation is the most tax-effective structure most Australians will ever have access to, and the concessions cost the federal budget a great deal. The caps are how the government limits that cost — they put a ceiling on how much of your wealth you can move into the concessionally taxed environment each year.
The concessional cap is indexed to Average Weekly Ordinary Time Earnings (AWOTE), but only moves in $2,500 increments, which is why it sits still for two or three years and then jumps. The non-concessional cap is set at four times the concessional cap — it was six times until 2021. So when the concessional cap rose by $2,500 on 1 July 2026, the non-concessional cap rose by $10,000.
As the tables below show, governments have changed their approach to these caps repeatedly over the past twenty years. What hasn’t changed is that super remains an excellent place to hold your money, particularly in retirement.
A higher concessional cap means more room for salary sacrifice, and more tax saved along the way.
Current and historic concessional and non-concessional caps figures
| Financial year | Your age | Concessional cap | Non-concessional cap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026–27 | All ages | $32,500 | $130,000 |
| 2024–25 to 2025–26 | All ages | $30,000 | $120,000 |
| 2021–22 to 2023–24 | All ages | $27,500 | $110,000 |
| 2017–18 to 2020–21 | All ages | $25,000 | $100,000 |
| 2014–15 to 2016–17 | Under 49 | $30,000 | $180,000 |
| 2014–15 to 2016–17 | 49 and over | $35,000 | $180,000 |
| 2013–14 | Under 59 | $25,000 | $150,000 |
| 2013–14 | 59 and over | $35,000 | $150,000 |
| 2012–13 | All ages | $25,000 | $150,000 |
| 2009–10 to 2011–12 | Under 50 | $25,000 | $150,000 |
| 2009–10 to 2011–12 | 50 and over | $50,000 | $150,000 |
| 2007–08 to 2008–09 | Under 50 | $50,000 | $150,000 |
| 2007–08 to 2008–09 | 50 and over | $100,000 | $150,000 |
Who can make non-concessional contributions?
To make non-concessional contributions at all, two tests must be met. You must be under 75 at some point in the financial year, and your Total Superannuation Balance must be below the Transfer Balance Cap at 30 June of the previous year. If either test fails, you cannot make after-tax contributions regardless of how much cap space you appear to have.
Using the bring-forward rule
This is a strategy I recommend frequently for clients approaching retirement who are trying to move assets into super before they stop working. The bring-forward rule lets you bring forward up to two future years of non-concessional contributions and make them in a single year.
On the age test, there is a useful quirk worth knowing. Because you only need to be under 75 at some point during the year, someone who turns 75 partway through can still trigger a three-year bring-forward — covering years in which they would otherwise be unable to contribute at all. The contribution must reach your fund no later than 28 days after the end of the month in which you turn 75.
As well as meeting the general tests above, your Total Superannuation Balance determines how many years you can actually bring forward:
| Total Super Balance at 30 June 2026 | Bring-forward available | Maximum contribution |
|---|---|---|
| Under $1,840,000 | 3 years | $390,000 |
| $1,840,000 to under $1,970,000 | 2 years | $260,000 |
| $1,970,000 to under $2,100,000 | None — annual cap only | $130,000 |
| $2,100,000 or more | None | Nil |
Because these thresholds are tied to the Transfer Balance Cap, they shift whenever it is indexed. The figures above apply to 2026–27.
Transfer Balance Cap and Total Superannuation Balance changes
The Transfer Balance Cap limits how much superannuation you can move into pension phase, where investment earnings are tax free. For 2026–27 the general cap is $2,100,000.
| Financial year | Transfer Balance Cap |
|---|---|
| 2026–27 | $2,100,000 |
| 2025–26 | $2,000,000 |
| 2023–24 to 2024–25 | $1,900,000 |
| 2021–22 to 2022–23 | $1,700,000 |
| 2017–18 to 2020–21 | $1,600,000 |
Your balance can grow beyond the cap once the pension has started — the cap applies at the point the pension commences, not afterwards. Investment growth inside a pension you have already started does not cause a breach.
An important qualification: since 1 July 2021 the cap has been personalised. If you had already started a pension before an indexation date, you receive only a proportional share of the increase, based on how much of your cap you had used at the time. Only someone who has never started a retirement phase pension gets the full $2,100,000. Your personal cap is shown in ATO online services via myGov, and it is worth checking rather than assuming.
The Transfer Balance Cap also sets the threshold for the Total Superannuation Balance test. If your combined super balances exceed the general cap at 30 June of the previous year, you cannot make non-concessional contributions in the following year. Each indexation therefore lifts that threshold too, creating room for people who were previously locked out to contribute again.
Being aware of the contribution caps, and various strategies to get more funds into superannuation prior to retirement, is of tremendous importance for good retirement planning.
If you would like to discuss your retirement planning, please feel free to get in touch with the independent retirement advisers at Cornish Wealth Management.
