Catch Up Concessional Contributions (Australia)

Catch up concessional contributions are one of the most useful super rules for real life.

Time off work. Maternity leave. A few years focused on the mortgage. Or a big jump in income where you finally have room to save more.

If you have unused concessional cap space from past years, you may be able to contribute more than the standard cap this year and still stay within the rules.

Key takeaways

• Catch up concessional contributions are also called carry forward concessional contributions.
• You can carry forward unused concessional cap amounts for up to five financial years, then they expire.
• You can only use them if your total super balance was under $500,000 at 30 June of the prior financial year.
• Your current year concessional cap is used first. Once you go over it, the ATO applies your oldest unused cap amounts next.
• Concessional contributions include employer Super Guarantee, salary sacrifice, and personal contributions you claim as a tax deduction.
• If you are on a higher marginal tax rate, the tax benefit can be meaningful. Still, money you put into super generally stays there until you meet a condition of release.
• Start with my calculator to estimate how much you may be able to contribute this year: Catch Up Contributions Calculator

Who this is most useful for

Catch up concessional contributions tend to be most useful if you:

• Took time out of work for parenting, caring, study, or illness and your super contributions dropped for a few years.
• Recently received a pay rise and want to accelerate your retirement savings while your super balance is still relatively low.
• Moved to Australia later in life, are now earning good money, and want to build your super faster than the standard annual cap allows.
• Have lumpy income, such as a one off high income year, and want the flexibility to contribute more in the years you can afford it.

What are catch up concessional contributions?

Catch up concessional contributions let you make larger concessional contributions in a later year by using unused concessional cap amounts from earlier years.

Each financial year has a concessional contributions cap. If your concessional contributions come in below that cap, you may be able to carry forward the unused portion for use in a later year.

Unused cap amounts can be carried forward for up to five financial years. After that, they expire.

What counts as a concessional contribution?

Concessional contributions include:

1. Employer Super Guarantee contributions
2. Salary sacrifice contributions
3. Personal contributions you claim as a tax deduction

Concessional contributions usually receive concessional tax treatment in super. For most people, a fund pays 15% contributions tax on concessional contributions.

There are important exceptions for some people on higher incomes. I cover that later in this guide.

For the ATO’s cap history, tracking steps, and admin detail, use: ATO: Concessional contributions cap

Eligibility checklist

You can use catch up concessional contributions if you meet both conditions below.

Your total super balance must be under $500,000

Your total super balance must be less than $500,000 at 30 June of the previous financial year.

In practical terms, this is a gatekeeper. If you are over $500,000 at that 30 June snapshot, you cannot use carry forward amounts for the following financial year.

You must have unused cap amounts available from prior years

You must have unused concessional cap amounts available from up to five previous financial years.

Unused cap amounts can be carried forward from 2018–19 onwards, but you only ever have a rolling five year window. That means older years drop off as time passes.

A simple way to think about it in 2025–26 is this:

• Your oldest available year is usually 2020–21
• 2019–20 would have expired if it was not used by the end of 2024–25
• 2018–19 would have expired earlier again

The exact years available to you depend on what unused amounts you actually had in each year and whether you used any of them since.

The most important nuance: how the cap applies in the year you contribute

This is where people get confused.

Your current year concessional cap gets used first.

Only once your concessional contributions exceed the current year cap does the ATO start applying your unused cap amounts from earlier years, starting with the oldest available year.

In other words, carry forward amounts do not replace the current year cap. They sit on top of it.

The ATO describes this as unused cap amounts being applied automatically once you exceed your annual concessional cap.

How the five year carry forward window works

Unused cap amounts are available for five years, then they expire.

The ATO uses the oldest unused amounts first.

Here is an example the ATO uses to explain expiry:

A 2019–20 unused cap amount that is not used by the end of 2024–25 expires.

For more detail direct from the ATO, including how unused amounts are applied and how they appear in ATO online services, see: ATO: Concessional contributions cap

If you want a clearer walkthrough with examples that match how people actually think about financial years, read: Catch up concessional contributions expiry and the five year rule

How to use catch up concessional contributions step by step

Step 1: Check your available unused amounts in myGov

You can check your unused cap amounts in ATO online services through myGov:

1. Select Super
2. Select Information
3. Select Carry forward concessional contributions

You can also check concessional contributions history via:

1. Super
2. Information
3. Concessional contributions

I have a short practical guide that explains what the numbers mean and what to do next: How to check your unused concessional contributions in myGov

Step 2: Work out your personal concessional cap for the year

Your personal cap for the year equals:

Current year concessional cap
plus
Any unused cap amounts you have available from earlier years

From 1 July 2024, the annual concessional cap is $30,000.

Step 3: Decide how you will contribute

Most people use one of these:

1. Salary sacrifice through payroll
2. A personal contribution they later claim as a tax deduction
3. A mix of both

If you plan to claim a tax deduction for a personal contribution, you need to follow the notice of intent process and get the timing right. That topic deserves its own guide so you do not miss a step.

Use this supporting post when you are ready: Catch up concessional contributions and personal tax deductions

Step 4: Watch the timing

This trips people up because it feels backward.

Contributions count towards a cap in the year your super fund receives them. It does not matter when you press the button or when the money leaves your bank account.

Also note:

• An employer can make Super Guarantee contributions for the quarter ending 30 June by 28 July in the next financial year.
• If you have a salary sacrifice arrangement and you want the fund to receive contributions by 30 June, payroll needs enough time to process them.

Step 5: Allow for reporting lags

Your ATO online services data depends on when your fund reports contributions to the ATO, so it may not be up to date in real time.

Leave a buffer if you are aiming for a specific cap amount.

Why people use catch up contributions: the tax angle, in plain English

The typical reason is simple.

If you claim a tax deduction for a personal concessional contribution, you may reduce your taxable income. Inside super, that concessional contribution usually gets taxed at 15%.

That difference can be valuable if you are on a higher marginal tax rate.

Here is a clean example using round numbers.

Example: 47% marginal tax rate

Assume you make a $10,000 personal concessional contribution and claim it as a tax deduction. Also assume the contribution is taxed at 15% in the fund.

• Potential personal tax saved: up to $4,700
• Contributions tax in super at 15%: $1,500
• Net tax benefit: about $3,200

If the deduction drops you into a lower tax bracket, the saving will be less than 47%.

This is general information only. Your outcome depends on your income, other deductions, and whether additional rules apply.

The trade off: access

This matters as much as the tax benefit.

Once money goes into super, you generally cannot access it until you meet a condition of release. For many people, that means reaching age 60 and retiring, but conditions vary.

So yes, the tax benefit can be great. Just make sure you can afford to lock the money away.

A key warning for high income earners: Division 293

If your income plus concessional contributions is over $250,000, Division 293 may apply. That can increase the effective tax on your concessional contributions.

This does not mean catch up contributions are never worth it. It just means the headline tax saving example above may look different for you.

If you want to estimate whether Division 293 applies, start here: Division 293 calculator

If you want the full plain English explanation: Division 293 tax explained

A simple example

Bob has:

• Current year concessional cap: $30,000
• Concessional contributions made this year so far: $10,000

That means Bob has $20,000 of unused cap space for this year, which may be carried forward for up to five years if he stays eligible.

In a later year, Bob might contribute $50,000 in concessional contributions, made up of:

• $30,000 current year cap
• $20,000 carried forward unused amounts

That is the basic idea.

A worked case study using real year by year caps

Fatima wants to make extra concessional contributions in 2025–26. Her total super balance at 30 June 2025 is under $500,000, so she satisfies the balance test.

Her concessional contributions history looks like this:

1. 2020–21: contributed $15,000, cap $25,000, unused $10,000
2. 2021–22: contributed $0, cap $27,500, unused $27,500
3. 2022–23: contributed $15,000, cap $27,500, unused $12,500
4. 2023–24: contributed $20,000, cap $27,500, unused $7,500
5. 2024–25: contributed $20,000, cap $30,000, unused $10,000

Total unused carried forward into 2025–26 equals $67,500.

That gives Fatima a personal concessional cap for 2025–26 of:

• $30,000 current year cap
  plus
• $67,500 carry forward amounts
  = $97,500

If Fatima contributes $50,000 in 2025–26, she stays within her personal cap based on these figures.

This assumes her contributions are received by the fund in the right financial year and she meets all eligibility criteria.

Common mistakes I see

People forget employer contributions count

Employer SG counts towards the concessional cap. Salary sacrifice counts too.

If you plan a large personal contribution, factor in what your employer will pay over the year.

People miss expiry dates

Unused amounts expire after five financial years.

If you have older unused amounts sitting there, you may want to use them earlier rather than later, assuming the contribution makes sense for you.

People get the timing wrong around 30 June

Contributions count in the year the fund receives them.

If you are cutting it fine at the end of June, you are relying on payment processing and fund allocation timing. That is a stressful way to do super.

People underestimate the flow on effects of going over the cap

If you exceed the cap and you do not handle it correctly, you can create issues with additional tax and with your non concessional cap.

I cover this next.

What happens if you exceed the concessional cap?

First, the ATO applies your available unused cap amounts automatically once you exceed the current year concessional cap, assuming you are eligible.

If you still have excess concessional contributions after applying unused amounts, the ATO treats the excess like this:

1. The excess is included in your assessable income.
2. The excess is taxed at your marginal tax rate.
3. You receive a 15% tax offset to account for contributions tax already paid by your fund.

You may be able to elect to release up to 85% of the excess amount from your super to help pay the tax liability.

If you do not release the excess, the unreleased amount can count towards your non concessional contributions cap. In some scenarios, that can lead to very high tax outcomes.

If you want a step by step explanation of the process and your options, read: What happens if you exceed concessional contributions?

Should you use catch up concessional contributions?

Catch up contributions can help if you had broken work patterns or years where you could not contribute much.

They can also help if your income rises and you want to top up super in a tax effective way.

Still, check these two points first:

1. You satisfy the $500,000 total super balance test at 30 June of the prior year.
2. You can afford to lock the money away until you meet a condition of release.

If you want to sanity check the numbers quickly, start here: Catch Up Contributions Calculator

Watch the 60 second version

If you prefer video, I built a short playlist that covers the basics and the most common questions: Carry Forward Concessional Super Contributions playlist

I also keep a broader concessional contributions playlist here: Concessional Superannuation Contributions playlist

FAQs

What are catch up concessional contributions?

Catch up concessional contributions let you carry forward unused concessional cap amounts from earlier years and use them in a later year. You can carry forward unused amounts for up to five financial years, and you can only use them if your total super balance was under $500,000 at 30 June of the prior financial year.

How do I know if I am eligible to use carry forward concessional contributions?

You can use carry forward concessional contributions if your total super balance was less than $500,000 at 30 June of the previous financial year and you have unused concessional cap amounts available from up to five earlier years. You can check your available amounts in ATO online services through myGov.

How long can I carry forward unused concessional contributions?

Unused concessional cap amounts can be carried forward for up to five financial years, then they expire. The oldest unused amounts get used first after you have used up your current year concessional cap.

What happens if I exceed my concessional contributions cap?

If you exceed your concessional contributions cap, the excess amount is added to your assessable income and taxed at your marginal tax rate, with a 15% tax offset to account for contributions tax already paid in the fund. You may be able to release up to 85% of the excess from super to help pay the tax, and any excess not released can count towards your non concessional cap.