Carry-Forward Super Contributions: How to Use Your Unused Cap (2026-27)
Author: Tepuy Solutions | Date: November 2026
Category: Superannuation, Retirement Planning
Updated 8 November 2026. Figures are for 2026-27 and come from the ATO pages listed under Sources, read on 8 November 2026.
The concessional contributions cap is not always use-it-or-lose-it. If your total super balance was less than $500,000 at 30 June of the previous financial year, you can use unused cap amounts from up to 5 earlier years and contribute more than the headline cap in a single year. This guide explains who qualifies, how the amounts are used, and how to work out your own number.
The headline cap for 2026-27
The ATO says the concessional contributions cap is $32,500 from 1 July 2026. It was $30,000 from 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2026, $27,500 from 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2024, and $25,000 from 1 July 2017 to 30 June 2021. (ATO, "Concessional contributions cap", page last updated 2 July 2026, read 8 November 2026.)
The ATO says that if you are eligible to claim a tax deduction for your personal super contributions, the amount allowed as a deduction is included in your concessional contributions cap, and that contributions count towards a cap in the year your super fund receives them. Employer contributions and salary sacrifice count towards the same cap, so your employer's contributions use up part of it before you add anything yourself. Our salary sacrifice guide covers that side.
The carry-forward rule
The ATO sets out these conditions:
- You need a total super balance of less than $500,000 at 30 June of the previous financial year. For 2026-27, that means your balance at 30 June 2026.
- You also need unused concessional cap amounts from up to 5 previous financial years, including years when you were not a member of a super fund.
- Unused cap amounts are available for 5 years and expire after that. The ATO's example: a 2020-21 unused cap amount that is not used by the end of 2025-26 will expire.
- The oldest available unused cap amounts are carried forward first.
- Unused cap amounts are applied automatically once you exceed the cap in any year.
- Your available amounts are shown in ATO online services: select Super, then Information, then Carry forward concessional contributions.
If you still have excess concessional contributions after the unused amounts are applied, the ATO says you may need to pay extra tax (see "What happens if you go over" below).
Which years can you reach in 2026-27?
The 5 previous financial years for 2026-27 are 2021-22 to 2025-26. The ATO's general concessional caps for those years:
| Financial year | Concessional cap |
|---|---|
| 2021-22 | $27,500 |
| 2022-23 | $27,500 |
| 2023-24 | $27,500 |
| 2024-25 | $30,000 |
| 2025-26 | $30,000 |
Source: ATO, "Contributions caps" (page last updated 11 September 2026, read 8 November 2026), and the ATO concessional cap page above.
The theoretical ceiling (our arithmetic, not an ATO figure): if you had made no concessional contributions at all in those five years, the unused amounts would add up to $27,500 + $27,500 + $27,500 + $30,000 + $30,000 = $142,500. Add the 2026-27 cap of $32,500 and the most you could contribute as concessional contributions in 2026-27 is $175,000. In practice, contributions made in earlier years, such as employer contributions, reduce the unused amounts.
A worked example (hypothetical numbers)
Say contributions were the following in each year, with nothing else going in. These amounts are made up for illustration and are not a Super Guarantee calculation.
| Year | Cap | Concessional contributions (hypothetical) | Unused |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-22 | $27,500 | $9,000 | $18,500 |
| 2022-23 | $27,500 | $9,500 | $18,000 |
| 2023-24 | $27,500 | $10,000 | $17,500 |
| 2024-25 | $30,000 | $10,500 | $19,500 |
| 2025-26 | $30,000 | $11,000 | $19,000 |
Unused total: $18,500 + $18,000 + $17,500 + $19,500 + $19,000 = $92,500.
In 2026-27 the cap is $32,500. Suppose $12,000 of employer contributions go in this year. That leaves $32,500 - $12,000 = $20,500 of this year's cap, plus the $92,500 of carry-forward, if your balance at 30 June 2026 was less than $500,000. So the most that could go in as a personal contribution you are allowed to claim as a deduction, without exceeding the cap, is $113,000. That is $20,500 + $92,500, our arithmetic from the made-up figures above.
If you contribute less than the full amount, the oldest unused amounts are used first. Here that is the 2021-22 amount of $18,500, which is also the first to expire: amounts not used by the end of 2026-27 expire.
Why people use it
These are our general examples of when someone might look at carry-forward, not ATO statements, and they say nothing about the tax result in any case:
- A year with a one-off amount to invest, such as a bonus, a redundancy payment or the sale of an asset.
- Catching up after a career break or years of part-time work.
Contributing more is not automatically a good idea. Super has its own rules about when you can access the money, so consider whether you will need it. The retirement simulator shows what extra contributions do to a projected balance.
What happens if you go over
If you still have excess concessional contributions (ECC) after unused cap amounts are applied, the ATO says the ECC are included in your assessable income and taxed at your marginal tax rate less a 15% tax offset. You can withdraw up to 85% of your ECC from your super fund. If you do not or cannot elect to release your ECC, the ATO says you could pay up to 94% in tax. From 1 July 2021, the ECC charge no longer applies. (ATO, "Concessional contributions cap", read 8 November 2026.)
Check your own number
- Find your total super balance at 30 June 2026. It must be less than $500,000.
- Check your carry-forward amounts in ATO online services (Super, Information, Carry forward concessional contributions).
- Subtract this year's employer contributions from the 2026-27 cap of $32,500.
- Use the Super Concessional Cap Tracker to see how much of this year's cap you have used. It does not include carry-forward amounts, so add those from step 2 yourself.
- See what extra contributions do to your retirement balance in the Retirement Savings Calculator.
Frequently asked questions
- How does carry-forward work for super? If your total super balance was less than $500,000 at 30 June of the previous financial year, you can use unused concessional cap amounts from up to 5 previous financial years. The oldest unused amounts are used first, and they are applied automatically once you exceed the current year's cap.
- What is the concessional cap for 2026-27? $32,500, from 1 July 2026, according to the ATO.
- How long do unused cap amounts last? 5 years, then they expire. The ATO's example: a 2020-21 unused cap amount that is not used by the end of 2025-26 will expire.
- What is the salary sacrifice limit for 2026-27? There is no separate salary sacrifice limit. Salary sacrifice counts towards the concessional cap along with employer contributions and any personal contributions you are allowed to claim as a deduction: $32,500 for 2026-27, plus any carry-forward amounts you are eligible to use.
- Is the carry-forward amount automatic? Yes. The ATO says unused concessional cap amounts are applied automatically once you exceed the cap in any year. You still need to be eligible: a total super balance of less than $500,000 at 30 June of the previous financial year.
- Do personal contributions count towards the concessional cap? The ATO says that if you are eligible to claim a tax deduction for your personal super contributions, the amount allowed as a deduction is included in your concessional contributions cap. Whether you are eligible is a question for the ATO or a registered tax agent.
Sources
| Figure or rule | Official source | Page date | Read |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cap $32,500 (2026-27), $30,000 (2024-25 and 2025-26), $27,500 (2021-22 to 2023-24); carry-forward conditions; excess concessional contributions | ATO, Concessional contributions cap | Last updated 2 July 2026 | 8 November 2026 |
| General concessional caps by year (cross-check) | ATO, Contributions caps | Last updated 11 September 2026 | 8 November 2026 |
Disclaimer
General information only, not financial advice. The worked example uses made-up numbers. Rules change; check ATO online services for your own balance and carry-forward amounts, and speak to a licensed adviser or registered tax agent before making a large contribution.