See how much income tax a salary sacrifice amount saves and how much your take-home pay actually falls.
Salary sacrifice moves part of your pre-tax salary into super. That amount is not taxed as salary at your marginal rate; instead the fund generally pays 15% contributions tax on it (30% if Division 293 applies). This tool shows the two numbers that matter for your budget: the income tax and Medicare levy you avoid, and how much less lands in your bank account.
Formula: tax saved = amount × marginal rate. Fall in take-home pay = amount − tax saved. Money reaching your super after contributions tax = amount × 85%.
Worked example (illustrative, 2026–27): taxable income $85,000, so the marginal rate is 30% plus 2% Medicare levy = 32%. Sacrificing $10,000 saves $3,200 of tax and levy, so take-home pay falls by $6,800. The fund receives $10,000 and deducts $1,500 contributions tax, leaving $8,500 in super. You are $8,500 − $6,800 = $1,700 better off overall, but the money is locked in super until you meet a condition of release.
Marginal rates to enter (2026–27, including 2% Medicare levy): 17% (income $18,201–$45,000), 32% ($45,001–$135,000), 39% ($135,001–$190,000), 47% (over $190,000). If your sacrifice crosses a bracket boundary, split the calculation.
Limits: your employer's super guarantee plus salary sacrifice plus personal deductible contributions must stay within the concessional cap ($32,500 for 2026–27). Salary sacrifice still counts for HELP repayment income and the Medicare levy surcharge income test. If your income is under about $45,000, the saving is small or nil. See the salary sacrifice guide. General information only.
Worked Examples and Checklists
How unused concessional cap amounts carry forward for five years, who qualifies with a balance under $500,000, and a worked example using them against a capital gain.
Rates, Thresholds and Caps
How the extra 15% Division 293 tax on super contributions works above $250,000 of income, a worked example, how to pay it, and the status of the separate Division 296 tax.
Deadlines, Pitfalls and Official Sources
What the ATO does when concessional or non-concessional contributions exceed the cap, release options, the 47% excess tax, worked examples and the causes of most excess contributions.
Worked Examples and Checklists
Worked 2026–27 examples showing the tax saved, the fall in take-home pay and the net gain from salary sacrificing into super at $44,000, $60,000, $85,000 and $150,000.
Rates, Thresholds and Caps
The concessional cap rises to $32,500 and the non-concessional cap to $130,000 from 1 July 2026. How each cap works, bring-forward thresholds and what counts toward them.
