Carry forward concessional contributions

Updated on 11 September 2025 | 5 minute read

Find out how carry forward concessional contributions can help you top up your super balance and even pay less tax.

What are carry forward concessional contributions?

Carry forward super contributions are also called catch-up contributions.

There's a limit to how much you can contribute to your super before-tax, called a concessional contributions cap. But under the carry forward rule, if you're eligible you can carry forward any leftover amount from your caps from the last 5 financial years.

This means if you contributed less than the cap in the previous 5 years, you can make up for it by adding it to your super this year.

The carry forward rule applies to concessional (before-tax) contributions, like salary sacrifice or the super guarantee (SG) from your employer and personal contributions where you claim a tax deduction. Concessional contributions are generally taxed at 15%, which for most people is lower than their income tax rate. Which means you could take advantage of before-tax contributions to add more to your super, while paying less tax.

What's the concessional contributions cap?

The concessional contributions cap is the maximum amount you can contribute to your super without paying more tax on it. It's currently set to $30,000. But under the carry forward rule, you can contribute more than the $30,000 limit to your super account if you're eligible.

How catch-up concessional contributions work

Concessional contributions include employer contributions like SG and salary sacrifice, as well as personal contributions where you claim a tax deduction. These payments go into your super without income tax on them.
The current concessional contributions cap is $30,000 per financial year.
If you contribute less than the before-tax cap in one financial year, the leftover cap amount gets carried into the next year.
You can carry forward the leftover cap amounts from the last 5 financial years.
This means you can make a larger concessional contribution (over the contribution cap of $30,000). So you can add more money to your super (via salary sacrifice or by making personal contributions you claim as a tax deduction), and generally pay less tax on it.

Eligibility for carry forward concessional contributions

There are some eligibility requirements for carry forward concessional contributions:

Your total super balance across all your funds needs to be less than $500,000 on 30 June of the previous financial year.
You can only carry forward unused concessional cap amounts for 5 financial years.

Benefits of carry forward concessional contributions

Using carry forward contributions can be a smart move for your financial future.

Tax savings: Concessional contributions are taxed at 15%, which is generally lower than your income tax rate. An extra 15% tax applies if your income plus before-tax contributions is over $250,000 per year.

Increase your super: It's a chance to give your retirement savings a real kick along, especially if you've had less contributions in the past.

Things to consider

Concessional contributions include employer contributions, salary sacrifice, and personal contributions you claim as a tax deduction.
You can't access your super until you retire after 60, turn 65, or meet another condition of release.
Consider any future concessional contributions you plan to make when working out how much cap space you have.

How to use carry forward concessional contributions

First, check your total super balance. You can do this by either going to the ATO online services via the MyGov website or logging in to Member Online. Make sure your total super balance was under $500,000 on 30 June the previous financial year.
Work out the amount of unused concessional contributions cap available to you. You can check your available carry forward contribution amounts in ATO online services using the MyGov website.
You'll then be able to make concessional super contributions up to $30,000, plus any leftovers from previous years. Just remember concessional contributions also include the SG payments from your employer.
If you need to, speak to your accountant or financial adviser to make sure it's right for you.
Speak to your employer about salary sacrifice and how to make a personal contribution. Then you could claim a tax deduction.

Check your super contributions cap

It's easy to see if you're near your cap by logging in to Member Online or using our mobile app. If you have super in other funds, log in to myGov.

Not sure how much you should be contributing to super?

Do the sums and see the difference extra contributions can make to your future.

Use our contributions calculator

Speak with an adviser

Financial advice about your super is included as part of your ART membership.¹

Your advice options

FAQs about carry forward concessional contributions

Keep growing your super

You've worked hard for your super. Now let it work harder for you. If you're ready to make the most of the carry forward rule, log in to Member Online to make a contribution.