Tips to boost your super with carry forward contributions
When your employer pays a percentage of your salary into your super fund, it’s called a concessional contribution. Instead of paying your full marginal tax rate on the contribution, it’s generally taxed at 15% in your super fund. If you have a very large super balance, tax concessions on earnings may be lower from 1 July 2026. The Australian Tax Office (ATO) has the detail.
This tax concession is one of the things that can make super a great investment, but of course there’s a catch: you can only put up to a certain amount into super each year at this concessional rate.
This cap has been increasing over the years, and for 2025/26, it is $30,000. From 1 July 2026, it will be $32,500.
Not always reaching the concessional contributions cap?
Have a look at your super contributions over the last five years. If you haven’t reached the cap in any year, you may be able to contribute some or all the difference as a voluntary contribution this year and still get the concessional tax rate.
For instance, if you contributed $25,000 last year (when the cap was $30,000), you’ve got $5,000 of unused concessional contributions to play with this year. This means you could put in up to $35,000 this year, and have it treated as conccessional (generally taxed at 15%).
This is called a carry-forward contribution, and it could be a great way to boost your super.
Am I eligible for carry-forward contributions?
You can only use carry-forward contributions if:
- Your total super balance (the value of all your super in any super funds you may have as shown in your ATO) is under $500,000 at 30 June of the previous financial year; and
- You didn’t reach the cap in any of the last five years.
Only the most recent five years count, so if you have an unused cap amount from the 2020-21 financial year, the opportunity will be gone if it is not used by the end of the 2025-26 financial year.
There’s a lot to all this, so if you want to dive deeper beyond what’s summarised in this blog, you can read more about it on the ATO site here. If you’re ready to find out whether you have any carry-forward amounts available, log in to the ATO online services and choose Super → Information → Carry forward concessional contributions.
Here's an example:
Maria has $280,000 in super, here are her contributions for the last five years:
| Year | Concessional contributions | Concessional cap for each year | Unused concessional amounts |
|---|---|---|---|
| $18,000 | $25,000 | $7,000 | |
| $20,000 | $27,500 | $7,500 | |
| $20,000 | $27,500 | $7,500 | |
| $25,000 | $27,500 | $2,500 | |
| $30,000 | $30,000 | $0 | |
| $24,500 |
* The above example and unused concessional amounts shown are illustrative only. Whether unused amounts can be carried forward depends on eligibility rules, including total super balance limits.
In the past four years, Maria didn’t reach her concessional contributions cap, making a total of $24,500 that she could have contributed at the 15% tax rate.
In 2025/26, Maria’s boss pays her a bonus and she’s looking for somewhere to invest it. Because she didn’t reach the cap in four of the past five years, she can put up to $24,500 into her super, as long as it’s received by her fund before 30 June 2026, and only pay 15% tax on that amount.
Importantly, this is on top of the $30,000 concessional amount for this year, so Maria could put in $64,500 and apply to pay 15% tax on it.
Why use carry-forward contributions?
If you haven’t reached your concessional cap in any of the last five years and you meet the other eligibility criteria, this could be a neat way to boost your super while making a decent tax saving.
Even if you’re already contributing $30,000 a year to your super, if you didn’t hit the cap in the last five years you could contribute more than $30,000 and still have those contributions treated as concessional (generally taxed at 15).
Please note there are tax consequences if you exceed the caps.
Keeping track of your super
From 1 July 2026, super will be paid more frequently by employers. Contributions will generally be paid each payday and count towards your contributions cap when they’re received by your super fund, not when they’re earned. This is worth keeping in mind if you’re planning to make extra contributions close to the end of the financial year, as it can help you keep track of how much has been contributed to your super in a financial year.
Get some personal advice
As with any investments, before you take the plunge, you may want to discuss your options with your financial adviser. They can give you advice specific to your personal financial situation, and tell you exactly how using carry-forward contributions could reduce your tax.
For more information, visit the ATO’s website.
This information is general advice only and is not intended to provide you with financial advice or take into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on the information, consider its appropriateness to your circumstances and read the Financial Services Guide (FSG), product disclosure statement (PDS) and Target Market Determination (TMD) available on our website. You may wish to seek financial advice from an authorised financial adviser before making an investment decision. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. Interests in the Australian Ethical Retail Superannuation Fund (ABN 49 633 667 743, USI AET0100AU) are offered by Australian Ethical Investment Limited (ABN 47 003 188 930, AFSL 229949) and issued by the Trustee of the Fund, Australian Ethical Superannuation Pty Limited (ABN 43 079 259 733, RSE L0001441, ASFL 526 055).
Superannuation is a means of saving for retirement, which is, in part, compulsory. The government has placed restrictions on when you can access your investments held in superannuation. The Government has set caps on the amount of money that you can add to your superannuation each year and over your lifetime on both a concessional and non-concessional tax basis. There will be tax consequences if you breach these caps. For more detail, speak with a financial adviser or registered tax agent or visit the ATO website.
