Key Highlights

  • The concessional contributions cap rose to $32,500 from 1 July 2026.
  • June-quarter super paid in July could double up in the 2026–27 year under Payday Super.
  • The one-off relief sits in the trust tax bill now before the Senate.
  • Employers must pay super within seven Business days of each payday.

If you salary sacrifice into super, the switch to Payday Super could quietly push your contributions over the $32,500 concessional cap in 2026–27, through no fault of your own. Super for the June 2026 quarter landed in funds in July, while every pay since 1 July has carried its own contribution. The government's fix is not yet law. It sits in the same bill as the contested 30% trust tax, which faces Senate hearings this week.

Why the 2026–27 year could double count

Concessional contributions are generally counted in the financial year the fund receives them, not the year the work was done.

Under the old quarterly system, super guarantee for the April to June 2026 quarter was due by 28 July 2026. So for many workers, the fund received that June-quarter money in July 2026, inside the 2026–27 financial year.

Payday Super began on 1 July 2026. Employers must now pay super so that it reaches the fund within seven business days after each payday, according to the ATO. That means the 2026–27 year could pick up a full 12 months of payday contributions plus the June 2026 quarter's catch-up payment.

Accounting firm Boyce says most employees are unlikely to be affected, because they are well under the cap. Those most at risk are people who salary sacrifice regularly, receive larger employer contributions, make personal deductible contributions, or are already close to the cap, the firm says.

The ATO confirms the general concessional contributions cap rose to $32,500 from 1 July 2026, as a result of indexation in line with average weekly ordinary time earnings. It was $30,000 in 2025–26.

The cap covers employer super guarantee contributions, salary sacrifice amounts and most personal contributions claimed as a tax deduction. Non-concessional contributions do not count towards it.

Some people may have extra room. If your total super balance was under $500,000 on 30 June of the previous financial year, you may be able to use unused cap amounts from up to five earlier years, the ATO says.

Hypothetical example: the salary sacrificer who aimed for the cap

Hypothetical example: Priya earns a $130,000 salary. Her employer pays 12% super guarantee, which is $15,600 a year. She salary sacrifices $16,900 a year so her concessional contributions total exactly $32,500.

Until 30 June 2026, her employer paid super quarterly. Her June 2026 quarter contributions were $3,900 of super guarantee and $4,225 of salary sacrifice, a total of $8,125. The fund received that money in July 2026.

From July 2026, her employer pays super with every pay. Over 2026–27, that adds up to $32,500.

Counting both, Priya's fund could receive $40,625 of concessional contributions in 2026–27. That is $8,125 over the $32,500 cap, unless she has carry-forward room.

Excess concessional contributions are generally included in your assessable income and taxed at your marginal rate, with a 15% tax offset for the tax the fund has already paid. That outcome would mean extra tax and paperwork, triggered only by the change in when her employer paid, not by any change in what she chose to contribute.

Under the proposed relief, the $8,125 June-quarter amount paid in July 2026 would be excluded when working out her 2026–27 concessional contributions. Her counted total would fall back to $32,500. The example is simplified and ignores pay timing at the end of the year.

What the fix in the bill would do

The relief is in Schedule 6 of the Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 3) Bill 2026. Boyce describes it as one-off relief to avoid exceeding the concessional contributions cap under Payday Super.

Concessional contributions relating to the June 2026 quarter that are paid in July 2026 would be left out of an individual's 2026–27 concessional contributions. The bill would not lift the cap itself. It targets transition-period contributions only.

In his second reading speech, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said "The final Schedule in the Bill provides transitional relief for excess Superannuation contributions" in the first year of Payday Super. "The amendments in this Bill ensure individuals are not adversely impacted" where the timing of employer contributions in that first year affects their caps, he said.

The detailed eligibility rules sit in the bill and its explanatory memorandum, and could change if the bill is amended.

Why it's riding on the trust tax bill

Tax Reform No. 3 is a large package. Schedules 1 to 3 contain the core of the proposed 30% minimum tax on discretionary trusts from 1 July 2028, including restructuring rollover relief and an election for trusts that make pre-nominated distributions. Schedule 4 clarifies CGT reforms for more complex cases, and Schedule 5 defines a new residential dwelling for the negative gearing limits.

The Payday Super relief comes last. The bill passed the House of Representatives on 29 October 2026, according to KPMG, and is now before the Senate.

That bundling means the timing of the super fix is tied to the progress of a bill that faces strong opposition over its trust measures. The Senate could pass it, amend it or split parts of it out, so a delay to the trust debate could also delay certainty for salary sacrificers.

What this means while you wait

Payday Super itself is law. The super guarantee rate is 12%, now calculated on "qualifying earnings", which the ATO says include ordinary time earnings, commissions and salary sacrifice contributions.

The concessional cap relief is not law. Until the bill passes, the existing cap rules apply.

Key dates

  • 28 July 2026: final quarterly super guarantee payment for the June 2026 quarter was due.
  • 5–6 November 2026: Senate Economics Legislation Committee hearings on the Tax Reform No. 3 Bill and the trust tax rates bill.
  • 13 November 2026: the committee's report is due.
  • 30 June 2027: end of the 2026–27 year, when concessional contributions are tallied against the $32,500 cap.
  • 1 July 2028: proposed start of the 30% minimum tax on discretionary trusts, if passed.