Salary Sacrifice Superannuation Calculator

Why people salary sacrifice into super

Concessional super contributions — including salary sacrifice — are generally taxed at 15% inside your fund, rather than at your marginal income tax rate. For many people on middle or higher incomes, that's a lower rate than they'd otherwise pay on that portion of their salary, which is why salary sacrifice is a common tax-effective strategy for boosting retirement savings.

The benefit isn't automatic for everyone, though — very low income earners may already pay 0% or 16% tax on that portion of income, which narrows or removes the advantage. Adjust the marginal tax rate selector to match your own income to get a more realistic estimate of the tax saving shown below the calculator.

The concessional contributions cap

Salary sacrifice contributions count towards the concessional contributions cap together with your employer's superannuation guarantee contributions. If the combined total in a year goes over the cap, the excess is generally taxed at your marginal rate rather than the concessional 15% rate, which removes the tax advantage for that portion. This calculator flags years where your combined employer and voluntary contributions look like they may exceed the estimated cap, so you know to check the current ATO figure before committing to an ongoing arrangement.