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Personal super contributions and the Notice of Intent
If you put money into super from your own after-tax pay or savings, you may be able to claim it as a tax deduction. To do that you must lodge a Notice of Intent to claim a deduction with your super fund and get the fund's acknowledgement first. Figures below are the ATO's for 2025–26 and 2026–27, checked on 27 October 2026.
How it works, in plain English
- Make a personal contribution to your super fund (for example by BPAY) during the financial year.
- Lodge a Notice of Intent with your fund: the ATO's form Notice of intent to claim or vary a deduction for personal super contributions (NAT 71121) or your fund's own version. It says how much you want to claim.
- Wait for the fund's written acknowledgement. You aren't entitled to the deduction until you have it.
- Then claim the deduction in your tax return. Inside super, the fund takes 15% contributions tax from the amount you claim (30% if Division 293 applies).
Timing rules that trip people up
- The notice must reach your fund by the earlier of the day you lodge your tax return for that year, or 30 June of the following financial year. For contributions made in 2025–26, that is 30 June 2027 at the latest.
- Lodge it before you roll that super over to another fund, withdraw it, start a pension from it, or apply to split it with your spouse. Otherwise the notice may be invalid, or you can only claim part of it.
- Once acknowledged, the notice can't be withdrawn. You can only reduce it, and only before you lodge your return.
Caps
- Your deductible personal contributions count towards your concessional contributions cap, together with your employer's Super Guarantee and any salary sacrifice. The cap is $30,000 for 2025–26 and $32,500 for 2026–27.
- Carry-forward: if your total super balance was under $500,000 at 30 June of the previous year, you can also use unused cap amounts from up to 5 previous years (oldest first; amounts expire after 5 years). For 2025–26 that means unused amounts from 2020–21 onwards. Your available amounts are in ATO online services through myGov (Super › Information › Carry forward concessional contributions).
- Division 293: if your income plus concessional contributions is over $250,000, an extra 15% tax applies to the lesser of your concessional contributions and the amount over $250,000.
Estimate your tax saving
Check your payslips or super statement. These already count towards your cap.
Estimated net tax saving
- Income tax + Medicare without the deduction
- Income tax + Medicare with the deduction
- Personal tax saved
- Contributions tax in super
- Marginal rate (incl. 2% Medicare)
- Concessional contributions / cap
Where the money goes
Compares the tax on your contribution if you leave it as take-home pay versus putting it into super and claiming it.
Figures used
| Resident tax rates (excl. Medicare levy) | 2025–26 | 2026–27 |
|---|---|---|
| $0 – $18,200 | Nil | Nil |
| $18,201 – $45,000 | 16c per $1 over $18,200 | 15c per $1 over $18,200 |
| $45,001 – $135,000 | $4,288 + 30c per $1 over $45,000 | $4,020 + 30c per $1 over $45,000 |
| $135,001 – $190,000 | $31,288 + 37c per $1 over $135,000 | $31,020 + 37c per $1 over $135,000 |
| $190,001 and over | $51,638 + 45c per $1 over $190,000 | $51,370 + 45c per $1 over $190,000 |
| Medicare levy | 2% (low-income reductions and the Medicare levy surcharge not included) | |
| Concessional contributions cap | $30,000 | $32,500 |
| Carry-forward | Total super balance under $500,000 at 30 June of the previous year; unused amounts from up to 5 previous years | |
| Contributions tax / Division 293 | 15% in the fund; plus 15% Division 293 tax over the $250,000 threshold | |
Sources: ATO Tax rates – Australian resident, Contributions caps, Concessional contributions cap, Personal super contributions, Notice of intent instructions and Division 293 tax. Checked 27 October 2026. Ignores tax offsets (such as LITO), HELP repayments and age or work-test rules.
Ready to claim? Send us your Notice of Intent details
Fill this in and press the button. It opens an email in your own email app, addressed to our team, for you to check and send. Nothing is stored on this website. Please don't include your tax file number: we'll collect it securely when you sign the fund's form.