Definition
From the 2020 financial year, the carry forward rule allows Members to contribute unused concessional contribution cap from up to 5 previous financial years.
To use your unused cap amounts your total super balance at the end of 30 June of the previous financial year needs to be less than $500,000. You are then able to add unused amounts to your original concessional contributions cap of $27,500 ($30,000 from 1 July 2024).
$500k Maximum Red Alert!!
The total super balance (TSB) may be different from your super fund account balance
Make sure your SMSF balance, including grossed up loans, is under $500k to utilise this carry-forward provisions.
A simple example of how the TSB is calculated is as follows:
Jane has all of her super in an SMSF. She is the only member of her SMSF and she only invests in term deposits along side her bank account. All of the term deposits and balance in her bank account total $300,000 as at 30 June. Jane’s TSB is most likely $300,000.
In the next year, she invested in a property with a Limited Recourse Borrowing Arrangement (LRBA). The value of the all assets in the Fund inlcuding cash and and the new property is $700,000 at 30 June but she has a loan of $400,000. Jane’s TSB is $700,000 at the end of the year this is because the Total Super Balance is calculated on the grossed up amount of the assets and not the net assets.
If your Superannuation balance (grossed up) is over the $500k limit, the carry-forward provisions can’t be used. You are then limited to the annual Concessional Contributions cap.
Remember that if you exceed your concessional contributions cap, the excess concessional contributions (ECC) are included in your assessable income. ECC are taxed at your marginal tax rate less a 15% tax offset to account for the contributions tax already paid by your super fund.
To know more on how the Total Super Balance is calculated, see the guidance from the ATO here.
Example #1
John is an employee and only receives super guarantee contributions from his employer. John’s super balance is less than $500,000 over the five years. John has a significant unused portion. John could utilise carry-forward concessional contributions to use any of this unused cap by making additional contributions into his super. In the financial year 2025/2026, John could make a $131,500 concessional contribution to super on top of the $6,000 he receives from his employer.
| 2020-2021 | 2021-2022 | 2022-2023 | 2023-2024 | 2024-2025 | 2025-2026 | |
| General Concessional Contribution Cap | $25,000.00 | $27,500.00 | $27,500.00 | $27,500.00 | $30,000.00 | $30,000.00 |
| Concessional Contributions made | $6,000.00 | $6,000.00 | $6,000.00 | $6,000.00 | $6,000.00 | $6,000.00 |
| Unused Concessional Cap Available | $19,000.00 | $21,500.00 | $21,500.00 | $21,500.00 | $24,000.00 | $24,000.00 |
| Available Cumulative Concessional Contribution Cap | $19,000.00 | $40,500.00 | $62,000.00 | $83,500.00 | $107,500.00 | $131,500.00 |
The ATO have a full index of listings regarding the concessional contributions cap amount and unused amount. For more information please refer to the ATO website here.
Non-Concessional Contributions
For more information on contributions, please see here for more on non-concessional contributions and the provision regarding the bring forward rule specifically for non-concessional contributions.