Salary Sacrifice Calculator
Putting some of your salary into super before tax cuts your tax bill — but it also cuts your take-home pay. This shows both, side by side, so you can see exactly what you get and what it costs.
Current ATO rates as at . Indicative only — general information, not personal advice.
Your income
Salary sacrifice into super
Leave "now" blank if you don't sacrifice anything yet. "Fill my cap" sets the amount that uses up your concessional cap once your employer's super is counted.
Things that change your tax
Enter your salary and the amount you're thinking of sacrificing to see the difference.
What this tool does — and what it doesn't
- Everything is measured against not salary sacrificing at all. The full working also shows what you sacrifice today, if anything. The saving is the difference in total tax — your personal tax plus the 15% contributions tax your super fund pays.
- Salary sacrifice is not free money. Every dollar you sacrifice is a dollar you don't receive now, and it is locked in super until you meet a condition of release (generally age 60 and retired, or age 65). If you might need the money before then, this isn't the right home for it.
- It assumes your employer keeps paying super on your full salary. Since 1 January 2020 employers must calculate super guarantee on your salary before any sacrifice, but check your own arrangement — some employment agreements and packaging arrangements differ.
- Amounts you sacrifice are reported to the ATO and are added back when working out your Medicare levy surcharge and your study-loan repayment income — this tool does that, which is why sacrificing may not reduce those two as much as you'd expect. Above the cap the reported figure is reduced by the excess, so the same dollars are not counted twice.
- Going over the cap is modelled, not just flagged. Contributions above the concessional cap are added back to your income and taxed at your marginal rate, with a 15% offset for the tax your fund already paid — which is why the chart stops rewarding you at the cap. Not modelled: electing to release the excess from your fund, and the fact that an excess left in super also counts towards your after-tax contribution cap.
- Not modelled: carry-forward of unused cap from earlier years (which may let you contribute more than the cap shown), the government co-contribution, the low income super tax offset, spouse contributions, defined benefit funds, foreign residents, Medicare levy exemptions, novated leases and other packaged benefits, and part-year or changing salaries.
- Investment returns, fees and insurance premiums inside your super are ignored — this is a tax comparison for one financial year, not a projection of your super balance.
- Figures are indicative. Your actual position depends on your full circumstances. We confirm the exact numbers before you change anything with your employer.
Your details
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Get your results
Salary sacrifice is one lever — the right amount depends on your cash flow, your cap, your debts and when you actually want to stop working. Let's map it out together.
Book a chat with usYour salary sacrifice
How much should you put in?
Make it personal
This tool shows the general picture — a short chat shows what it means for you. The first meeting is complimentary and no-obligation.
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Please read this before you act on any number above.
This superannuation calculator is not intended to be relied on for the purpose of making a decision
in relation to a financial product, and you should consider obtaining advice from a
financial services licensee before making any financial decisions. The assumptions it
uses, and its limitations, are set out on this page — please read them, because they
change the answer. Separately, any general advice here has been prepared without taking
account of your objectives, financial situation or needs; consider whether it is
appropriate for you before acting on it.