Non-Concessional Contributions: The After-Tax Cap
Non-concessional contributions are after-tax money you add to super. They aren't taxed again going in, the annual cap is $120,000, and the bring-forward rule lets you contribute up to $360,000 in one year — until your balance gets too large.
- The cap: $120,000 a year of after-tax contributions for 2024-25, not taxed again inside super.
- Bring-forward: if you're under 75, you can bring forward up to three years — $360,000 — in a single year, provided your total super balance is under the threshold.
- The cut-off: the available bring-forward reduces as your total super balance rises, reaching nil at $1.9 million.
01 What non-concessional means
Non-concessional contributions are made from money you have already paid tax on — savings, an inheritance, the proceeds of selling an asset. Because the tax has been paid, they are not taxed again on the way into super, unlike concessional contributions which are taxed at 15%.
That has two consequences. There is no tax deduction for making one, so the contribution costs you its full face value. And the money becomes tax-free component inside super, which matters on death: the tax-free component passes to any beneficiary, including an adult child, without the roughly 17% death-benefit tax that applies to the taxable component.
The annual cap is $120,000 for 2024-25, set at four times the concessional cap and moving with it. Exceeding the cap is not catastrophic but is administratively unpleasant — the ATO issues a determination and you elect either to release the excess plus an associated earnings amount, which is then taxed at your marginal rate, or to leave it in and pay 47% on the excess.
02 The bring-forward rule
If you're under 75, the bring-forward rule lets you use up to three years of the annual cap at once — up to $360,000 in a single year — by 'bringing forward' the next two years' caps. How much you can bring forward depends on your total super balance at the prior 30 June. Use the calculator to see your available cap.
Shows: your available non-concessional (after-tax) cap, including any bring-forward, based on your total super balance (2024-25 thresholds). Ignores: your age (you must be under 75), prior-year bring-forward already triggered, and the work test for some ages.
Two things about the bring-forward rule surprise people who have read the headline number. It is not something you elect or apply for — making a contribution above the annual cap triggers it automatically, which means a single large contribution can commit you to a three-year period without any decision having been consciously made. And the caps are per person across all your funds, not per fund, so splitting contributions between two funds does not create additional room.
On the defaults above, the worked example shows: Full three-year bring-forward available ($360,000) if you are under 75.
03 When the cap shrinks to nil
The system limits non-concessional contributions as your balance grows, and the limit is a cliff rather than a taper.
For 2024-25, a total super balance under $1.66 million allows the full $360,000 three-year bring-forward; between $1.66m and $1.78m allows two years at $240,000; between $1.78m and $1.9m allows the single annual $120,000; and at or above $1.9 million the cap is nil — no non-concessional contribution can be made at all.
Two features make this worth planning around. The test is applied to your total super balance at the previous 30 June, so the position for a whole financial year is fixed by a single date that has already passed. And because it is a cliff, a balance that grows past $1.9 million during a year closes the door for the following year entirely — which means a large intended contribution is often available in one specific year and never again.
The full decision is in Super Contribution Caps: How Much Can You Put In.
Non-concessional contributions are how the big one-off sums get into super — an inheritance, a downsizing leftover, the sale of an investment. The trap is the bring-forward interacting with your balance: trigger it in the wrong year and you can over-contribute. Check your total super balance at 30 June before you move $360,000, and if you're near $1.9m, get the timing right — above it, the door is shut.
FAQ
What is the non-concessional contributions cap?
$120,000 a year for 2024-25 — after-tax money that isn't taxed again inside super.
What is the bring-forward rule?
If you're under 75, you can use up to three years' cap in one year — up to $360,000 — depending on your total super balance at the prior 30 June.
When can't I make non-concessional contributions?
When your total super balance is at or above $1.9 million at the prior 30 June. Between $1.66m and $1.9m, the available bring-forward is reduced.
Sources
Regulator references
- ATO — Non-concessional contributions capThe non-concessional contributions cap and the bring-forward arrangement.Last verified: 2026-06-19
- ATO — Concessional contributions capThe concessional contributions cap, the carry-forward of unused cap, and what counts against it.Last verified: 2026-06-19
Calculator unit tests · the assertions this page's worked example is checked against, and their last result
Changelog
- 2026-06-19 — initial publish (new format)
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Jordan Reeves
Founder of Talk Through Wealth. A software engineer for over a decade before turning to retirement planning, Jordan built the projection engine after watching family members get fragmented, country-by-country advice that never reconciled. He writes about retirement the way the engine computes it: month-by-month, lifetime-long, and skeptical of any rule of thumb that hasn't been run through the math.