Division 293 Tax
Calculator AU 2025-26

Division 293 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 imposes an additional 15% tax on concessional (pre-tax) superannuation contributions of high-income earners — defined as those with combined Division 293 income plus low-tax contributions exceeding $250,000 per financial year. Introduced 1 July 2012 at a $300,000 threshold; reduced to $250,000 from 1 July 2017. The tax is on top of the standard 15% contributions tax that all concessional contributions pay inside super, making the effective rate on concessional contributions 30% for affected high earners. Despite this, the 30% rate is still lower than the top marginal rate of 47% (45% income tax + 2% Medicare levy), so concessional contributions remain tax-effective even with Division 293.

Division 293 income includes: (1) Taxable income (before super contributions deduction); (2) Reportable fringe benefits (grossed-up); (3) Net investment loss (rental + financial — added back to income for surcharge purposes); (4) Reportable super contributions (salary sacrifice + personal deductible); (5) Foreign income (sub-divisions 770 and 768); (6) Less super lump sum taxed elements with zero tax rate. NOT included: Social Security benefits, child support received, capital gains discount. Then ADD low-tax contributions (= concessional contributions less excess concessional contributions). Total = Div 293 income. If above $250,000, the excess is the Div 293 base. Threshold has NOT been indexed for inflation since 2017 enactment.

15% rate. Applied to the LESSER of: (a) low-tax contributions (i.e., total concessional contributions including 11.5% SG, salary sacrifice, personal deductible contributions — capped at the $30,000 concessional cap for FY 2025-26), OR (b) excess of Division 293 income over $250,000. Example: someone with $280,000 Division 293 income and $25,000 total concessional contributions. Lesser of (a) $25,000 contribs or (b) $30,000 excess over threshold = $25,000. Div 293 tax = 15% × $25,000 = $3,750. Combined with the 15% contributions tax already paid inside super, total tax on the $25,000 concessional = $7,500 (30%) — vs $11,750 (47%) if taken as salary. Net saving still $4,250 per $25,000 contributed.

Two options when you receive the Division 293 assessment from the ATO (typically 6-12 months after lodging your income tax return): (1) Pay from outside super — use personal cash, savings, or other after-tax money. Pay within 21 days of assessment to avoid general interest charge (GIC). (2) Release from super — submit a Division 293 release authority via myGov / ATO. ATO sends the release authority to your super fund, which sells assets and remits the requested amount (up to the Div 293 tax assessed) directly to ATO on your behalf. Choose option 2 if cash-poor; choose option 1 if you want to preserve super assets and have liquid funds. The release does NOT count as a contribution withdrawal for preservation age rules — it's a tax-related release authority under §131-25 of TAA 1953.

Yes — Division 293 applies to all 'low-tax contributions' which includes employer Super Guarantee (SG), salary sacrifice, and personal deductible contributions. SG rate for FY 2025-26 is 11.5% (rising to 12% from 1 July 2025 onward per scheduled legislated phase-in). For a $300,000 employee, SG alone is ~$34,500 — exceeding the $30,000 concessional cap. Excess concessional contributions face additional treatment under Division 291 (refunded as income or taxed at marginal rate). Division 293 applies to the within-cap portion. Important: opt-out / contribution holiday is NOT available for SG (mandatory employer contribution). High earners cannot avoid Division 293 by stopping voluntary contributions if SG alone pushes them past the threshold.

Partially. You can stop salary sacrifice and personal deductible contributions, but employer SG (11.5% rising to 12% on 1 July 2025) is mandatory and unavoidable on ordinary time earnings. For someone with $260,000 salary, SG alone is ~$30,000 — likely fully within concessional cap, so Division 293 base = min($30,000 contributions, $10,000 excess over $250k threshold) = $10,000 × 15% = $1,500 Div 293 tax. Stopping all voluntary contributions only reduces Div 293 if (a) the concessional contributions exceed the threshold excess (i.e., you'd otherwise be making large salary sacrifice) and (b) you don't need the tax deduction from those contributions. Most often, voluntary contributions remain net-positive after Division 293 due to 30% combined rate vs 47% marginal.

Yes, generally. Top marginal rate 2025-26 is 45% + 2% Medicare levy = 47%. Concessional super with Division 293: 15% contributions tax + 15% Div 293 = 30%. Net saving per $1 contributed (vs taking as salary): 47% − 30% = 17 percentage points. On $30,000 concessional contribution, that's $5,100 saved per year. Plus tax-advantaged growth inside super (15% on earnings or 10% on capital gains held >12 months in accumulation; 0% in pension phase after preservation age). Caveat: super is locked until preservation age (60 for most), so liquidity trade-off matters. For high earners with stable income, full concessional contributions still beat after-tax investment outside super.

Two separate problems stack. Excess concessional contributions (above $30,000 in FY 2025-26): treated as income at your marginal rate via Division 291 of ITAA 1997, plus the 15% inside-super tax (refunded to your tax return for offset). Division 293 applies on top to the portion of concessional contributions WITHIN the cap. Example: high earner with $35,000 concessional contributions (over the $30k cap by $5,000): $5,000 excess refunded as income, taxed at 45% + 2% = $2,350; $30,000 within cap subject to 15% standard + 15% Div 293 = $9,000 total. Total tax on full $35,000 contribution = $11,350 (32.4%). Still cheaper than 47% marginal on $35,000 salary ($16,450).

Yes — Division 293 applies identically regardless of whether contributions go to a retail fund, industry fund, or SMSF. The fund type does not affect the tax. Concessional contributions are tracked at the ATO via Member Contribution Statements (MCS) filed by all funds annually. The ATO aggregates all your super contributions across all funds for both concessional cap testing (Division 291) AND Division 293 calculation. SMSF members with multiple member funds may need to use the contributions splitting election to manage between spouses — but Division 293 is calculated per-member, not per-fund.

Not under current legislation. The $250,000 threshold has been static since 1 July 2017 (raised from $300,000 a year earlier). Real bracket creep means a household earning the same real income as a 2017 $250,000 earner is now well above the threshold due to ~22% cumulative inflation since 2017. No current bipartisan proposal exists to index. The 2023 'Better Targeted Super Concessions' policy (additional 15% on earnings attributable to balances above $3 million, deferred to FY 2026-27) is separate from Division 293 — it taxes BALANCES, not contributions. The $250k Division 293 threshold remains unchanged in current legislation despite multiple industry submissions calling for indexation.