For 2026/27, the concessional contribution cap is $32,500 per year. This covers all before-tax contributions - employer super payments, salary sacrifice and the personal contributions you claim as a tax deduction. If you earn less than $250,000 p.a. these contributions are taxed at 15% (concessional rate). If you earn above that, contributions are taxed at 30%.

If you don't reach the before-tax contribution cap one year, you may be able to carry over the unused portion to future years. This is known as the carry forward rule (concessional contributions). You can carry forward unused caps for up to five years, as long as your super balance is less than $500,000 at 30 June.

For example, if your total before-tax contributions last year were $20,000, you can carry over the remaining $10,000 contribution limit to this year, and therefore contribute up to $40,000 before tax, without being penalised.

Note, this is not the same as the bring forward rule which is only for non-concessional (after tax) contributions. 

The non-concessional (after tax) contributions cap for 2026/27 is $130,000 p.a. - or under certain criteria $390,000 over three years. These contributions are voluntary payments to your super that aren't claimed as a tax deduction and are not taxed when paid to your super. But your total super balance must be less than $2.1 million.

Non-concessional contributions can also include contributions your spouse makes into your super account and transfers from foreign super funds such as KiwiSaver.

The bring‑forward rule allows you to contribute more than the annual after‑tax (non‑concessional) super cap by using up to three years of caps in advance. This means you can make larger contributions earlier, as long as you stay within the total limit for the bring‑forward period.

To be eligible, you must be under age 75 in the first year. If eligible, you may be able to contribute up to $390,000 over three years.

The rule is triggered automatically if you exceed the annual cap. Once triggered, your total contribution limit is locked in for the full bring‑forward period, and you can’t start a new one until it ends.

How much you can contribute depends on your total super balance on 30 June of the previous financial year:

To be eligible, you generally need to be under 75 and not already using a bring‑forward arrangement.