Concessional contributions (CCs) are super contributions that are sometimes referred to as ‘pre-tax’ contributions. They include:

• contributions from an employer (e.g superannuation guarantee and salary sacrifice).
  
• personal contributions claimed as a tax deduction, and
  
• certain other amounts, see the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) for more information.
  

An annual cap of $27,500 applies to CCs in the 2023/24 financial year. If you have more than one fund, total CCs made to all funds are added up and count towards your CC cap.

If you make CCs of less than the annual cap, you may be eligible to accrue these unused amounts since 1 July 2018 and make catch-up contributions in subsequent financial years. Unused amounts can be carried forward for up to five years. To be eligible to make catch-up CCs, your total super balance at the prior 30 June must be below $500,000. Other eligibility rules apply. Further information is available at ato.gov.au.

The ATO will inform you if you have exceeded your CC cap. Following notification from the ATO, you can withdraw up to 85% of any excess CCs from your super. If you leave the excess in your fund, the full amount of the excess will also count towards your non-concessional contribution cap.

Additional tax is also payable on excess CCs. All contributions exceeding the CC cap will be included in your assessable income for the year and will be taxed at your marginal tax rate (less a 15% tax offset to reflect the tax paid on these contributions within your super fund).