By Paul Feeney, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Otivo
Australian super contains two rules whose names are almost the same and whose functions are opposite. Carry-forward lets you use cap space you did not use in past years. Bring-forward lets you use cap space from future years. One reaches backwards, the other reaches forwards, they attach to different contribution types, and they have entirely different eligibility gates. Getting them the wrong way round is not a small error — it is the difference between a valid contribution and an excess contributions assessment. Here's how each one works, and what happens when someone uses both in the same year.
Carry-forward applies to concessional contributions and lets you use unused cap space from up to five previous financial years, if your total super balance was under $500,000 on the prior 30 June. Bring-forward applies to non-concessional contributions and lets eligible members under 75 use up to two future years' caps in one year.
What does carry-forward actually do?
Carry-forward lets a member contribute more than the general concessional cap in a year by drawing on cap space they left unused in earlier years. It has been available since 1 July 2018.
The mechanics:
- Unused concessional cap amounts can be carried forward for up to five financial years.
- Unused amounts are applied oldest-first.
- Amounts unused after five years expire. The 2020-21 amounts have already lapsed; unused 2021-22 cap space expires on 30 June 2027.
- The general concessional cap for 2026-27 is $32,500. Carry-forward operates on top of it, so an eligible member's effective cap for the year can be considerably higher.
Eligibility — all three conditions must be met:
- Your total super balance was below $500,000 on 30 June of the previous financial year.
- You have unused concessional contributions cap space in one or more of the previous five financial years.
- You are eligible to make super contributions, which generally means being under age 75. Funds can accept contributions up to 28 days after the end of the month in which a member turns 75.
Those two lists do different jobs and are worth keeping apart. The mechanics describe what the rule does. The eligibility conditions describe who can use it, and all three have to hold — the age condition in particular is the one most often left out of explanations of this rule.
What does bring-forward actually do?
Bring-forward works on non-concessional contributions and runs in the other direction. It lets an eligible member use up to two future years' non-concessional caps in the current year, making a larger single contribution and then having reduced or nil cap space for the following one or two years.
It triggers automatically. There is no election and no form — making a non-concessional contribution above the annual cap starts a bring-forward period, provided you are eligible.
How much can you bring forward?
The amount depends on your total super balance on 30 June of the previous financial year. For 2026-27, based on your balance at 30 June 2026:
- Under $1.84 million: three times the annual cap, so $390,000 over three years.
- $1.84 million to under $1.97 million: two times the annual cap, so $260,000 over two years.
- $1.97 million to under $2.1 million: the annual cap only, $130,000, with no bring-forward.
- $2.1 million or more: nil.
You must also be under 75 at some point in the financial year. And note the transitional point: the increase to $390,000 does not apply to anyone who already triggered a bring-forward period in 2024-25 or 2025-26 and is still inside it. Those members remain on the caps that applied when the period started.
What are the four differences that matter?
Set side by side, the two rules diverge on everything except the word in the middle.
- Direction. Carry-forward uses the past. Bring-forward uses the future.
- Contribution type. Carry-forward applies to concessional contributions — employer superannuation guarantee, salary sacrifice and personal deductible contributions, all counting towards one combined cap. Bring-forward applies to non-concessional contributions, where no deduction is claimed.
- Balance test. Carry-forward uses a $500,000 total super balance threshold. Bring-forward uses tiered thresholds running from $1.84 million to $2.1 million.
- What happens afterwards. Carry-forward consumes cap space you already had, so nothing changes in later years. Bring-forward borrows from later years, so cap space in the following one or two years is reduced or nil.
What tax applies, and where does Division 293 come in?
Concessional contributions, including those made using carry-forward, are taxed at 15% in the fund.
Where a member's income and concessional contributions together exceed $250,000 in a financial year, Division 293 applies an additional 15% to the affected contributions, taking the total to 30% rather than 15%. Income for this purpose includes taxable income, reportable fringe benefits, net investment losses and the concessional contributions themselves — so a large catch-up contribution can itself take someone over the threshold in the year it is made. At 30% those contributions remain concessional for anyone on the top marginal rate, but the arithmetic changes and it is worth knowing before the contribution rather than after.
Non-concessional contributions made under bring-forward are not taxed on entry, since the income has already been taxed.
If you intend to claim a deduction for a personal contribution — which is what makes it concessional and therefore capable of using carry-forward space — the fund must receive a valid notice of intent before the earlier of the day you lodge your tax return for that financial year or the end of the following financial year, and the fund must acknowledge it. Both limbs apply and the earlier date governs.
Can you use both in the same year?
Yes, and this is where the two rules stop being a matching pair and start interacting.
They sit under separate caps, so using one does not consume the other. In principle an eligible member could make a large concessional contribution using carry-forward space and a large non-concessional contribution using bring-forward in the same financial year.
Three interactions are worth understanding before anyone does that.
First, the balance tests point in opposite directions. Carry-forward requires a total super balance under $500,000. Bring-forward is available at balances far above that. A member with a balance of $450,000 can potentially use both; a member with $1.5 million can only use bring-forward. The overlap window is narrower than it first appears.
Second, both are measured against the same 30 June balance. A large contribution made this year raises the balance used to test eligibility for both rules next year, which can close off carry-forward entirely for someone near the $500,000 line.
Third, the concessional contribution affects the Division 293 calculation and the non-concessional one does not, because concessional contributions count towards the $250,000 income figure and non-concessional contributions do not.
For a 57-year-old with a total super balance of $430,000 who has taken time out of the workforce and now has surplus income and an inheritance, both rules are potentially in play in the same year, and the sequence matters. Otivo's tax-deductible personal contributions module works through cap space, carry-forward eligibility, age, salary, household income and monthly surplus to show what the concessional side of that looks like.
How do you find out how much unused cap space you have?
The ATO tracks it. Log in to myGov, open ATO online services, then Super, then Information, then Carry forward concessional contributions. It shows the unused amounts available from each of the previous five years, and your total super balance at the relevant 30 June.
Two cautions. The figure reflects what funds have reported, and reporting lags, so it may not include very recent contributions. And contributions count towards a financial year when the fund receives them, not when you send them.
Frequently asked questions
Do you have to apply to use carry-forward?
No. It applies automatically once your concessional contributions for the year exceed the general cap and you meet the three eligibility conditions. The ATO applies unused amounts oldest-first when assessing your contributions for the year.
What happens if you trigger bring-forward by accident?
Exceeding the annual non-concessional cap starts a bring-forward period automatically if you are eligible. If you are not eligible, or the contribution exceeds what your balance tier allows, the amount is an excess non-concessional contribution and the ATO will issue a determination with release options.
Does the concessional cap increase apply to unused amounts from earlier years?
No. Unused cap space is carried forward at the cap that applied in the year it arose. Space unused in 2023-24 reflects the $27,500 cap that applied then, not the current $32,500.
Can you use carry-forward if your balance goes above $500,000 later?
The test is applied each year against your total super balance on the previous 30 June. Space you did not use does not disappear because your balance rose — but you cannot access it in a year where your prior 30 June balance was $500,000 or more. If the balance later falls back below the threshold and the space has not yet expired, it becomes available again.
Two rules, one letter apart in everyday speech, pointing in opposite directions. Otivo is a licensed digital advice provider holding AFSL and Australian Credit Licence No. 485665. Customers who follow our contributions advice in full could be better off by an average of $180,356 in today's dollars by retirement.
Sources
- ATO, contributions caps, 2026-27.
- ATO, non-concessional contributions cap and bring-forward arrangements.
- ATO, carry forward unused concessional contributions.
- ATO, Division 293 tax.
Disclaimer
The information in this communication is current as at August 2026 and has been prepared by Otivo Pty Ltd ABN 47 602 457 732, AFSL and Australian Credit Licence No. 485665. This content is general information only and has been prepared without taking into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. It is not personal financial or taxation advice and should not be relied on as such. Before acting on any information, you should consider its appropriateness having regard to your personal circumstances. This material must not be reproduced in whole or in part, or posted on any social media platform, without the prior written consent of Otivo Pty Ltd.