Salary Sacrifice Calculator FY2026-27
This calculator works out the real net benefit of salary sacrificing into super — income tax saved via your marginal rate, the extra contributions tax the sacrifice itself costs, and how much of it actually lands in take-home pay versus super, for FY2026-27. It does not project a future super balance — see the super contributions calculator for the caps and Division 293 detail, or MoneySmart's calculator for a retirement balance projection.
Enter your salary and how much you sacrifice each pay — the annual figure it converts to is shown explicitly in the results.
Calculate your salary sacrifice
Net benefit (per year): $884 — an effective return of 17% on every dollar you sacrifice.
Take-home pay reduction (per year): $3,536
Super increase, net of contributions tax (per year): $4,420
Your marginal tax rate vs the flat contributions tax rate: 32% vs 15%
Total concessional contributions (super guarantee + this sacrifice) headroom left under the $32,500 cap: $16,500
Over the concessional cap by $0 once your employer's super guarantee is added — the excess loses its 15% concessional tax treatment and is taxed at your marginal rate instead, so the net benefit above is not reliable at this sacrifice amount. See the super contributions calculator for the full cap and Division 293 breakdown.
This is general information, not financial or tax advice, and is not intended to be relied on for making decisions about a financial product. Consider advice from a licensed financial adviser (and a registered tax agent for tax questions) before making any financial decisions.
Estimates for general information — not financial or tax advice. Method, rates and sources are published below.
Net benefit by salary and annual sacrifice (FY2026-27)
Net benefit and effective return for a range of salaries and annual salary-sacrifice amounts, computed from the engine above. Cells marked † are over the concessional cap once the compulsory super guarantee is added — see the footnote below the table.
| Salary | $5,000/yr sacrifice | $10,000/yr sacrifice | $15,000/yr sacrifice | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net benefit | Return | Net benefit | Return | Net benefit | Return | |
| $70,000 | $850 | 17% | $1,700 | 17% | $2,550 | 17% |
| $90,000 | $850 | 17% | $1,700 | 17% | $2,550 | 17% |
| $120,000 | $850 | 17% | $1,700 | 17% | $2,550 | 17% |
| $150,000 | $1,200 | 24% | $2,400 | 24% | $3,600 † | 24% |
† Over the $32,500 concessional cap once combined with the compulsory super guarantee contribution — the excess portion is taxed at the marginal rate instead of 15%, so the real net benefit for that cell is lower than shown.
How this is calculated
Your per-pay sacrifice is annualised first — multiplied by 52 (weekly), 26 (fortnightly) or 12 (monthly) pays a year. From there, this calculator composes two already-verified engines rather than doing any bracket or cap math of its own: the income tax saved is the difference in total tax (via the same marginal-rate composition as the tax calculator and the negative gearing calculator) between your salary and your salary minus the sacrifice. The contributions tax cost is the ADDITIONAL contributions tax the sacrifice itself causes — the difference between contributions tax on (super guarantee + sacrifice) and contributions tax on super guarantee alone (see the super contributions calculator for how that figure, including any Division 293 slice, is worked out). Net benefit is the tax saved minus that extra contributions tax cost.
| Taxable income | Marginal rate | Combined with 2% levy | vs contributions tax |
|---|---|---|---|
| $0 – $18,200 | 0% | 2% | 15% |
| $18,200 – $45,000 | 15% | 17% | 15% |
| $45,000 – $135,000 | 30% | 32% | 15% |
| $135,000 – $190,000 | 37% | 39% | 15% |
| $190,000 and over | 45% | 47% | 15% |
The "marginal rate vs contributions tax" figure shown in the results reflects your rate on your CURRENT salary only — if your sacrifice is large enough to push your taxable income down across a lower bracket boundary, part of it is genuinely saved at the lower rate instead, and the net benefit figure (which does account for that, via the same bracket composition) will be smaller than the headline label alone implies.
This engine was cross-checked against MoneySmart's own Super contributions optimiser — feeding its recommended sacrifice figure back through this calculator reproduced its income tax, contributions tax and take-home pay numbers to the cent. Use that tool instead if you want a full before-tax/after-tax contribution mix or a couple-based comparison, which this page doesn't attempt.
Sources
- ATO — new tax cuts for every Australian taxpayer (FY2026-27) — income tax brackets — verified 2026-07-09
- ATO — Key superannuation rates and thresholds (FY2026-27 hub page) — verified 2026-07-10
- ATO — Contributions caps (concessional cap table) — verified 2026-07-10
- ATO — Division 293 tax on concessional contributions by high-income earners — verified 2026-07-10
Assumptions used here follow the same general approach as ASIC's MoneySmart calculators and may not reflect every personal circumstance — see "What this doesn't model" for specifics.
What this doesn't model
- HECS/HELP repayments. Salary sacrifice reduces your taxable income, but your compulsory HECS/HELP repayment income calculation adds your reportable super contributions — including this sacrifice — straight back on top, so it typically does much less to lower your HECS/HELP repayment than it does your income tax bill. Check your actual position with the HECS repayment calculator.
- Preservation age and access to your super. Once sacrificed, this money is locked away until you reach your preservation age and meet a condition of release — unlike the take-home cash it replaces. This calculator only compares this year's tax numbers, not that decades-long access trade-off.
- Excess concessional contributions above the $32,500 cap: this calculator flags when your super guarantee plus sacrifice go over the cap, but doesn't compute the marginal-rate tax or excess concessional contributions charge that actually applies to the excess — see the super contributions calculator.
- The full Division 293 income definition — this calculator uses your entered salary plus your concessional contributions as a proxy, the same simplification as the super contributions calculator, which also lists reportable fringe benefits and net investment losses as amounts the real ATO definition adds that this proxy doesn't.
- The maximum super contribution base — the ATO caps the earnings employers must pay super guarantee on ($270,830/yr from 1 July 2026). This calculator applies the SG rate to your whole entered salary, so a salary above that figure will overstate your employer's compulsory contribution and understate your true cap headroom.
- Any change in your gross salary itself, insurance premiums funded through your fund, or your fund's fees and investment returns on the extra contribution.
If any of these apply to you, your actual net benefit will differ from the figures above.
Frequently asked questions
How does salary sacrificing into super save me tax?
Salary sacrifice moves money out of your take-home pay (taxed at your marginal rate, up to 45% plus the 2% Medicare levy) and into super instead, where it's only taxed at a flat 15% contributions tax when it lands (30% on any slice that tips you over the Division 293 threshold). The gap between your marginal rate and 15% is the saving. In this page's example, a $5,200 a year sacrifice on a $90,000 salary (32% vs 15%) saves $884 a year net — after the extra 15% contributions tax on that sacrificed amount is taken into account.
Is there a limit to how much I can salary sacrifice?
Yes — the concessional (before-tax) contributions cap, $32,500 a year for FY2026-27. Your employer's compulsory super guarantee contribution counts toward this cap too, not just what you sacrifice, so the room you actually have left is the cap minus your SG contribution. Go over it and the excess loses its 15% tax concession — it's taxed at your normal marginal rate instead, and may attract an extra excess concessional contributions charge. See the super contributions calculator for the full concessional cap and Division 293 breakdown.
Does salary sacrifice affect my HECS/HELP repayments?
Yes, and less favourably than it affects your income tax. Salary sacrifice lowers your taxable income, but the compulsory HECS/HELP repayment income calculation adds your reportable super contributions — including whatever you salary sacrifice — straight back on top. So a sacrifice that meaningfully cuts your income tax bill may do little or nothing to reduce your HECS/HELP repayment, and could even leave it unchanged. Check your actual repayment income and threshold with the HECS repayment calculator before assuming a sacrifice will lower what you owe this year.
Is salary sacrifice always worth it?
Not always, for two reasons this page's numbers don't fully capture. First, the tax saving depends on your marginal rate at the time — if a large sacrifice pushes your taxable income down across a lower bracket boundary, part of it is only sheltered at the lower rate, so the benefit per dollar sacrificed shrinks compared with a smaller sacrifice entirely inside the higher bracket. Second, and more importantly: money you salary sacrifice into super is locked away until you reach your preservation age and meet a condition of release, unlike the take-home cash it replaces. This calculator only compares this year's tax numbers — it doesn't weigh that decades-long access trade-off for you.