Tax and super changes for 2026-27
The main changes from 1 July 2026 that matter for a salary package, each compared with 2025-26 and linked to the ATO.
Published 22 Oct 2026. Updated 29 Oct 2026.
- 2026-27 tax year
- Rates verified against the ATO on
- Sources · How we check · How we check
Division 296 checked against the ATO on 22 Oct 2026; the ATO calculates it and publishes assessment timing on its page.
| What | 2025-26 | 2026-27 | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tax rate from $18,201 to $45,000 | 16% | 15% | A $268 tax cut for resident taxpayers earning $45,000 or more, and less below that. |
| Concessional (before-tax) super cap | $30,000 | $32,500 | $2,500 more room for employer SG plus salary sacrifice. |
| Non-concessional (after-tax) super cap | $120,000 | $130,000 | Bring-forward up to $390,000 over three years, if your total super balance allows. |
| Maximum contribution base | $62,500 a quarter | $270,830 a year | Payday super: tracked across the financial year on what each employer pays you, not per quarter. |
| Super guarantee rate | 12% | 12% | No change. |
| Medicare levy surcharge, singles (tiers start) | $101k / $118k / $158k | $105k / $123k / $164k | Each tier starts higher, so some people drop a tier. |
| Medicare levy surcharge, families (tiers start) | $202k / $236k / $316k | $210k / $246k / $328k | The family threshold also rises by $1,500 for each dependent child after the first. |
| HELP repayments start above | $67,000 | $69,528 | Then 15c and 17c per dollar, and 10% of all repayment income from $186,051. |
| Division 293 threshold | $250,000 | $250,000 | No change since 2017-18, so more people cross it each year. |
| Division 296 (large super balances) | Not in force | From 1 July 2026 | Extra tax on super earnings linked to a total super balance above $3,000,000, and more above $10,000,000. |
Four changes that matter most on a large package
1. Payday super changes when employer super stops
From 1 July 2026 employers pay super with each pay, and the maximum contribution base became $270,830 a year instead of $62,500 a quarter, applied to the earnings each employer pays you. On a steady salary above the base, employer super now stops part-way through the year rather than being capped each quarter. See when yours stops.
2. A bigger concessional cap, mostly used by SG
The cap rose to $32,500. The most SG one employer must pay is $32,499.60, so anyone earning above about $270,830 has almost no room left to salary sacrifice without carry-forward. Work out your room.
3. Division 293 still starts at $250,000
The threshold has not moved since 2017-18 while salaries and the cap have, so the extra 15% reaches further down the pay scale each year: with standard SG it now starts at a salary of about $223,215. Check yours.
4. Division 296 starts for large super balances
From 1 July 2026, people with a total super balance above $3,000,000 pay an extra 15% on the share of their taxable super earnings that relates to the balance above $3,000,000, and a further 10% on the share relating to the balance above $10,000,000. Both thresholds are indexed to inflation. It affects balances, not salary, so it is not in our calculators. Source: ATO Division 296 thresholds, checked 22 Oct 2026.
How we keep this right
Every 2026-27 figure comes from the same rates file our calculators use, checked against the ATO pages below. 2025-26 figures are from the same ATO pages' prior-year tables.
Sources
- ATO: tax rates for Australian residents (2026-27 and 2025-26)
- ATO: contributions caps
- ATO: super guarantee rate and maximum contribution base
- ATO: maximum contribution base under payday super
- ATO: Medicare levy surcharge income, thresholds and rates
- ATO: Division 293 threshold
- ATO: Division 296 tax thresholds
- ATO: study and training loan repayment thresholds