Division 293 tax calculator

It is the lesser of two amounts, not the excess

The ATO works out taxable contributions as the smaller of your concessional contributions and the amount by which income plus contributions exceeds $250,000. The 15% falls on that, and on nothing else.

On $400,000 of income with $30,000 of contributions the excess is $180,000 — but the tax is 15% of $30,000, which is $4,500. Read as “15% of the excess” it would be $27,000, six times too much.

The rule also runs the other way. Just over the threshold, the excess is the smaller number, so somebody $5,000 over with $30,000 of contributions pays 15% of $5,000.

“Division 293 income” is not taxable income

It is the income figure used for the Medicare levy surcharge, disregarding reportable superannuation contributions — those are counted on the other side of the sum, so including them here would count them twice.

Start with taxable income, then add total reportable fringe benefits, any net financial investment loss, any net rental property loss, and any amount on which family trust distribution tax has been paid. Subtract super lump sum taxed elements with a zero tax rate and any assessable First Home Super Saver released amount.

A one-off year is common: an eligible termination payment, a back payment of salary, or a capital gain can lift the figure over the threshold for a single year and never again.

Which contributions count

Concessional contributions: employer and super guarantee contributions, salary sacrifice, and personal contributions you claim a deduction for. Non-concessional contributions are not in this at all.

Excess concessional contributions are disregarded. Anything over the $27,500 concessional cap for FY2023-24 is taxed as excess instead, and counting it here would tax the same dollar twice. But a cap raised by carried-forward unused amounts is still your cap: every contribution inside the higher cap counts.

It is assessed separately, and you can pay it from super

Division 293 tax is not part of the income tax assessment. The ATO issues a separate notice after it has both the tax return and the fund’s contribution report — which is why it often arrives months after the refund, and why a second fund reporting late can produce an amended assessment.

It can be paid personally or by electing to release the money from super. Where it relates to a defined benefit interest, payment is deferred to a debt account and falls due when a benefit is paid from that interest; the deferred amount attracts end-of-year interest if it is not paid voluntarily by 30 June.

What this page does not do

It does not work out your Division 293 income for you — the list above is a composition, and everything in it except taxable income is something only your return holds. It does not cover the defined benefit contribution figure, which the fund calculates and reports.

For what the contributions themselves are worth after the ordinary 15% contributions tax, see the take-home pay calculator. Division 293 sits on top of that, taking the concession from 15% to 30% on the taxed portion.