If your income is under $64,293 in 2026–27 and you put some of your own after-tax money into super, the government may add up to $500 to your account. This is the super co-contribution. This guide shows how much it adds at different incomes, how much you need to put in to get it, and the income tests that catch people out.
How the co-contribution is worked out
The government adds 50 cents for every dollar of personal after-tax contributions you make in the year. The most it adds is $500, which takes a $1,000 contribution.
The $500 maximum depends on your total income for the year:
- Up to $49,293, the maximum is the full $500.
- Between $49,293 and $64,293, the maximum drops by 3.333 cents for every dollar of income over $49,293.
- At $64,293 or more, there is no co-contribution.
Payments are rounded up to the nearest 5 cents. If the amount works out to less than $20, the ATO pays $20.
What a $1,000 contribution gets at different incomes
The table shows the co-contribution on a $1,000 personal contribution in 2026–27. The last column shows the smallest contribution that still gets that amount.
| Total income | Co-contribution on $1,000 | Contribution that gets it |
|---|---|---|
| $40,000 | $500.00 | $1,000.00 |
| $49,293 | $500.00 | $1,000.00 |
| $52,000 | $409.80 | $819.60 |
| $55,000 | $309.80 | $619.60 |
| $58,000 | $209.80 | $419.60 |
| $61,000 | $109.85 | $219.70 |
| $63,000 | $43.15 | $86.30 |
| $64,293 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
At $55,000, putting in more than $619.60 still adds to your super, but the government amount stays at $309.80.
Contributing less than $1,000
You do not need to contribute $1,000. On an income of $40,000, a $200 contribution gets $100 and a $500 contribution gets $250. A $2,000 contribution still gets $500, because $500 is the ceiling. Spread over a year, $1,000 is about $38.46 a fortnight.
The $20 minimum
Near the top threshold the amount gets small. At $63,800 of income, the maximum works out to about $16. Because the minimum payment is $20, the ATO pays $20 instead.
Total income is wider than salary
For the income threshold test, your total income is:
- your assessable income,
- plus your reportable fringe benefits,
- plus your reportable employer super contributions, which include salary sacrifice,
- less any deductions for running a business, if you have one.
Take someone on a $52,000 salary who salary sacrifices $3,000 into super. Their assessable income is $49,000, which looks like it qualifies for the full $500. But the $3,000 is added back, so their total income is $52,000 and the most they can get is $409.80. See how salary sacrifice works for more on reportable contributions.
Work-related deductions, such as tools or working from home, are not taken off. Only business deductions are.
The 10% eligible income test
At least 10% of your total income must come from a job, from running a business, or both. Interest, rent, dividends and trust distributions do not count towards the 10%. Someone with $2,000 of wages and $30,000 of rent and interest has 6.25% from work, so they miss out even though their income is under the threshold.
Who can get it
All of these need to be true for the year:
- You made a personal contribution to super and did not claim a tax deduction for it.
- Your total income is under $64,293, and you pass the 10% test.
- You are under 71 at the end of the financial year.
- You did not hold a temporary visa at any time in the year. New Zealand citizens and some prescribed visas are exceptions.
- You lodged your tax return for the year.
- Your total super balance was below the general transfer balance cap at 30 June of the previous year.
- You did not go over your non-concessional contributions cap.
A contribution you claim as a tax deduction becomes a concessional contribution and does not count. That is a different path, covered in carry-forward concessional contributions.
How it is paid
- The contribution has to reach your fund by 30 June.
- You do not apply. The ATO works it out after you lodge your tax return.
- Your fund needs your tax file number.
- Most payments are made between November and January for contributions made in the previous year.
If your partner earns less than you, a contribution to their super may also bring a tax offset. See the spouse super contribution tax offset.
Assumptions behind the numbers
- The $49,293 and $64,293 thresholds and the $500 maximum are the ATO's 2026–27 figures. The 50% matching rate, $20 minimum, rounding to 5 cents, income tests and eligibility rules are from the ATO's co-contribution guidance, checked in October 2026.
- The 3.333 cent reduction per dollar is from a government super fund's 2026/27 co-contribution fact sheet. It matches the ATO's $500 maximum falling to nil over the $15,000 between the thresholds.
- Examples assume all other conditions are met and every contribution is a personal after-tax contribution with no tax deduction claimed.
- In the salary sacrifice example, the person has no other income, fringe benefits or reportable contributions.
- The ATO works out the actual amount. Its co-contribution calculator, or a registered tax agent, can confirm a particular case.
Run your own numbers
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