This superannuation calculator estimates the super guarantee contribution your employer must pay on your salary or wages, per pay period and per year. It suits Australian employees checking a payslip or a job offer, and employers or payroll staff who want a quick sanity check before a pay run. You enter your earnings, choose the financial year so the correct legislated rate applies, and tell the calculator whether your pay is quoted with super on top or as a package that includes super. It also lets you apply the maximum contribution base, the cap on earnings that compulsory super must be paid on. The whole calculation runs in your browser. Nothing you enter is uploaded, stored or recorded, which matters when the numbers are your real salary.
How it works
The super guarantee rate and the financial year selector
The super guarantee is the minimum percentage of your ordinary time earnings your employer must contribute to your super fund. The rate is set in law and has stepped up over time, which is why this calculator has a financial year selector. The rate for the year you select is the rate it uses:
- 2024-25: 11.5 percent
- 2025-26: 12 percent
- 2026-27: 12 percent
- From 1 July 2027: 12 percent
Because the rate changed on 1 July 2025, picking the wrong year is the easiest way to get a wrong answer. A contribution that looks short against the 12 percent rate may be correct for a 2024-25 pay, when 11.5 percent applied. Results are labelled with the year and rate used, so you can compare like with like against the payslip or statement you are checking. All figures are in AUD.
Ordinary time earnings: the base the percentage applies to
The percentage is not applied to everything on your payslip. It applies to ordinary time earnings, which are generally what you earn for your ordinary hours of work: base salary or wages, commissions, shift loadings and most allowances, and paid leave. Overtime payments are generally not ordinary time earnings, so super is usually not payable on overtime.
That definition explains most mismatches between a rough estimate and a payslip. If you multiply your total gross pay, overtime included, by the guarantee rate, your estimate will run higher than the contribution your employer calculates on ordinary time earnings alone. Enter the earnings figure for ordinary hours when you use this calculator, not a gross figure inflated by overtime, for the closest match.
The maximum contribution base
Compulsory super is only required on earnings up to the maximum contribution base. Up to and including 2025-26 the base is set per quarter: $65,070 per quarter in 2024-25, with a maximum contribution of $7,483.05 per quarter, and $62,500 per quarter in 2025-26, with a maximum contribution of $7,500 per quarter. From 1 July 2026, under Payday Super, the base becomes an annual figure: $270,830 for 2026-27. Turn the cap option on to apply the base for your selected year. Leave it off if your contract or award requires super on your full earnings, because many contracts and awards do exactly that, in which case the legal minimum cap is not the figure your employer uses.
One limit to know about: the ATO had not published a 2027-28 maximum contribution base when this calculator was built, so the cap option does not apply a cap for 2027-28 rather than guess one. The 12 percent rate itself still applies for that year.
On top, or included in the package
Finally, check how your pay is quoted. Many salaries are quoted as a package that includes super, meaning the contribution comes out of the package amount and your cash salary is what remains. Others are quoted as salary plus super, meaning the contribution sits on top. The same headline figure produces different take-home pay under each arrangement, and this calculator works out the employer’s contribution from the earnings figure you enter, so enter the figure the way your contract states it. From 1 July 2026, employers must pay super on payday, at the same time as wages, under the Payday Super rules, which makes payslip by payslip checking much easier than the older quarterly pattern.
Worked example
This is the ATO’s own worked example for 2025-26. An employee’s ordinary time earnings for a quarter are $70,000, and the maximum contribution base is applied.
Earnings above the cap are not counted for compulsory super, so the $70,000 is capped at the 2025-26 quarterly base of $62,500.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Ordinary time earnings for the quarter | $70,000 |
| Capped at the 2025-26 quarterly base | $62,500 |
| Super guarantee for the quarter, 12 percent of $62,500 | $7,500 |
So even though earnings were $70,000 for the quarter, the minimum required contribution is $7,500, unless the employee’s contract or award requires super on the full amount.
Common questions
What is the super guarantee rate?
The super guarantee rate is 12 percent of ordinary time earnings from 1 July 2025, including for the 2026-27 year. It was 11.5 percent in 2024-25. Your employer must pay at least this percentage into your super fund.
What are ordinary time earnings?
Ordinary time earnings are generally what you earn for your ordinary hours of work: base salary or wages, commissions, shift loadings and most allowances, and paid leave. Overtime payments are generally not ordinary time earnings, so super is usually not payable on overtime.
Is there a cap on how much super my employer must pay?
Yes. Compulsory super is only required on earnings up to the maximum contribution base. For years up to 2025-26 the cap is a quarterly amount: 62,500 dollars per quarter in 2025-26. From 1 July 2026, under Payday Super, the cap becomes an annual amount: 270,830 dollars for 2026-27. Many contracts and awards require super on full earnings anyway, so check yours.
When does my employer have to pay my super?
From 1 July 2026, employers must pay super on payday, at the same time as your wages, under the Payday Super rules. Before that, contributions had to be paid at least quarterly.
Is super paid on top of my salary or taken out of it?
That depends on your contract. Many salaries are quoted as a package that includes super, which means the super comes out of the package amount. Others are quoted as salary plus super. This calculator works out the employer’s contribution from the earnings figure you enter.
A note on estimates
The contribution shown is an estimate of the minimum super guarantee, based on the ATO rate and maximum contribution base for the year you select. It is general information only, not financial or tax advice, and your fund statement is the record of what was actually received. Read our full disclaimer at /disclaimer/ before relying on a result. To see the pay that sits alongside your super, try /income-tax-calculator/ and /annual-leave-calculator/, or check your leave balance with /sick-leave-calculator/.