Super Co-Contribution Calculator (2026–27)

Source: Australian Taxation Office — Government contributions — rates and thresholds, read in full 13 October 2026. General information only, not personal financial advice.

Co-contribution income thresholds

At or below the lower threshold you get the full $500. At or above the higher threshold you get nothing. In between, the maximum reduces in a straight line — the ATO sets the higher threshold exactly $15,000 above the lower one.

The lower threshold is indexed to average weekly ordinary time earnings each year, so it moves most Februaries. It has risen from $39,837 in 2020–21 to $49,293 in 2026–27.

How the amount is worked out

Two things cap the payment, and you get the smaller of them:

1. Half of what you contributed. The matching rate is 50%, so $1,000 of personal contributions is worth $500.
2. The maximum for your income. At or below $49,293 that is the full $500. Above it, the maximum falls by about 3.33 cents for every dollar you earn, reaching zero at $64,293.

The ATO pays a minimum of $20 if you are entitled to anything at all. So a small entitlement is topped up rather than rounded away — but you still have to be under the higher threshold to get it.

Who is eligible

From the ATO page, you must:

• make one or more personal non-concessional contributions to a complying fund during the year;
• pass both income tests — the threshold test and the 10% eligible income test;
• be under 71 at the end of the income year;
• not have held a temporary visa at any time during the year (New Zealand citizens and prescribed visas excepted);
• have lodged your tax return for the year;
• have a total superannuation balance under the general transfer balance cap at 30 June of the previous year; and
• not have contributed more than your non-concessional contributions cap.

Personal contributions are the ones you send from your own take-home pay. Salary sacrifice and contributions you claim a tax deduction for are concessional — they do not count towards the co-contribution.

If you earn $37,000 or less, also check LISTO

The low income super tax offset (LISTO) is a separate payment that refunds the 15% contributions tax on your before-tax super contributions — your employer's super guarantee included. It is worth:

• 15% of your concessional contributions for the year,
• capped at $500 and with a minimum of $10,
• available if your adjusted taxable income is $37,000 or less.

LISTO and the co-contribution are not alternatives. A person on $32,000 who salary sacrifices and makes a personal after-tax contribution can receive both. The ATO example on its own page: on $32,000 a year with $3,360 of super guarantee, the LISTO is $500, because 15% of $3,360 is more than the cap.

Source: Australian Taxation Office — Low income super tax offset (LISTO), read in full 13 October 2026. General information only, not personal financial advice.