Superannuation
Salary sacrifice to super calculator
The whole picture side by side: what leaves your pay, what reaches your super, and what the two together are worth.
- No sign-up or email
- Runs in your browser
- Assumptions you can edit
- Print or save as PDF
If I sacrifice more into super, what actually changes?
Salary sacrifice reduces your tax because it reduces your take-home pay. A calculator that reports only 'tax saved' makes moving your own money look like a windfall. This one shows both sides — pay and super — and the total, which is the number that actually tells you whether you are better off.
Only years whose rates have been checked and signed off are available.
$
$
Per year, on top of anything you already sacrifice.
Do you have a HELP or other study loan?
$
$
Claiming the tax-free threshold
Better off by
$1,700
per year, pay and super combined
Take-home pay changes by
− $6,800
this is the money you redirect
Super receives
+ $8,500
after contributions tax
| Per year | Without sacrifice | With sacrifice | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Take-home pay | $74,080 | $67,280 | −$6,800 |
| Income tax | $19,020 | $16,020 | −$3,000 |
| Medicare levy | $1,900 | $1,700 | −$200 |
| Into super, before tax | $11,400 | $21,400 | +$10,000 |
| Contributions tax | $1,710 | $3,210 | +$1,500 |
| Into super, after tax | $9,690 | $18,190 | +$8,500 |
| Pay plus super | $83,770 | $85,470 | +$1,700 |
Tax falls by $3,200, but the combined position improves by $1,700 — contributions tax takes a share of what you redirect. Money moved into super is also preserved until you can access it.
Calculated using the 2026-27 rates.
Estimate only, based on the figures and assumptions you entered. It is general information, not financial advice, and it does not take your objectives, financial situation or needs into account. Model version 0.1.0, not independently reviewed.
Reading the result
What the numbers mean
Take-home pay falls. That is not a side effect — it is the money being redirected, and any calculator showing only a tax saving is hiding it.
The total is take-home pay plus what actually reaches your super after contributions tax. That is the honest measure of whether you are ahead.
The gain is usually much smaller than the tax saved, because contributions tax takes a share of what you redirect.
Money in super is preserved. Being better off on paper is not the same as being able to spend it, and preservation rules are not modelled here.
Worked example
An example, start to finish
Because the answer turns entirely on the tax scale for the year selected, the comparison is left to the calculator rather than printed with figures that would age.
- Without sacrifice
- take-home pay + net super
- With sacrifice
- take-home pay + net super
- Change in take-home pay
- negative — this is the money redirected
- Change in super
- the sacrificed amount, less contributions tax
- Change in total
- the two added together
The last row is the one that answers the question. Compare it against the tax saved and the difference is what contributions tax took.
Methodology
What this calculator assumes
Employer contributions are calculated on your salary before sacrifice. Some employers calculate on the reduced salary instead — that is a contract question, and it changes the result.
Sacrificed amounts are taxed at the contributions tax rate for the selected year on the way into the fund.
Both sides of the comparison use the same income tax engine as the take-home pay calculator, so the two tools cannot disagree.
Sacrificed super is added back to income when a study loan repayment is calculated.
Limitations
What it does not do
Not modelled: Division 293 tax for higher incomes, unused concessional cap carried forward, preservation and access rules, the effect on income-tested government payments or child support, and any insurance held inside the fund.
Exceeding the concessional cap changes how the extra is taxed. The calculator warns when the cap is exceeded but does not model the consequence.
This does not advise whether sacrificing is right for you. That depends on your age, timeframe, other goals and what you would otherwise do with the money.
Salary sacrifice must be arranged with your employer before the income is earned.
About this model
Built by the Souffle team. Model version 0.1.0, in effect from 2026-09-10. It has not been independently reviewed, and no review badge is shown for that reason. The calculation runs entirely in your browser — nothing you type is sent to us or to anyone else, and nothing is stored.
Questions
Common questions
Why is the total gain smaller than the tax I save?
Because contributions tax applies to what you redirect. You avoid tax at your marginal rate and pay contributions tax instead, so the benefit is roughly the difference between the two rates, not the whole tax saving.
Is salary sacrifice always worth it?
No. If your marginal rate is at or below the contributions tax rate there is little or no tax benefit, and the money becomes preserved in super. Whether it suits you is a personal question.
Does my employer still pay the same super?
This calculator assumes employer contributions are worked out on your pre-sacrifice salary. Not every arrangement works that way, so check yours — it can materially change the answer.
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