Employment & leave Australia
Super Guarantee Calculator Australia
The super guarantee is the minimum your employer must pay into your super fund on top of your wages: 12% of your qualifying earnings, up to a cap. This calculator shows the amount, and works backwards from a package figure to the salary and super inside it.
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Your salary or wages for ordinary hours.
How many super payments a year: 4 = quarterly, 12 = monthly, 26 = fortnightly.
Super your employer must pay
—Salary
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Super per year
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Super per payment
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Total package
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Maximum base applies?
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The working
Working with a different rate? Edit the rates this calculator uses
These are the figures we verified on 2026-10-26. Change them to work with a historic period, or with a new rate that has been announced but which we have not published yet.
ATO; 12% since 1 July 2025
Cross-checked against SuperGuide; the ATO publishes the base per quarter, so confirm on ato.gov.au
A minimum, not a guarantee of your contract. A guide to the minimum an employer must pay. Your contract, award or agreement may provide more, and what counts as ordinary time earnings can be a question of fact. The ATO and your fund's statements are the final word.
How much super should my employer pay?
Your employer must pay 12% of your qualifying earnings (ordinary time earnings plus other regular pay) into your super fund, on top of your salary, up to the maximum contribution base. On a salary of $95,000 that is $11,400 a year. If your quoted figure is a package that includes super, divide it by 1.12 to find the salary.
What counts as qualifying earnings
From 1 July 2026 the guarantee is worked out on qualifying earnings under the Payday Super rules: your ordinary time earnings plus other amounts such as commissions and salary sacrifice contributions. Overtime paid at a premium is generally not an ordinary time earning, and genuine expense reimbursements are not included.
Super is now due with each payday and must reach your fund within seven business days, so it arrives sooner than the old quarterly cycle. Employers have a longer window for a new employee's first payment.
Is it on top or inside the package
Most job ads quote a salary, with super paid on top, while a few quote a total package. Check the contract: if it says "plus super" the 12% is extra, and if it says "inclusive of super" the employer has set your salary at the package divided by 1.12.
To work out how much of your salary you could put in sacrifice, see the salary sacrifice calculator.
How this is calculated
The rule, step by step, so you can check any figure by hand.
super = ordinary time earnings × 12%, up to the maximum contribution basepackage → salary = package ÷ (1 + 12%)per payment = annual super ÷ number of paymentsmaximum super = maximum contribution base × 12%
The 12% is on top of your wages, not taken out of them, which is why a $95,000 salary costs the employer $106,400. If your contract is a package, the same 12% sits inside it: divide by 1.12, not by taking 12% off, because super is 12% of the salary, not of the package.
The maximum contribution base caps the earnings on which super must be paid. Above it, an employer is not required to pay the guarantee, though they may choose to.
A worked example
A $95,000 salary with super paid on top, and a package of $106,400 that includes it.
- Salary$95,000
- Super, $95,000 × 12%$11,400
- Total package$106,400
- Reverse: $106,400 ÷ 1.12$95,000
- Super in that package$11,400
$11,400 of super a year on $95,000, and the same figures come back from the package.
A package that does not say it includes super is normally a salary with super on top.
The maximum contribution base
Employers are not required to pay the guarantee on earnings above the base. The figure in the rate panel is the annual equivalent of the ATO's quarterly base. Because the ATO publishes the base quarterly, confirm the figure for the year on ato.gov.au if you earn near or above it.
At the default figure, the most an employer must pay in a year is about $32,500.
Checking your super
Your employer's payments should appear in your fund and in your myGov linked ATO account as employer contributions. If they do not, ask your employer first and then the ATO, which can chase unpaid super.
What this calculator does not do
- Employees only; contractors have different rules, and some payments change what counts as qualifying earnings
- Does not apply an award or agreement paying more than 12%
- The maximum contribution base is an editable field
- Overtime is excluded by default
Common questions
What is the super guarantee rate?
12% of ordinary time earnings since 1 July 2025.
Is super paid on top of my salary?
Yes, unless your contract says your figure is a package that includes super.
How do I work out the salary inside a package?
Divide the package by 1.12. A $112,000 package that includes super is a $100,000 salary and $12,000 of super.
Does overtime attract super?
Generally no. Overtime at a premium rate is not an ordinary time earning, though your award or contract may say otherwise.
When must my super be paid?
From 1 July 2026 under Payday Super, within seven business days of each payday, rather than quarterly.
Is there a cap?
Yes, the maximum super contribution base limits the earnings on which the guarantee must be paid.
Where these numbers come from
- ATO — how much super to pay The 12% super guarantee rate and the maximum contribution base
- ATO — concessional contributions cap The annual cap on before-tax super contributions
- Fair Work Ombudsman — Payday Super: new rules starting 1 July 2026 Qualifying earnings and the seven-business-day payment window
Rates last verified 2026-10-26 Every figure Australian Taxation Office sets is re-checked against the source at least once a year, and again whenever a change is announced. Out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.
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