Since 2017, anyone eligible to contribute can claim a tax deduction for personal super contributions: you no longer need salary sacrifice to get pre-tax money into super. That leaves two routes to the same destination:
- Salary sacrifice: you agree with your employer to give up future salary, and they pay it into super instead. It never touches your bank account.
- Personal deductible contribution: you transfer your own money to your fund, then tell the fund (via a notice of intent) that you'll claim it as a tax deduction.
Either way the amount comes off your taxable income, is taxed at 15% inside the fund, uses the same $32,500 concessional cap alongside your employer's 12% super guarantee, and counts as reportable super contributions for income tests. On a $95,000 salary, putting $10,000 in by either route saves about $3,200 of income tax and Medicare levy, costs $1,500 of contributions tax in the fund, and leaves you about $1,700 ahead, identically. Model your own numbers with the salary sacrifice calculator; the result applies to both routes.
Where they differ
| Salary sacrifice | Personal deductible | |
|---|---|---|
| Set up via | Agreement with your employer / payroll | Yourself: BPAY/transfer to fund + notice of intent |
| Timing | Prospective only, future pay, spread across the year | Any time before 30 June, including one lump sum |
| Cash-flow effect | Smaller net pay each cycle; tax saving is immediate | You pay from savings now, get the tax back at assessment |
| Paperwork risk | Low, payroll handles reporting | Real, deduction lost without a valid, acknowledged notice of intent |
| Employer required? | Yes, and not all employers offer it | No, works for any employee or self-employed person |
The notice of intent
The personal route's flexibility comes with the one hard rule. Before you claim the deduction you must give your fund a notice of intent to claim or vary a deduction (ATO form NAT 71121, or your fund's own version) and receive the fund's written acknowledgment. The notice must reach the fund by the earlier of:
- the day you lodge your tax return for the year you contributed, or
- the end of the following income year.
And it must still be valid when it arrives. The ATO's rules:
- Rolling over or withdrawing first kills it. Close or fully roll over the account before the notice is lodged and the deduction is gone entirely; a partial rollover means you can only deduct the proportion still in the fund.
- Starting a pension with the money kills it. Once the fund begins paying an income stream from the contribution, no valid notice can be given.
- Variations only go down. You can reduce a claimed amount (even to nil) but never increase it, increasing takes a second notice, subject to the same deadlines.
- Whole dollars only. Deductions are claimed in whole dollars; stray cents stay non-concessional.
Practical order of operations: contribute → send the notice → wait for the acknowledgment → then lodge your return. If you're planning any rollover or fund switch, lodge the notice first.
Choosing between them
- Steady salary, employer offers it: salary sacrifice is set-and-forget, spreads the cash-flow hit and can't miss a deadline.
- Bonus, windfall, or income you can't predict: personal deductible, sized in June once you know the year's income.
- Employer won't do sacrifice (or you're self-employed): personal deductible is the only route.
- Chasing the government co-contribution: only the portion you don't claim as a deduction can qualify: a deducted contribution is concessional and ineligible.
- Aged 67–74: you can contribute without a work test, but claiming the deduction still requires meeting it (40 hours in 30 consecutive days, or the one-off exemption).
Whichever route: watch the cap. Employer contributions eat into the $32,500 first, unused cap from up to five earlier years may add headroom, and going over means extra tax: the concessional cap guide covers the arithmetic, and above $250,000 of income Division 293 takes a second bite either way.
Frequently asked questions
Can I claim a deduction for my salary-sacrificed contributions?
No. Sacrificed amounts are employer contributions and are already pre-tax, claiming a deduction on top isn't allowed. You also can't claim deductions for super guarantee contributions, rollovers, downsizer contributions or FHSS recontributions.
Sources
Figures on this page come from the following primary sources. The date is when we last checked the page against the source.
- Personal super contributions (ATO), checked 25 August 2026.
- Concessional contributions cap (ATO), checked 6 August 2026.
Related
Salary sacrifice calculator: the take-home and net-super effect of any contribution amount. Concessional cap 2026-27: headroom, carry-forward and excess contributions. Division 293 tax: the extra 15% above $250,000.
Figures current as at 25 August 2026. Rules verified against the ATO's personal super contributions guidance; see our methodology. General information only, not financial advice.