Division 293 Tax
What it is, and what we can actually do about it
High-income earners
If you earn over $250,000, the tax office quietly charges you extra on your super. Here's the plain-English version, and the honest list of levers that matter.
What it is
Division 293 is an extra 15% tax on the before-tax (concessional) contributions going into your super, and it kicks in once your income for this test tips over $250,000. It exists to trim back the tax break high earners get on super, so instead of your super contributions being taxed at 15% inside the fund, the top slice is taxed at 30%.
How the number is worked out
- Take your income for the test, then add your before-tax super contributions on top.
- If that total is under $250,000, there's no Division 293. Done.
- If it's over, the extra 15% applies to the lesser of your contributions or the amount you've gone over by.
What actually moves the needle
If you're comfortably and consistently over $250,000, we'll be upfront: the tax on your standard contributions is very hard to avoid, and usually not worth avoiding, because 30% going into super still beats 47% taken as salary. The real planning value sits in three places.
✓ One-off spike years
- A bonus, a business sale or a redundancy can push a normally-under person over for a single year.
- Timing a sale across two financial years can keep you under.
- Small business CGT concessions can shrink a sale gain, often the single biggest lever.
✓ Building wealth outside super
- After-tax (non-concessional) contributions aren't caught by this tax.
- Family trusts, investment bonds and company structures can hold growth at lower rates.
- Directing more to a lower-earning spouse's super over time.
What doesn't work, so you don't waste effort
✕ Salary sacrificing more
- Your super contributions are added straight back into the test, so sacrificing more doesn't lower it.
✕ Negative gearing
- Investment losses are added back too, so they don't reduce your Division 293 income.
The bigger picture: Division 296 from 1 July 2026
A separate new tax now applies to very large super balances. From 1 July 2026 it adds an extra 15% to the earnings linked to the slice of your balance between $3 million and $10 million, and an extra 25% to the slice above $10 million. Unlike the original proposal, it taxes only realised earnings, not paper gains, and the thresholds are indexed. If your balance is heading toward $3 million, the question of how much super is worth changes, and we look at both taxes together, not one in isolation.
We won't optimise one tax and quietly walk you into the other.
What we'll do for you
We'll model your position before the assessment lands, not after, flag the spike years early, and show you the numbers behind every option so nothing is a black box. You'll always understand the reasoning, the trade-off, and what it means for your money. Then you decide, with clarity.
If your income sits near $250,000, or your super balance is heading toward $3 million, that's worth a conversation. Contact Atramentum.
This briefing is general information only and doesn't take your personal circumstances into account. Thresholds, rates and rules are current as at July 2026 and can change. It isn't personal tax or financial advice, so please talk to us before acting so we can tailor it to your situation.
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