Division 293 Tax Calculator

The Division 293 Tax Calculator estimates the extra 15 percent tax that applies to concessional superannuation contributions for high-income Australians. Enter your income, reportable fringe benefits, investment losses, and concessional contributions, and the tool works out how much of those contributions is taxed under Division 293 and the resulting tax bill.

How It Works

1. Build Division 293 income. Your income for Division 293 purposes is your taxable income plus reportable fringe benefits and total net investment and rental losses, because those add-backs stop salary packaging and negative gearing from hiding true income.
2. Add concessional contributions. Low-tax (concessional) contributions, such as employer Superannuation Guarantee amounts and salary sacrifice, are added to that income figure.
3. Compare against the threshold. The combined total is compared with the threshold, AUD 250,000 by default. Only the amount above the threshold matters.
4. Tax the lesser amount at 15 percent. The taxable portion is the smaller of your concessional contributions and the excess over the threshold, and Division 293 tax is 15 percent of that portion. This sits on top of the standard 15 percent contributions tax, so affected contributions are taxed at 30 percent in total.

Formula

$\text{Division 293 income}=\text{Income}+\text{Reportable fringe benefits}+\text{Net investment losses}$

$\text{Excess}=\max(0,\ \text{Division 293 income}+\text{Concessional contributions}-\text{Threshold})$

$\text{Taxable contributions}=\min(\text{Concessional contributions},\ \text{Excess})$

$\text{Division 293 tax}=\text{Taxable contributions}\times 15\%$

Input Parameters

| Parameter | Unit | Typical range | What it means | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Income | AUD per year | 0 and up | Taxable income before the Division 293 add-backs | | Reportable fringe benefits (optional) | AUD per year | 0 and up | Reportable fringe benefits total from your income statement | | Investment losses (optional) | AUD per year | 0 and up | Total net investment and rental property losses added back | | Concessional contributions | AUD per year | 0 to the concessional cap | Employer and salary-sacrifice contributions taxed at 15 percent in the fund | | Threshold (optional) | AUD per year | Default 250,000 | The Division 293 income threshold for the year |

Use figures for a single financial year, and use the same contribution figure your fund reports to the ATO. The contributions input accepts either the contributions field or the low-tax contributions field used by earlier versions of this tool.

Worked Example

A specialist earns taxable income of AUD 230,000, has reportable fringe benefits of AUD 15,000, claims net rental losses of AUD 10,000, and receives concessional contributions of AUD 30,000.

1. Division 293 income: AUD 230,000 + AUD 15,000 + AUD 10,000 = AUD 255,000.
2. Combined total: AUD 255,000 + AUD 30,000 = AUD 285,000.
3. Excess over the AUD 250,000 threshold: AUD 285,000 minus AUD 250,000 = AUD 35,000.
4. Taxable contributions: the smaller of AUD 30,000 and AUD 35,000 = AUD 30,000.
5. Division 293 tax: AUD 30,000 x 15 percent = AUD 4,500.

Because the income alone already passes the threshold, the full year of concessional contributions is caught. Compare a second case: income of AUD 240,000 with AUD 20,000 of contributions gives a combined AUD 260,000, an excess of only AUD 10,000, so just AUD 10,000 is taxed and the bill is AUD 1,500.

Interpreting the Results

If the combined total stays under the threshold, Division 293 tax is zero and your contributions are taxed only at the standard 15 percent inside the fund. The closer your combined total sits to the threshold, the more a small change matters: a bonus, a capital gain, or extra salary sacrifice late in the year can push part of your contributions into the extra tax.

The assessment is issued by the ATO after your tax return and your fund's reporting are both processed. You can elect to release money from super to pay it, or pay from outside funds. Note that the tax applies to contributions, not to your whole income, so even a large excess produces a bill capped at 15 percent of the year's concessional contributions.

Choosing the Right Tool

• Use the Division 296 Super Tax Calculator when your total super balance is above AUD 3 million and you are modelling the separate tax on super earnings for very large balances. Division 293 and Division 296 test different things: income plus contributions versus balance growth.
• Use the Superannuation Calculator to project how your balance grows over time with contributions and returns.
• Use the Salary Sacrifice Calculator to model how extra concessional contributions change your take-home pay and tax before checking the Division 293 effect here.

Limitations

This is an estimate based on the standard Division 293 method. The ATO's actual calculation uses defined benefit formulas and special rules for constitutionally protected funds, judges, and state higher office holders, and it can differ for members of pooled superannuation trusts. Low-income superannuation tax offset interactions, carry-forward concessional contributions, and excess concessional contribution charges are outside this tool. Threshold settings can be changed by legislation, so confirm the current threshold and your fund's reported figures before acting.

Questions

Who pays Division 293 tax?

Anyone whose Division 293 income plus concessional contributions exceeds the threshold for the year, currently AUD 250,000. The extra 15 percent applies only to the contributions caught by the excess, not to your salary.

Does Division 293 tax replace the normal 15 percent contributions tax?

No, it is added to it. Contributions caught by Division 293 are taxed at 30 percent in total: 15 percent as usual in the fund, plus the extra 15 percent assessed to you personally.

Can I pay the Division 293 bill from my super?

Yes. When the ATO issues the assessment you can make a Division 293 election to release the amount from your super fund, or you can pay it from your own money and leave your balance untouched.

Sources and Methodology

The method follows the Division 293 rules in the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 and the guidance published by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) on Division 293, including the definitions of Division 293 income and low-tax super contributions and the AUD 250,000 threshold. Always verify your figures against the ATO calculator and your fund's annual statement for the relevant year.