Super vs Take-Home Pay
The next dollar of pre-tax pay is taxed at your marginal rate plus the 2% Medicare levy as salary, or at 15% inside super. See which side keeps more at your salary.
Super vs Take-Home 2026-27
How Does the Comparison Work?
Two tax doors for the same dollar of pay.
Every extra dollar of salary is taxed at your marginal rate, explained in marginal vs average tax rate, plus the 2% Medicare levy. In 2026-27 that means 17c in the dollar between $18,201 and $45,000, 32c up to $135,000, 39c up to $190,000, and 47c above that (ATO resident rates plus the levy).
The same dollar sacrificed into super is taxed once, at the 15% contributions tax inside the fund (moneysmart, Tax and super). The fund keeps 85c. The comparison is that blunt: your marginal rate plus 2% on one side, 15% on the other.
This tool does the sum properly rather than quoting headline rates. It computes your real net pay at your salary and at your salary plus $1,000, using the full 2026-27 engine, so the LITO taper between $45,000 and $66,667 and the HECS-HELP bands are included. That is why the rate it shows can be a little higher than your bracket rate.
What the 15% side costs you is liquidity. Sacrificed super is preserved, generally until age 60, and it shares the $32,500 concessional cap (FY2026-27) with your employer’s 12%. The salary sacrifice calculator turns this comparison into an actual arrangement, and the superannuation calculator shows what your employer already pays.
An Extra $1,000 on a $90,000 Salary
Extra Pay vs Extra Super at Common Salaries
What you keep from the next $1,000 of pre-tax pay, each way. Resident, no HECS-HELP debt.
| Salary | Marginal rate + levy | Kept as cash (per $1,000) | Kept in super (per $1,000) | Advantage to super |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $60,000 | 32% | $665 | $850 | $185 |
| $70,000 | 32% | $680 | $850 | $170 |
| $80,000 | 32% | $680 | $850 | $170 |
| $90,000 | 32% | $680 | $850 | $170 |
| $100,000 | 32% | $680 | $850 | $170 |
| $120,000 | 32% | $680 | $850 | $170 |
| $140,000 | 39% | $610 | $850 | $240 |
| $160,000 | 39% | $610 | $850 | $240 |
| $180,000 | 39% | $610 | $850 | $240 |
| $200,000 | 47% | $530 | $850 | $320 |
Cash figures are the real net-pay change computed from the 2026-27 engine, so between $45,000 and $66,667 the LITO taper adds 1.5c per $1 above the bracket rate. Super keeps a flat $850 after the 15% contributions tax.
What If You Have a HECS-HELP Debt?
Extra salary raises your HELP repayment. Extra super does not lower it. The gap widens.
HELP repayments are worked out on repayment income, which adds salary-sacrificed super back (ATO study and training support loans thresholds). So a sacrifice never reduces your HELP bill, but it never increases it either. Extra salary, in contrast, is repayment income, and above the $69,528 threshold it loses another 15c to 17c per dollar on top of tax and levy.
| Salary | Rate on the next $1,000 (with HELP) | Kept as cash | Kept in super | Advantage to super |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $70,000 | 47% | $530 | $850 | $320 |
| $80,000 | 47% | $530 | $850 | $320 |
| $90,000 | 47% | $530 | $850 | $320 |
| $100,000 | 47% | $530 | $850 | $320 |
| $110,000 | 47% | $530 | $850 | $320 |
| $120,000 | 47% | $530 | $850 | $320 |
| $140,000 | 56% | $440 | $850 | $410 |
| $160,000 | 56% | $440 | $850 | $410 |
| $180,000 | 56% | $440 | $850 | $410 |
Computed with the 2026-27 marginal HELP system: 15c per $1 above $69,528, 17c above $129,717. A compulsory HELP repayment is not lost money, it pays down your loan, but it does not land in your account on payday.
Where Does the Comparison Flip?
The 15% fund rate does not win everywhere. The zones, on 2026-27 settings.
| Income zone (2026-27) | Rate on extra salary | Rate inside super | Who wins |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to $18,200 | 0% | 15% | Cash. Salary is tax-free, super is not |
| $18,201 to $37,000 | 15% + levy | 15%, LISTO refunds up to $500 | Close to even; LISTO tilts it to super |
| $37,001 to $45,000 | 17% | 15% | Super, narrowly |
| $45,001 to $135,000 | 32% | 15% | Super, by 17c in the dollar |
| $135,001 to $190,000 | 39% | 15% | Super, by 24c in the dollar |
| $190,001 to $250,000 | 47% | 15% | Super, by 32c in the dollar |
| Over $250,000 | 47% | 30% (Division 293) | Super, by 17c in the dollar |
Salary rates are the 2026-27 resident brackets plus the full 2% Medicare levy; below $35,013 the levy shades in, so the low-income rows are approximate. LISTO and Division 293 figures from moneysmart, Tax and super. LITO tapering can add up to 1.5c between $45,000 and $66,667.
Who Uses This Tool?
The decision shows up in more places than a pay review.
The pay-rise negotiator
Cash rise or super rise
- Some employers offer either on request
- A $2,000 rise as super keeps $1,700
- The same rise as cash keeps $1,360 at 32%
- Worth knowing before the conversation
The bonus recipient
Sacrifice it before it is earned
- A bonus can be sacrificed if arranged in advance
- Taxed at 15% instead of your marginal rate
- Must fit inside the $32,500 cap
- See the bonus tax calculator for the cash side
The HELP debtor
Repaying a study loan
- Extra salary loses 15c to 17c more per dollar
- Extra super loses nothing to HELP
- The super advantage widens accordingly
- Toggle HECS-HELP in the tool above
Is There Another Calculator Like This?
Not that we could find, which is why we built it.
Pay calculators, including our take-home pay calculator, answer “what do I take home?”. Super fund tools project a balance at retirement. Neither answers the payday question in between: of the next dollar your employer could pay you, which side of the ledger keeps more of it? We could not find an Australian tool that puts the marginal-rate-plus-levy figure and the 15% fund figure side by side at your exact salary, so this page does.
What it deliberately does not do is project investment returns, model insurance inside super, or tell you what to choose. Those depend on your fund, your age and your circumstances, and a tax table cannot answer them. It shows the 2026-27 tax arithmetic and stops there.
What Changed on 1 July 2026?
Two changes moved this comparison for 2026-27.
| What changed | 2025-26 | 2026-27 | Effect on the comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| First marginal rate | 16% | 15% | Cash improves slightly between $18,201 and $45,000; that zone is now near line-ball with super |
| Concessional cap | $30,000 | $32,500 | $2,500 more can go through the 15% door each year |
| HELP repayment threshold | $67,000 | $69,528 | Extra salary keeps more below the threshold; above it the marginal 15c to 17c still applies |
Sources: ATO individual income tax rates 2026-27, ATO contributions caps (updated 24 April 2026), ATO study and training support loans thresholds.
Common Mistakes With This Comparison
Where the neat arithmetic gets misused.
Ignoring access
Preservation is the price
- The super side is locked until access age
- A 17c tax win does not pay this month’s rent
- Emergency funds belong outside super
- The comparison assumes you can wait
Forgetting the cap
15% is not unlimited
- The $32,500 cap includes employer SG
- Excess contributions are taxed at marginal rates
- The advantage vanishes above the cap
- Check headroom before committing
Comparing take-home to gross super
Both sides pay tax
- $1,000 into super is $850, not $1,000
- Comparing $680 cash to $1,000 super overstates it
- The honest gap at 32% is $170 per $1,000
- This page nets both sides first
Treating withholding as the answer
Withheld is not owed
- Payday withholding on extra pay is an estimate
- Your actual tax settles at assessment
- The table above shows the tax you owe over a year
- Over-withholding comes back as a refund
Super vs Take-Home FAQ
The follow-up questions this comparison raises.
Sources
The documents behind every figure on this page.
- ATO, Individual income tax rates, 2026-27 resident scale (15% first marginal rate from 1 July 2026).
- ATO, Key superannuation rates and thresholds: contributions caps (concessional cap $32,500), last updated 24 April 2026.
- ATO, Study and training support loans rates and repayment thresholds, 2026-27 (threshold $69,528, marginal 15c and 17c bands; repayment income adds reportable super contributions).
- Moneysmart (ASIC), Tax and super (15% contributions tax, LISTO up to $500 at $37,000 or less, Division 293 above $250,000), last updated 18 June 2026.
- ATO, What is the Medicare levy? (2% of taxable income), last updated 30 April 2026.
Last verified 23 July 2026.