au-super-guarantee

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# Australia Superannuation Guarantee (SG) -- Sole Trader & Employer Skill v3.3

> **General reference only.** This skill is general tax/accounting reference material for AI-assisted workflows. It has not been reviewed for any specific person's facts, documents, elections, deadlines, residency, filing status, or local procedures. Do not rely on it to file, pay, amend, or take a tax position without review by a qualified professional in the relevant jurisdiction.

> **Regime change at 1 July 2026 (Payday Super).** SG timing is determined by WHEN earnings are PAID, not when the work was done. Earnings paid from 1 July 2026: payday super rules (SG received by the fund within 7 business days of each payday). Earnings paid up to 30 June 2026: old quarterly rules (final quarterly deadline was 28 July 2026 for the June 2026 quarter). Both regimes appear in 2026 bank statements -- classify by payment date.

## Select the income year before calculating

This guide covers 2025–26 contribution reconciliation and 2026–27 payday SG. Ask for the requested year and fund receipt records; return that year in the output.

For the 2025–26 return-assembly branch, reconcile employer, salary-sacrifice and personal contributions received by the fund during 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026. Use the $30,000 standard concessional cap, plus eligible carry-forward amounts where the prior 30 June total super balance was less than $500,000. Establish a valid acknowledged personal deduction notice before including a deduction, and test Division 293 using its full income definition. Employer SG is 12% on eligible ordinary time earnings, subject to the 2025–26 maximum contribution base and employment rules; quarterly due dates apply. Do not apply the later payday deadlines or $32,500 cap to this branch. Return the reconciled deduction and cap position to the ITR, then stop this branch.

The remaining payday calculations and indexed figures below concern 2026–27. [ATO super guarantee rates](https://www.ato.gov.au/tax-rates-and-codes/key-superannuation-rates-and-thresholds/super-guarantee); [ITAA 1997 s 290-170](https://www.ato.gov.au/law/view/document?docid=PAC/19970038/290-170).

## Section 1 -- Quick reference

**Quick reference table**

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Country | Australia |
| Primary Legislation | Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 (SGAA 1992), as amended by Treasury Laws Amendment (Payday Superannuation) Act 2025 (No. 57 of 2025) and Superannuation Guarantee Charge Amendment Act 2025 (No. 58 of 2025) |
| Supporting Legislation | SIS Act 1993; ITAA 1997 Div 290-293; Treasury Laws Amendment (Payday Superannuation) Regulations 2026 (F2026L00133) |
| Tax Authority | Australian Taxation Office (ATO) |
| Tax Year | 2026-27 (1 July 2026 -- 30 June 2027) |
| Currency | AUD only |
| SG rate (2026-27) | 12% (terminal rate; first applied 1 July 2025) |
| SG deadline (payday super) | Contribution RECEIVED by employee's fund within 7 business days after payday |
| Maximum contribution base (2026-27) | **ANNUAL**: $270,830 of qualifying earnings (max SG $32,499.60/year). The quarterly MCB is abolished for earnings paid from 1 July 2026 |
| Concessional cap (2026-27) | $32,500 |
| Non-concessional cap (2026-27) | $130,000 ($390,000 bring-forward) |
| General transfer balance cap (2026-27) | $2,100,000 |
| Division 293 threshold | $250,000 (frozen) |
| ATO Small Business Super Clearing House | **CLOSED PERMANENTLY 1 July 2026** |
| Sole trader SG to self | NO obligation -- voluntary only |
| First-year compliance | PCG 2026/1: supportive ATO approach through 2026-27 for employers paying each payday and fixing errors quickly |
| Contributor | Open Accountants |
| Validation date | Pending |

**Read this whole section before computing or classifying anything.**

**Conservative defaults**

| Ambiguity | Default |
| --- | --- |
| Unknown entity structure | Ask -- sole trader vs company affects SG obligation |
| Unknown whether sole trader has employees | Ask -- determines SG requirement |
| Unknown payment date vs 1 July 2026 | Ask -- decides quarterly vs payday regime |
| Unknown SG rate year | 2024-25 = 11.5%; 2025-26 onwards = 12% |
| Unknown YTD qualifying earnings vs $270,830 | Assume below cap; flag to confirm before stopping SG |
| Unknown TSB for carry-forward | Assume >= $500,000 (no carry-forward); ask client |
| Unknown s 290-170 notice status | Assume NOT lodged; warn about deadline |
| Unknown contractor vs employee | Flag for reviewer -- multi-factor test |

### Required inputs

**Minimum viable** -- entity structure (sole trader / company / trust / partnership), worker eligibility under Rule 1 (including age and actual weekly hours), pay frequency and payday dates, qualifying earnings per payday (for employers), and voluntary contribution intent (for sole traders).

**Recommended** -- bank statements showing super fund debits, payroll register with per-payday qualifying earnings and YTD totals, TSB at 30 June prior year, and the Rule 10 income components and fund-reported contributions for Division 293. Taxable income alone is insufficient.

**Ideal** -- complete STP reporting data, super fund member statements showing receipt dates, s 290-170 notice copies, ATO online account showing contribution caps.

### Refusal catalogue

- **R-AU-SG-1 -- Defined benefit funds** — *Trigger:* client has a defined benefit fund. *Message:* "Defined benefit fund calculations are actuarially determined and out of scope. Escalate."  _(R-AU-SG-1)_
- **R-AU-SG-2 -- Constitutionally protected funds** — *Trigger:* client has a constitutionally protected state fund. *Message:* "Out of scope. Escalate."  _(R-AU-SG-2)_
- **R-AU-SG-3 -- Family law splits** — *Trigger:* super splitting in divorce. *Message:* "Family law superannuation splits require legal advice. Out of scope."  _(R-AU-SG-3)_
- **R-AU-SG-4 -- SGC computation** — *Trigger:* client has missed payday super deadlines and asks about the Super Guarantee Charge. *Message:* "SGC under the payday super regime is ATO-assessed per payday from STP and fund data -- it is not self-assessed and should be escalated to a qualified practitioner. Components: final SG shortfall + notional earnings (GIC rate, compounding daily) + administrative uplift + any choice loading. Note the NEW SGC (payday regime) is tax-deductible; the OLD quarterly-regime SGC remains non-deductible."  _(R-AU-SG-4)_

**Direct super fund payments pattern table (source heading missing; header row truncated in source)**

| Pattern | Treatment | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| BPAY SUPER, BPAY (+ fund name) | EXCLUDE -- super contribution | BPAY is common payment method for super |
| BPAY (biller code matching known super fund) | EXCLUDE -- super contribution | Check BPAY biller code |

Under payday super, employer SG debits track the PAY CYCLE (weekly/fortnightly/monthly), not quarters. Frequent small super debits are the new normal, not an anomaly.

### 3.2 BPAY super payments

**BPAY super payments pattern table**

| Pattern | Treatment | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| (payroll software / clearing house name, e.g. BEAM, SUPERCHOICE, CLICKSUPER, WRKR) | EXCLUDE -- super contribution | Commercial clearing houses; SG for multiple employees in one debit |
| ATO SUPER, ATO CLEARING HOUSE, ATO SBSCH, SMALL BUSINESS SUPERANNUATION | EXCLUDE -- super contribution (HISTORICAL) | ATO SBSCH **closed permanently 1 July 2026** (closed to new users 1 Oct 2025). Valid only on statements dated before July 2026; payments sent on/after 1 July 2026 were returned |

### 3.3 Clearing house payments

**ATO SBSCH pattern table**

| Pattern | Treatment | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| ATO SGC, SUPER GUARANTEE CHARGE | EXCLUDE -- SGC payment | ATO-assessed under payday regime; payment due on assessment day. New-regime SGC is deductible; old-regime (pre-Jul-2026 quarters) SGC is not |

**Timing trap:** a contribution is on time only when RECEIVED BY THE FUND -- receipt by a clearing house does not stop the clock. Clearing-house processing time is the employer's risk.

### 3.4 Super guarantee charge (SGC -- late/missed SG)

**SGC pattern table**

| Pattern | Treatment | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| SALARY, WAGES (outgoing) | Not super | Payroll expense -- SG is separate from wages |
| PAYROLL | Not super | Wages payment |

### 3.5 Salary and wages (not super)

**Salary and wages pattern table**

| Pattern | Treatment | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| ATO IAS, ATO BAS | EXCLUDE -- tax | Activity statement payment (PAYG/GST) |
| ATO INCOME TAX | EXCLUDE -- tax | Not super |

### 3.6 ATO tax payments (not super)

**ATO tax payments pattern table**

From openaccountants/openaccountants, AGPL-3.0.

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