Transfer Balance Cap Calculator
Calculate how much super you can transfer to retirement (pension) phase. Personal TBC is $2.0M for 2025-26 and depends on when you started a pension.
Disclaimer
This calculator provides estimates for general information purposes only. Results should not be relied upon as professional financial, tax, or legal advice. Tax rates and thresholds are based on publicly available ATO data and may change. Always consult a qualified tax agent or financial adviser for advice specific to your circumstances.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Transfer Balance Cap?
Why is my personal TBC different from the general cap?
What happens if I exceed my TBC?
Can I have multiple pensions counting toward the TBC?
What is Transfer Balance Cap?
The Transfer Balance Cap (TBC) is the lifetime limit on how much super you can transfer from accumulation phase into retirement (pension) phase, where investment earnings are tax-free. The general TBC is $2.0M for 2025-26 and is indexed in $100,000 increments to CPI.
How this calculator works
Enter your total super balance, your personal TBC (depends on when you first started a pension), and any amount already counted toward your cap from existing pensions. The calculator shows: how much super you can still move to pension phase, how much must remain in accumulation (taxed at 15% on earnings), and the annual tax difference between the two scenarios.
Why the TBC Exists
Introduced 1 July 2017 to limit the tax concessions available to high-balance retirees. Before the TBC, there was no cap on tax-free pension assets — wealthy retirees could shelter unlimited super from tax. The cap forces excess balances to stay in accumulation phase, where earnings are taxed at 15% and capital gains at 10% (after the 1/3 discount on assets held >12 months).
How Personal TBC Works
Your personal TBC is FIXED at the general cap when you first started a retirement-phase pension. So someone who started a pension in 2017-18 has a $1.6M cap forever (with proportional indexation if they had unused space). Someone starting in 2025-26 gets the full $2.0M. Check your personal TBC via myGov → ATO → Super → Information.
TBC Indexation Increments
The general TBC indexes in $100,000 lumps to CPI: $1.6M (2017-21), $1.7M (2021-23), $1.9M (2023-25), $2.0M (2025-26). Next increase to $2.1M expected when CPI catches up. Proportional indexation: if you had $200k unused space (12.5%) under the $1.6M cap, you got 12.5% of each future indexation.
What Counts Toward the TBC
Account-based pensions (ABPs), Transition-to-Retirement (TTR) pensions ONLY when they convert to retirement phase, defined benefit pensions (valued at 16× annual income), and certain non-commutable annuities. Investment earnings within pension phase do NOT count — only the original transfer value. So if your ABP starts at $1.9M and grows to $2.5M, you haven't breached the cap.
Excess Transfer Balance Tax
If you exceed the cap, the ATO issues an Excess Transfer Balance determination requiring you to remove the excess back to accumulation. You also pay Excess Transfer Balance Tax on notional earnings on the excess: 15% in the first year, 30% from the second year. Most retirees comply with the determination immediately to stop the tax accruing.
Updated for the 2025-26 financial year (1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026).
Official Sources
All calculations are performed in your browser — your data never leaves your device. Results are for general guidance only and should not be considered professional financial advice.
Built and maintained by Konstantin Iakovlev. Data sourced from the ATO and official Australian government sources.