Transfer balance cap: $2.1 million for 2026–27
The transfer balance cap limits how much super you can move into the retirement phase, where earnings are tax free. The general cap rose from $2.0 million to $2.1 million on 1 July 2026 — but your personal cap depends on when you started your first pension and how much of your cap you have used.
A lifetime limit, per person
The cap is the total you can transfer into retirement-phase pensions over your lifetime. It applies per person across every fund you hold — a couple each have their own cap.
Only the retirement phase is capped
Amounts in the accumulation phase are unlimited. And once money is inside a pension, investment growth beyond the cap does not breach it — only new transfers count.
Indexed in $100,000 steps
The general cap rises with inflation in $100,000 increments. Whether your personal cap rises with it depends on the highest balance you have ever used.
Cap history
The general transfer balance cap by year
The cap has applied since 1 July 2017. If you start your first retirement-phase pension now, your personal cap is the current general cap — $2.1 million.
| Financial year | General cap |
|---|---|
| 2026–27Current | $2,100,000 |
| 2025–26 | $2,000,000 |
| 2023–24 | $1,900,000 |
| 2021–22 | $1,700,000 |
| 2017–18 | $1,600,000 |
A separate defined benefit income cap — $131,250 per year for 2026–27, one-sixteenth of the general cap — applies to most defined benefit pensions.
Your personal cap
How your personal transfer balance cap is worked out
- 01
Your cap starts at the general cap when you first start a pension
The day you first commence a retirement-phase income stream — in any fund — your personal cap is set to the general cap at that time. Someone who started in 2019 has a base cap of $1.6 million; someone starting in 2026–27 starts at $2.1 million.
- 02
Each indexation adds a proportional share
When the general cap is indexed, the ATO works out your unused cap percentage — your personal cap minus the highest ever balance of your transfer balance account, divided by your cap, rounded down to a whole percent — and adds that percentage of the increase to your cap.
- 03
Using your full cap locks it in
If your highest ever transfer balance reaches or exceeds your personal cap, your unused percentage is zero and you receive no indexation — your cap stays where it is, even as the general cap keeps rising.
- 04
The ATO figure is the official one
Because indexation relies on events your funds have reported, the personal cap shown in ATO online services (myGov → ATO → Super → Transfer balance cap) is authoritative. Check it before starting a new pension.
Worked example
Started a $1.2 million pension on 1 July 2017
| Indexation | Unused cap % | Increase | Personal cap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 July 2021 (+$100,000) | 25% | $25,000 | $1,625,000 |
| 1 July 2023 (+$200,000) | 26% | $52,000 | $1,677,000 |
| 1 July 2025 (+$100,000) | 28% | $28,000 | $1,705,000 |
| 1 July 2026 (+$100,000) | 29% | $29,000 | $1,734,000 |
The highest ever balance stays at $1.2 million throughout, so the unused percentage shrinks as the cap grows. Had the balance ever reached the cap, every increase would have been $0.
Calculator
Estimate your personal cap and remaining space
Enter when you started your first retirement-phase pension and the highest balance you have used, and see how much room a planned transfer has. Nothing is stored or sent — the maths runs in your browser.
Transfer balance cap calculator
Estimate your personal cap and how much room is left. General information only — your official figure is in ATO online services via myGov.
Across every super fund you hold, not just your SMSF.
Your estimated personal transfer balance cap
$2,100,000
The general cap for a first pension started now (2026–27).
This transfer fits within your estimated personal cap, leaving $1,600,000 of cap space unused.
Estimate only — it uses the figures you enter and the ATO's proportional indexation method. Confirm your personal cap in ATO online services before acting.
General advice warning
Figures shown are illustrative only and based on the inputs and assumptions you provide. They are general information, not personal financial product advice. Consider your objectives, financial situation and needs, and seek personal advice from a licensed financial adviser before acting. easySMSF does not hold an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL).
Staying under the cap
What an excess means — and how SMSF reporting fits in
If your transfer balance account exceeds your personal cap, the ATO issues an excess transfer balance determination. The excess must be commuted out of the retirement phase, and excess transfer balance tax applies to notional earnings on the excess.
- Check your personal cap and balance in ATO online services before starting any new pension
- Commutations reduce your transfer balance — pension payments do not
- Every pension start or commutation in an SMSF must be reported to the ATO on a TBAR
- All SMSFs lodge TBARs quarterly, within 28 days of quarter end, when an event occurs
TBAR lodgement, handled
easySMSF prepares and lodges every required Transfer Balance Account Report as part of the fixed annual administration fee — so the ATO's record of your transfer balance stays current.
Read TBAR explained for the reporting rules and a worked example.
Transfer balance cap — frequently asked questions
What is the transfer balance cap?
The transfer balance cap is a lifetime limit on the total amount of superannuation you can transfer into the retirement phase, where investment earnings are tax free. It applies per person, across every super fund you hold — not per fund and not per pension. Amounts left in the accumulation phase are not limited by this cap.
What is the transfer balance cap for 2026–27?
The general transfer balance cap is $2.1 million from 1 July 2026, up from $2.0 million in 2025–26. If you start your first retirement-phase pension in 2026–27, your personal transfer balance cap is $2.1 million. If you started a pension earlier, your personal cap is the general cap at that time plus any proportional indexation you were entitled to.
Is my personal transfer balance cap different from the general cap?
It can be. Your personal cap starts as the general cap on the day you first commence a retirement-phase income stream. Each time the general cap is indexed, your personal cap rises by a proportional amount based on the highest ever balance of your transfer balance account — if you have used your full cap, you receive no indexation. The ATO works out your personal cap and shows it in ATO online services via myGov.
What counts towards the transfer balance cap?
The starting value of each retirement-phase income stream you commence — such as an account-based pension — is credited to your transfer balance account and counts towards the cap. Commutations (amounts moved back to accumulation or paid out as a lump sum) are debited and reduce your balance. Certain other events, like some structured settlement contributions and LRBA repayments that increase a retirement-phase interest, also affect the account.
What doesn't count towards the cap?
Investment earnings and growth inside a pension account after it starts do not count towards the cap — a pension that grows beyond your cap does not put you in excess. Regular pension payments you draw down do not reduce your transfer balance either. Balances held in the accumulation phase, and transition-to-retirement income streams that are not yet in the retirement phase, sit outside the cap.
Can I have more than $2.1 million in a pension?
Yes. The cap limits what you transfer into the retirement phase, not what the account can grow to. If you transfer up to your cap and the investments perform well, the pension account can exceed the cap without breaching it. What you cannot do is make new transfers above your remaining cap space.
What happens if I exceed my transfer balance cap?
The ATO issues an excess transfer balance determination. You must commute the excess (move it back to accumulation or withdraw it) and you pay excess transfer balance tax on notional earnings on the excess amount. An SMSF must report the events that cause an excess on a Transfer Balance Account Report (TBAR), so timely reporting matters.
How do I check my transfer balance cap and balance?
Sign in to myGov, open the linked Australian Taxation Office service, then go to Super, then Information, then Transfer balance cap. You will see your personal transfer balance cap, your transfer balance account with its debits and credits, and any excess. The figure there is the official one — treat any calculator, including this one, as an estimate.
Does the transfer balance cap increase over time?
Yes. The general cap is indexed to movements in the consumer price index in $100,000 increments. It rose from $1.6 million (2017) to $1.7 million (2021), $1.9 million (2023), $2.0 million (2025) and $2.1 million from 1 July 2026. Whether your personal cap rises with each indexation depends on how much of your cap you have used.
Does the cap apply to defined benefit pensions?
Special rules apply. Rather than tracking each defined benefit pension against the full cap, the law applies a defined benefit income cap — $131,250 per year for 2026–27 (one-sixteenth of the general transfer balance cap). Defined benefit income above that cap can lose part of its tax-free treatment.
General information only — it doesn't take your objectives or situation into account and isn't financial, tax or investment advice. Cap figures are current ATO settings for 2026–27 and can change; government sources prevail.
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