Make SG payments
Superannuation Guarantee (SG) payments
Under the SG legislation, you’re responsible for making super contributions for your employees.
Super plays a big role in your employees’ future and you have a legal obligation to make their super contributions at least quarterly.
Extra employer contributions (including salary sacrifice contributions) must be paid to MTAA Super when SG contributions are paid.
Amounts which are being paid as a payroll deduction from an employee’s after-tax salary must be paid to MTAA Super within 28 days of the end of the month in which the deduction was made.
Who do I need to make SG payments for?
You need to pay super for employees aged 18 and over who:
- work full time, part time or on a casual basis, and
- earn $450 or more (before tax) in a calendar month.
You also have to pay super for employees under 18 years of age who:
- work 30 hours or more in a week, and
- earn $450 or more (before tax) in a calendar month.
How much SG do you need to pay?
The SG legislation requires you to provide super contributions for your eligible employees. The amount you must contribute is a percentage of their ‘ordinary-time earnings’. The SG rate is currently 9.5% and will start increasing by 0.5% each year from 2021/22 up to a maximum of 12% in 2025/26.
| Year | SG rate % |
| 2020/21 | 9.5 |
| 2021/22 | 10.0 |
| 2022/23 | 10.5 |
| 2023/24 | 11.0 |
| 2024/25 | 11.5 |
| 2025/26 | 12 |
What are ordinary-time earnings?
Ordinary-time earnings are the salary or wages paid to employees for their ordinary hours of work. This excludes (among other things) overtime. It includes over-award payments, bonuses, shift allowances, commissions and paid leave.
What’s the maximum contributions base?
For any given quarter, there is a maximum limit on the SG contributions you’re obligated to make for an employee. For the 2020/21 financial year the maximum contribution in any quarter is $5,423.55 – which is 9.5% of the quarterly maximum contribution base of $57,090. For more, contact the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).
Changes to salary sacrificing super
You can’t use salary sacrifice contributions for an employee to reduce the amount of superannuation guarantee payments you must pay for that employee. You must include salary and wages sacrificed to superannuation in the base for calculating SG.
For more information on your SG obligations, visit the Australia Tax Office website.
Read our Employer FAQs for more advice on making SG payments.