Payday Super CheckerFAQ
Payday Super FAQ
Plain-English answers. General information only, with the ATO page for each answer.
Due dates
When is super due under Payday Super?
From 1 July 2026, the employee's super must be received by their fund within 7 business days after each payday (the QE day). Business days exclude weekends and public holidays that apply to the whole of any state or territory.
When is super due?
The fund must receive it within 7 business days after each payday. For the first contribution for a new employee, or to a new fund, the period is up to 20 business days. If the next payday would normally be due before that later date, it is due on the later date too (the bunching rule).
What counts as received?
The fund must receive the contribution with all the information it needs to allocate it to the employee's account. Sending it on day 7 is not enough if it arrives later.
Does "received" mean the day I send it?
No. It is the day the fund receives the contribution with everything it needs to allocate it. Interest runs up to and including the day your fund receives a payment, not the day you send it. Clearing houses and payroll providers can take a few days to pass money on, so allow for that.
What about a new employee with no fund chosen?
You can request their stapled super fund details from the ATO. A first contribution for a new employee or to a new fund can have up to 20 business days.
What about off-cycle or one-off payments?
Each day you pay qualifying earnings is its own payday with its own due date. In the checker, add each off-cycle payment as an extra line with its own date.
What counts as qualifying earnings?
Ordinary time earnings (OTE), all commissions, and salary sacrificed to super that would otherwise have been qualifying earnings. Salary sacrificed to other benefits, such as a novated lease, is not included.
Do bonuses, back pay and termination pay count?
They are qualifying earnings when they are OTE (the ATO lists bonuses and lump sums), and the super for them is due by reference to the day you pay them, like any other payday.
Can I still use the ATO's Small Business Superannuation Clearing House?
No. It closed permanently on 1 July 2026. Use payroll software with super functions, a commercial clearing house or a fund's payment service instead.
The charge
What is the new super guarantee charge made of?
For each payday: the final shortfall (super still unpaid when the ATO assesses), notional earnings (GIC compounded daily on the base shortfall), an administrative uplift of up to 60% (0–40%, or 20–60% if the ATO has itself assessed you in the last 2 years; a voluntary disclosure to the ATO before it starts a review can reduce the uplift), and any choice loading.
Super is already late. What now?
Pay the outstanding super to the fund as soon as you can: late contributions made before the ATO assesses you reduce the final shortfall. You can also lodge a voluntary disclosure statement before an assessment, which can reduce the administrative uplift.
Is the ATO lenient in the first year?
For paydays from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027, the ATO has said it will take a supportive compliance approach (PCG 2026/1) and focus on employers who aren't paying super or correcting errors. The law still applies, and this site shows what the law allows the ATO to charge.
ATO source PCG 2026/1 Payday Super first-year compliance approach
Is the super guarantee charge tax deductible?
For QE days from 1 July 2026, the ATO says you can claim a deduction for the super guarantee charge you pay, including all of its components: the final shortfall, notional earnings, the administrative uplift and any choice loading. General interest charge on a late-paid charge and late payment penalties are not deductible, and neither are charges for quarterly periods before 1 July 2026. See the ATO's What happens if you don't pay super correctly. For the ATO's first-year compliance approach, see PCG 2026/1.
Can directors be personally liable?
Yes. Under the director penalty regime, the ATO can recover an unpaid super guarantee charge from current or former company directors personally, after issuing a director penalty notice.
Privacy and data
Is anything I enter stored?
No. The calculators run in your browser. We don't keep the figures you enter. We only store an email address if you choose to join an early-access list. See Privacy.
Using the tool
Is this the ATO's calculation?
No. It is an estimate based on the law and ATO guidance shown under Sources. The ATO has the final say on what you owe.
Is there an official ATO calculator for the new charge?
For earnings paid from 1 July 2026, the ATO calculates the charge itself and sends a notice of assessment. Its SGC statement and calculator tool is only for earnings paid up to 30 June 2026. This site gives an estimate only.