Super guarantee is the minimum super you must pay each quarter for each eligible employee to avoid paying the super guarantee charge. Super guarantee is based on the employee's ordinary time earnings multiplied by the current super guarantee rate. 

Ordinary time earnings are usually the amounts your employee earns for their ordinary hours of work. It includes things like commissions, shift loadings and allowances, but not overtime payments.

Use the ATO's list of payments that are ordinary time earnings to help you identify what payments are considered part of ordinary time earnings for super guarantee purposes. Remember, super guarantee is calculated on ordinary time earnings and not total salary or wages. When using the payments list, ordinary time earnings (OTE) is shown in the right-hand column.

To calculate super guarantee, multiply your employee's ordinary time earnings for the quarter by the current super guarantee rate.

Super guarantee = ordinary time earnings x super guarantee rate

The example below is based on the percentage for the financial year in which the employee was paid.

Example – calculating super guarantee

Xuan employs Kylie. During the July 2025 to September 2025 quarter of the 2025–26 financial year, Kylie's ordinary time earnings are $15,000.

Xuan works out the minimum super guarantee contribution for Kylie for the quarter:

• ordinary time earnings x super guarantee rate = super guarantee contribution
• $15,000 × 12% = $1,800.

Xuan contributes $1,800 to Kylie's super fund by the quarterly due date of 28 October 2025. 

If Xuan fails to do this, he will have to pay the super guarantee charge, which is more than the super guarantee he would have paid.

If you make super guarantee contributions under an award, check that those contributions meet both the award and super guarantee obligations.

Generally, you can claim a tax deduction for super guarantee payments you make as long as you pay them on time and to the right fund.

You can claim the tax deduction in the same financial year your payment is received by the super fund.