2026 Year-End Tax Planning: What to Check Before 30 June

EOFY can creep up quickly. A bit of planning now can make a real difference before 30 June.

Tax planning is not about spending money just to get a deduction. It is about understanding where things are sitting, making sensible decisions before year-end and avoiding surprises when it is time to lodge.

Here are the main things worth reviewing before 30 June.

$20,000 instant asset write-off

The $20,000 instant asset write-off has been confirmed for the 2025-26 financial year.

Eligible small businesses may be able to immediately deduct the full cost of eligible assets costing less than $20,000, where the asset is first used or installed ready for use by 30 June 2026. The threshold applies per asset, so more than one asset may qualify.

The key point: do not buy something purely for the tax deduction. If the asset is genuinely needed and makes sense for the business, the write-off can help. If it is not needed, it is still money out the door.

Super and payroll

The super guarantee rate is 12% for the 2025-26 financial year, so employers should check their payroll settings.

For EOFY, the bigger issue is timing. If you want to claim a deduction for employee super this financial year, the payment needs to reach the employee’s super fund by 30 June.

Paying it from your bank account or through a clearing house before 30 June does not always mean it has reached the fund by 30 June, so allow extra processing time. As a guide, we recommend processing June super by mid-June to reduce the risk of it landing after 30 June.

Payday Super also starts from 1 July 2026, when employers will need to pay super at the same time as wages. We have covered this change in more detail here: Payday Super blog

Review your likely tax position

Before making year-end decisions, it helps to know roughly where your taxable income is likely to land.

This can help you work out whether:

• you are likely to have a tax bill
• PAYG instalments are on track
• deductions should be brought forward
• income timing should be reviewed
• extra super contributions or asset purchases make sense
• cash flow needs to be planned for the months ahead

Consider extra super contributions

If you are looking to build your super and reduce taxable income, additional concessional contributions may be worth considering before 30 June.

The general concessional contributions cap is $30,000 for 2025-26. This includes employer super guarantee, salary sacrifice and personal super contributions claimed as a tax deduction.

Some people may also be able to use unused concessional cap amounts from previous years, depending on their total super balance and contribution history.

Before making extra contributions, check your cap position and make sure the payment is received by the fund in time.

Check deductions and write-offs

Before 30 June, it may be worth reviewing whether:

• any eligible expenses should be prepaid
• bad debts should be written off
• obsolete, damaged or slow-moving stock should be adjusted
• unused equipment should be scrapped or removed from the depreciation schedule
• work-from-home, motor vehicle and travel claims are properly supported
• invoices around 30 June have been treated correctly

These items are often missed, but they can make a difference.

Review capital gains and investment income

If you have sold shares, crypto, property or other investments during the year, review your capital gains position before 30 June.

You may need to consider whether capital losses are available, whether the CGT discount applies, whether any planned sales should happen before or after year-end and whether your records are complete.

Income from platforms such as Airbnb, Stayz, Uber, YouTube and other online marketplaces also needs to be declared. The ATO receives data from many platforms, so it is important your records match what has been reported.

Watch ATO focus areas

The ATO continues to pay close attention to areas where mistakes are common.

This includes:

• work-from-home deductions without proper records
• rental property claims, especially interest, repairs and private use
• platform income that has not been declared
• motor vehicle and travel claims
• incorrect treatment of expenses between business and private use

If you have refinanced, redrawn on a loan, renovated a rental property, changed how an asset is used or claimed work-from-home expenses, it is worth checking the tax treatment before lodging.

Trusts, companies and Division 7A

If you operate through a discretionary trust, trust distribution resolutions generally need to be completed before 30 June.

If your company has made loans, payments or other benefits to shareholders or their associates, Division 7A may also need to be reviewed.

Before year-end, check whether loan agreements are in place, minimum repayments have been made and any new drawings create issues.

Budget measures to keep in mind

The 2026-27 Federal Budget included a few tax measures that may affect business owners and investors over the next few years.

For now, the main points to be aware of are:

• the Government has announced the $20,000 instant asset write-off will be made permanent
• Payday Super starts from 1 July 2026
• future changes have been proposed for areas such as capital gains tax, negative gearing, trust taxation and some work-related deductions

Some of these measures still need to become law, so they should be treated as items to watch rather than immediate action points.

What to do before 30 June

Before year-end, it is worth reviewing your estimated tax position, super contributions, employee super payments, planned asset purchases, deductions, trust distributions, Division 7A loans, capital gains and cash flow.

A short review now can help you make better decisions, reduce surprises and head into the new financial year with a clearer picture.

If you would like us to review your tax position before 30 June, please contact our team.