Most of what saves you tax for the financial year ending 30 June 2026 has to happen before30 June 2026. Once the year ends, the levers shrink to whatever you can document in the return — no more buying assets, prepaying expenses, or topping up super. This page is the practitioner's pre-EOFY checklist: the actions that move the needle for individuals and small businesses, with the timing rules that catch people out, and a CTA to book a planning conversation while there's still time to act.
Individuals — actions to take before 30 June 2026
1. Top up concessional super (the big one)
The concessional contributions cap for FY26 is $30,000. That covers what your employer pays under Super Guarantee plus any salary-sacrificed amounts plus any personal deductible contributions you make. If you've had room left in the cap and the cash flow to use it, a personal deductible contribution before 30 June is the most reliable tax saving available to most PAYG individuals — every $1,000 contributed reduces your taxable income by $1,000, taxed in the fund at 15% instead of your marginal rate.
If your total super balance was under $500,000 on 30 June 2025 you can also use any unused concessional cap from the prior 5 financial years (the carry-forward rules under section 291-20 ITAA97). For someone who hasn't maxed their cap since FY21, that can be a meaningful lump.
To make a personal contribution deductible you also need to lodge a Notice of Intent to Claim a Deduction (NOI) with your fund and receive their acknowledgement before lodging your tax return. We handle that paperwork for clients as part of EOFY processing.
2. Get your work-from-home claim ready
Two methods are still available for FY26: the fixed rate of 70¢ per hour (covers electricity, internet, phone, stationery, and consumables) or the actual cost method (every expense apportioned for work use, with receipts). The fixed rate requires a contemporaneous record of total hours worked from home — a diary or app log, not a guess. The actual cost method needs receipts plus an apportionment schedule and is only worth doing if your home-office costs are well above the 70¢ fixed rate would deliver.
A common trap: claiming the fixed rate and separate amounts for items it already covers. If you take the fixed rate you cannot also claim phone, internet, or electricity separately. You can still claim depreciation on dedicated office equipment (a desk, chair, monitor) under the fixed-rate method, just not the running costs.
3. Vehicle log — finalise it before year-end
For work-related vehicle deductions, two methods: cents-per-kilometre (capped at 5,000 work-related km × 88¢/km, no logbook required) or the logbook method (12 weeks of contemporaneous records, then percentage applied for 5 years). If you started a logbook this year, make sure the 12-week period is locked in and the entries are complete by 30 June. Reconstructing it after the fact won't pass an ATO review.
4. Donations to DGRs
Donations of $2 or more to deductible-gift-recipient (DGR) charities are deductible. The receipt or invoice has to show the DGR endorsement — most regulated charities show it automatically, but if you're donating to a smaller community organisation, check before assuming. Donations made by 30 June are claimable in FY26; donations on 1 July or later belong to FY27.
5. Income protection insurance
Premiums paid for income protection insurance (held outside super) are deductible. If you're paying monthly, your FY26 deduction is the 12 months of premiums paid between 1 July 2025 and 30 June 2026. Annual policies paid before 30 June for the upcoming year are deductible in full in the year of payment.
6. Realise capital losses if you have gains
If you've realised a capital gain in FY26 and you hold investments sitting on losses, selling those losing positions before 30 June crystallises the loss to offset the gain. The wash-sale rules apply — if you sell at a loss and immediately buy back substantially the same security, the ATO can deny the loss. Talk to us before doing this for portfolio reasons that aren't purely tax-driven.
Small business — actions to take before 30 June 2026
1. Instant asset write-off — $20k threshold to 30 June 2026
Eligible small businesses (aggregated turnover under $10 million) can immediately deduct the full cost of business assets first used or installed ready for use before 30 June 2026, provided the asset costs less than $20,000 excluding GST per asset. Multiple assets each under $20k each qualify separately.
The trap: it's "first used or installed ready for use", not "ordered and paid for". Buying a piece of equipment on 28 June 2026 that doesn't arrive until 5 July puts the deduction in FY27, not FY26. The legislative threshold beyond 30 June 2026 has not been settled — for now, plan around the $20k threshold ending and budget conservatively for FY27.
Vehicles are also subject to the luxury car limit: $69,674 in FY26. The limit applies for both the IAWO threshold and ongoing depreciation, regardless of the actual purchase price. Commercial vehicles built primarily to carry goods (one-tonne utes, vans) are not subject to the car limit.
2. Pay employee super by 30 June (and document it)
Super Guarantee for the June 2026 quarter is technically due 28 July 2026, but if you want the FY26 deduction it has to be paid (and received by the fund) before 30 June 2026. The deduction follows the cash, not the obligation. For Payday Super starting 1 July 2026 the timing flips — once you're into FY27 you'll need to pay super on each pay run regardless of EOFY pressures. See our Payday Super guide for the full operational shift.
3. Prepay deductible expenses (small business 12-month rule)
Small business entities can immediately deduct prepaid expenses where the period covered is 12 months or less and ends in the next financial year. Common candidates: insurance, rent, professional subscriptions, software licences. Pay before 30 June 2026 and the deduction lands in FY26. Non-small businesses generally have to apportion prepayments over the period they cover, which removes the timing advantage.
4. Trading stock — count it, value it
If your business holds stock, you have to do a stocktake at 30 June (or the closest reasonable date) and value the stock at cost, market selling value, or replacement value. Movements in stock value flow through to assessable income. Small businesses with stock movement under $5,000 can choose to ignore the change for simplicity. If you're carrying obsolete or damaged stock, this is the time to formally write it down — keep dated photos and a memo recording the decision.
5. Write off bad debts (with the right paperwork)
A debt becomes deductible as bad only when the business takes a positive step to write it off and there's a reasonable basis to believe it's not recoverable. The deduction has to happen before30 June 2026 to apply in FY26 — write off the ledger, document the recovery efforts attempted, and keep the file. A debt simply going unpaid doesn't qualify; you have to formally write it off.
6. PAYG instalments — vary if the year is down
If your FY26 income is materially below FY25, the PAYG instalments your business is paying (calculated from FY25 figures) are too high. You can vary instalments by lodging a variation through Online Services for Business — but stay within the safe-harbour zone (the variation must be reasonable; if it turns out to be too low the ATO can charge interest on the shortfall). We model the right variation amount before recommending it.
Common timing traps
- Super contributions count when received by the fund, not when sent. Allow 7-10 business days for clearing house processing — by 17 June 2026 to be safe.
- Asset purchases count when first used or installed ready for use, not on order date or payment date.
- Prepayments need to actually be paid before 30 June, not just invoiced.
- Donations count on the day the funds clear the recipient's account, not when you click "donate".
- Stocktake needs a documented count on or near 30 June. Reconstructing it from inventory software a month later doesn't establish the position with the same confidence at audit.
What to bring to your tax agent (after 1 July)
For your individual return, gather:
- Income statement — automatically available in your myGov inbox after your employer finalises STP (typically 14 July)
- Bank interest, dividend statements, managed-fund tax statements
- Rental property income summary, expenses summary, depreciation schedule
- Receipts and logbook for work-related expenses (or your fixed-rate WFH hours diary)
- Donation receipts
- Private health insurance statement
- Spouse income figure (for offset and rebate testing)
- HECS/HELP balance from the ATO portal
- Any super NOI you intend to claim for personal contributions
For business returns we'll typically pull most of this directly from your accounting platform (Xero / MYOB / QuickBooks) — your job is mostly to make sure the file is reconciled and any year-end accruals are recorded.
EOFY mistakes we see most often
- Sending the super contribution on 28 June and missing the deduction because the fund processed it on 1 July
- Buying business equipment late June expecting the IAWO when delivery doesn't arrive until July
- Claiming WFH fixed rate and separate phone/internet — only one applies
- Keeping a partial vehicle logbook (10 weeks instead of 12) — invalidates the whole logbook method
- Donating "to charity" via a fundraiser without checking DGR endorsement — the receipt has to confirm DGR status
- Selling investments at a loss on 30 June and re-buying on 1 July — wash-sale risk
- Treating "owe the supplier" as a deductible expense — you need to actually pay or formally accrue, depending on your method
- Forgetting income protection premiums paid via super are not deductible (only those held outside super are)
Book a 30-minute EOFY review
The biggest EOFY mistakes are timing mistakes — actions taken too late or too early because nobody flagged the cut-off. A 30-minute pre-EOFY review often surfaces actions worth more than the call itself, and gets the order right. We'll work through your specific position — which actions matter for you, what the order is, and where the cliff edges are between FY26 and FY27.
Our EOFY review slots fill from late May. Book early — by mid-June if you want enough lead time to action super contributions and asset purchases on the FY26 side of the line. We work with clients across Australia by Zoom and phone, plus in-person from our Melton office.
Sources
Concessional contribution cap and carry-forward rules: ATO — Concessional contributions cap; ITAA97 s 291-20.
Working-from-home fixed rate: ATO — Working-from-home expenses (current method per PCG 2023/1).
Cents-per-kilometre rate: ATO — Car expenses.
Instant asset write-off: ATO — Instant asset write-off (Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Incentives and Integrity) Act 2024 — $20k threshold extension to 30 June 2026).
Super Guarantee and Payday Super: ATO — Super for employers; Payday Super commences 1 July 2026.
