12 Proven EOFY Tax Tips Australia 2026: Maximise Your Refund Before 30 June

Practical end of financial year tax strategies 2026 for Australian individuals, sole traders, and small businesses — with hard deadlines you cannot miss.

Every year, thousands of Australians — individuals, employees, sole traders, and small business owners — hand the ATO more money than they legally owe. Not because the law says they have to. But because they ran out of time to act.

If you are reading this before 30 June, you still have a window. These 12 EOFY tax tips for Australia 2026 are legal, ATO-compliant, and available to most taxpayers. Some are straightforward enough to do yourself. Others — particularly super carry-forward, capital gains timing, and trust distributions — benefit from professional advice to get right.

Either way, the first step is knowing what is available. Let us walk you through every strategy.

Why EOFY 2026 Is Different: Labor Tax Changes + GIC No Longer Deductible

This is not a typical end of financial year. Two significant changes in 2025–26 make acting before 30 June more important than in previous years:

1. Labor’s Personal Income Tax Changes

The Labor Government has signalled further adjustments to individual tax rates and thresholds. For many taxpayers in the $120,000–$190,000 income bracket, the marginal rate environment is shifting. This makes timing your income and deductions particularly valuable this year — strategies like salary sacrifice, super contributions, and income deferral have a bigger payoff when you are in a higher marginal bracket now than you expect to be next year.

2. GIC and SIC Are No Longer Tax Deductible

From 1 July 2025, the ATO’s General Interest Charge (GIC) and Shortfall Interest Charge (SIC) on unpaid tax debts are no longer deductible under the Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Incentives and Integrity) Act 2025. The GIC rate currently sits at approximately 10.96% per annum, compounding daily. Without the tax deduction to offset it, carrying ATO debt is now one of the most expensive forms of finance available to any Australian business. If you have an outstanding ATO debt, addressing it before further interest accrues is urgent.

Bottom line: The combination of rate changes and the GIC deductibility removal means the cost of inaction in 2026 is materially higher than in prior years.

Strategy 1 – Max Out Super Contributions — $30,000 Concessional Cap

Maximising your super before 30 June is one of the most powerful EOFY tax tips for Australia 2026. Concessional (pre-tax) contributions — including employer super guarantee, salary sacrifice, and personal deductible contributions — are taxed at just 15% inside your fund, compared to your marginal rate of up to 47%.

The concessional contributions cap for 2025–26 is $30,000 per person.

Contribution Type	Included in $30,000 Cap?
Employer super guarantee (SG) at 12%	✅ Yes
Salary sacrifice contributions	✅ Yes
Personal deductible contributions (with Notice of Intent)	✅ Yes
Non-concessional (after-tax) contributions	❌ No (separate $120,000 cap)

If you have not used your full cap in the past five years and your super balance was below $500,000 on 30 June 2025, you may be able to access carry-forward unused contributions to make a larger deductible contribution this year.

⏰ Deadline: Your super fund must receive the funds by 30 June 2026 — not just the transfer. Allow at least 2–3 business days. If making a last-minute personal contribution, aim to transfer by 26 June to be safe.

For personal deductible contributions, you must lodge a valid Notice of Intent to Claim a Deduction with your fund before lodging your tax return.

Strategy 2 – Use the $20,000 Instant Asset Write-Off — EOFY Tax Tips Small Business Australia

If you run a small business with aggregated annual turnover under $10 million, the instant asset write-off 2026 Australia lets you immediately deduct the full cost of eligible assets costing less than $20,000 each — as long as they are purchased and first used or installed ready for use before 30 June 2026.

This is a per-asset threshold. You can write off multiple assets in the same year.

• Laptops, tablets, and business smartphones
• Office furniture and equipment
• Trade-specific tools and equipment
• Point-of-sale systems
• Work vehicles under $20,000
• Software licences (Xero, Microsoft 365, industry tools)

📢 Important update: The May 2026 Federal Budget announced the $20,000 instant asset write-off will become permanent from 1 July 2026, rather than dropping to $1,000. This legislation is not yet passed, but it signals long-term stability for small business planning.

Do not buy assets solely for the tax deduction. At a 39% marginal rate, a $20,000 write-off saves you $7,800 in tax — but the net cost of the asset is still $12,200. Only purchase assets your business genuinely needs.

Strategy 3 – Prepay Deductible Expenses Before 30 June

One of the most accessible end of financial year tax strategies 2026 is prepaying deductible expenses before EOFY. If you pay for a business or investment expense before 30 June, you can generally claim the deduction in the current year — even if the benefit extends into 2026–27.

Common expenses you can prepay:

• Professional association memberships and subscriptions
• Business insurance premiums
• Accounting and bookkeeping fees
• Rent on business premises
• Investment property loan interest (up to 12 months in advance)
• Software subscriptions (SaaS tools, cloud accounting)
• Training courses or conferences booked for next year
• Income protection insurance premiums

📋 Rule: The prepayment period must not exceed 12 months and must end in the following income year. Prepaying January 2027 membership in June 2026 = deductible in 2025–26. Prepaying two years forward = not deductible under the 12-month rule.

Strategy 4 – Write Off Bad Debts Before 30 June

If your business is owed money you have genuinely given up on collecting, you can claim a tax deduction for the bad debt — but only if you formally write it off in your books before 30 June 2026.

The ATO requires two conditions:

1. The debt was included in your assessable income in a previous year (you already paid tax on it).
2. You have genuinely decided the debt is unrecoverable and formally written it off.

Review your accounts receivable now. Any invoices you know will never be paid should be formally written off before 30 June. Deciding in July that a June debt was bad does not count for this financial year.

Action: Check your debtors list today. Write off any invoices that are more than 90 days overdue and where recovery attempts have failed.

Strategy 5 – Offset Capital Gains With Losses Before 30 June

If you have sold investments that realised a capital gain this year, review the rest of your portfolio for assets sitting at a loss. Selling a loss-making asset before 30 June crystallises the capital loss, which offsets your capital gains and reduces CGT payable.

Situation	Tax Outcome
Net capital gain (gains > losses)	Assessable income. 50% CGT discount if asset held >12 months.
Net capital loss (losses > gains)	Cannot offset ordinary income — carries forward to future years.
Capital losses offsetting capital gains	Apply losses against gains first. Apply before the 50% discount.

⚠ Wash sale rules: The ATO targets arrangements where you sell an asset for a tax loss and immediately buy back the same asset. If the dominant purpose is a tax benefit, the ATO can deny the deduction. Do not sell purely for tax if you plan to repurchase the same asset within weeks.

Strategy 6 – Salary Sacrifice Before Payroll Closes

Salary sacrifice lets you redirect pre-tax salary into benefits like super or a novated car lease. The amount sacrificed reduces your taxable income — meaning less income tax and potentially a reduced Medicare Levy Surcharge.

For employees, this is one of the fastest ways to maximise your tax refund before 30 June — but only if your employer’s payroll has not already closed for the financial year.

Act now: Contact your HR or payroll team this week. Salary sacrifice arrangements often need to be in place before the last pay run of the financial year — requests made in the final week of June may be too late.

For high-income earners between $135,000 and $190,000 (the 39% marginal rate band), each $1,000 sacrificed into super saves approximately $240 in income tax after the 15% contributions tax is accounted for.

Strategy 7 – Charitable Donations to DGR Organisations

Donations of $2 or more to a registered DGR (Deductible Gift Recipient) organisation are fully tax-deductible in the year they are made. If you are planning to give, making the donation before 30 June locks in the deduction for 2025–26.

• Donations must be to a DGR-registered charity — not all charities qualify
• Keep written evidence (receipt) for donations over $10
• Electronic receipts from charity websites are accepted by the ATO
• Check DGR status at abr.business.gov.au (ABN Lookup)

Note: Raffle tickets, fundraising dinners, and items received in exchange for a donation are generally not deductible — only the “gift” component qualifies.

Strategy 8 – Review Obsolete Stock Before EOFY

If your business holds trading stock, you can value it at the lower of cost, market selling value, or replacement value at 30 June. Writing down damaged, obsolete, or slow-moving stock reduces your closing stock value — and directly reduces your taxable income.

For small businesses, the simplified trading stock rules apply: if the difference between opening and closing stock is less than $5,000, no physical stocktake is required.

Document everything. Take photos of damaged goods. Get written confirmation of reduced market values. Keep records of why items were written off. The ATO can challenge undocumented stock write-downs in an audit.

Strategy 9 — Critical 2026 Change – Deal With ATO Debt Before 1 July — GIC Is No Longer Tax Deductible

This is the most significant change for business owners heading into EOFY 2026. From 1 July 2025, the General Interest Charge (GIC) and Shortfall Interest Charge (SIC) are no longer tax deductible.

The GIC rate currently sits at approximately 11.17% per annum, compounding daily. Before 1 July 2025, businesses could claim a deduction on this interest, which offset the effective cost. That deduction is now gone. Every dollar of GIC incurred is a full after-tax cost to your business.

Scenario	Before 1 July 2025	From 1 July 2025
$10,000 ATO debt at 10.96% GIC	$1,096 interest; ~$427.44 back as deduction (39% rate)	$1,096 interest; $0 deduction — full cost
Effective annual cost of ATO debt	~6.69% after-tax	10.96% — no offset

Two practical actions before 30 June:

• Clear outstanding ATO balances before more non-deductible interest accrues
• If you cannot clear the debt, consider refinancing into a commercial business loan (commercial interest may still be deductible) — speak to your adviser first

Do not ignore ATO debt. The ATO is actively pursuing small business debt and can issue Director Penalty Notices that make directors personally liable. Speak to a registered tax agent before the interest compounds further.

Strategy 10 – Trust Distribution Resolutions — Hard Deadline: 30 June

If you operate through a discretionary (family) trust, the trustee must make a formal resolution to distribute trust income to beneficiaries on or before 30 June 2026.

This is not optional. If no valid resolution is made by 30 June, the ATO can assess the trust’s entire taxable income at the top marginal rate of 47% — regardless of what you intended.

• Review your trust deed to confirm who can be appointed as beneficiaries
• Consider the tax position of each beneficiary (lower-income beneficiaries pay less tax on distributions)
• Ensure the resolution is documented in writing with the trustee’s signature and dated before 30 June
• Keep the resolution in your trust records — the ATO may request it

Seek professional advice. Trust distribution resolutions are complex. Getting this wrong is one of the most expensive EOFY mistakes a family business can make. Contact us now if your trust resolution is not yet in place.

Strategy 11 – Time Your Income and Invoicing to Maximise Tax Savings

One of the most underused EOFY tax tips for small business Australia is strategic income timing. For cash-basis taxpayers — most sole traders and small businesses — income is recognised when received, not when earned. This gives you flexibility.

If your income is higher this year than next:

• Delay issuing invoices until after 30 June (income recognised in 2026–27)
• Accelerate deductible expenses into 2025–26
• The combination reduces this year’s taxable income and smooths your tax across years

If your income will be higher next year:

• Accelerate income into 2025–26 to take advantage of a lower effective rate now
• Defer deductible expenses into 2026–27 when they will provide a bigger tax offset

This is legal tax timing — not avoidance. The ATO explicitly recognises this for cash-basis taxpayers. The key is that the timing must be genuine, not artificially manufactured.

Strategy 12 – Crypto, Side Hustles & Airbnb — Don’t Miss These in Your EOFY Review

The ATO has significantly expanded its data-matching capabilities. If you have earned income from cryptocurrency, a side hustle, or short-term rental platforms like Airbnb, it is already on the ATO’s radar.

Cryptocurrency

Every disposal of a cryptocurrency — selling, trading, converting, or spending — is a CGT event. If you have made crypto gains this year, review your portfolio for unrealised losses before 30 June. Selling loss-making crypto assets before EOFY crystallises the loss to offset your gains.

Side Hustles (Gig Economy, Freelancing, Online Sales)

Any income from platforms like Airtasker, Uber, Etsy, eBay, or freelance work is fully assessable. Keep records of your income and all business-related expenses so you can claim legitimate deductions — software, home office, equipment, and professional services.

Airbnb / Short-Term Rentals

Rental income from Airbnb and similar platforms must be declared. You can claim a proportional deduction for expenses (interest, rates, insurance, cleaning) based on the percentage of the year the property was made available for rent.

ATO data-matching: The ATO receives data from banks, crypto exchanges, share registries, and gig platforms. Omitting income is not a small risk — it is a near-certainty of detection.

Key EOFY 2025–26 Dates & Thresholds at a Glance

Item	Rate / Amount / Deadline
End of financial year deadline	30 June 2026
Concessional super contributions cap	$30,000 per person
Non-concessional contributions cap	$120,000 (up to $360,000 bring-forward)
Super guarantee rate	12%
Carry-forward super balance threshold	Super balance < $500,000 on 30 June 2025
Instant asset write-off threshold	$20,000 per asset (turnover < $10M)
Car cost limit for depreciation	$69,674 for 2025–26
GIC / SIC deductibility	Not deductible from 1 July 2025
Tax-free threshold	$18,200
CGT 50% discount eligibility	Asset held > 12 months
Home office fixed rate	70 cents per hour
Cents per km (vehicle expenses)	88 cents per km (max 5,000 km)
Trust distribution resolution deadline	30 June 2026 — no exceptions
Minimum deductible donation to DGR	$2
Tax return lodgement (individuals, no agent)	31 October 2026

Frequently Asked Questions — EOFY Tax Tips Australia 2026