Tax & ATO
End of Financial Year
EOFY is 30 June, the end of the Australian financial year. For small businesses it triggers a fixed sequence of obligations: stocktake at 30 June, STP finalisation by 14 July, June-quarter super by 28 July, TPAR by 28 August, and income tax return lodgement by 31 October unless a tax agent extends it.
Australia's financial year runs 1 July to 30 June, and almost every business tax obligation keys off that date. In the final weeks before 30 June you lock in the year's deductions: assets must be first used or installed ready for use (not just ordered) by 30 June to claim the instant asset write-off, super contributions must be received by the fund (not just paid) to be deductible that year, and businesses carrying trading stock complete a stocktake unless the estimated movement is under $5,000.
After 30 June the reporting sequence starts. Employers finalise Single Touch Payroll data by 14 July so employees' income statements show as tax ready in myGov. June-quarter super is due 28 July. Businesses that pay contractors in building and construction, cleaning, courier and road freight, IT or security lodge the Taxable Payments Annual Report by 28 August. The Q4 BAS is due 28 July (later through an agent), and income tax returns are due 31 October for self-lodgers, with registered tax agents able to lodge well into the following year for clients with good lodgement history. The ATO lodging and paying pages list every due date.
EOFY is when bookkeeping quality gets stress-tested. Clean, reconciled accounts at 30 June mean your accountant spends billable hours on tax planning instead of fixing miscoded transactions, and it is the difference between claiming every deduction and forgetting half of them. The classic pre-30-June levers: bring forward deductible spending (repairs, consumables, marketing, prepaying up to 12 months of expenses such as rent or insurance under the small business prepayment rules), defer invoicing income into July where cash flow allows, write off genuinely bad debts before year end so the deduction lands this year, and review the asset register for the instant asset write-off and depreciation.
EOFY is equally a hygiene checkpoint: chase overdue invoices while customers are doing their own year-end reviews, write off obsolete stock identified in the stocktake, confirm employee super classifications and award rates are current for the new year (minimum wage and award increases apply from the first full pay period on or after 1 July), and update default GST and payroll settings in your software. Businesses that treat EOFY as a two-week scramble every June usually have a bookkeeping problem the other 50 weeks.
| Date | Obligation |
|---|---|
| 30 June | Year end: stocktake, assets installed, super received by funds, bad debts written off |
| 14 July | STP finalisation declaration for employees |
| 28 July | Q4 BAS; June-quarter super guarantee contributions |
| 28 August | TPAR for businesses paying contractors in covered industries |
| 31 October | Income tax return (self-lodgers); tax-agent clients generally get extended dates |
The 2026-27 year brings two real changes. Payday super started 1 July 2026: super guarantee is now calculated each payday and must reach the employee's fund within 7 business days of payment, ending the quarterly cycle (the June 2026 quarter was the last, due 28 July 2026). And the $20,000 instant asset write-off was legislated year by year for 2025-26; unless Parliament extends it again the threshold reverts to $1,000, so check the ATO instant asset write-off page before relying on it for new-year purchases.
The definitions above only get you so far; the free OneBookPlus depreciation calculator turns them into your own figures in seconds, no sign-up needed.
31 October if you lodge it yourself. If you are on a registered tax agent's lodgement program by 31 October, most small businesses get until 15 May of the following year (earlier for some entities with tax payable or poor lodgement history). The extension only applies if you engage the agent before the 31 October cutoff.
Not in the June year. The instant asset write-off and depreciation both require the asset to be first used or installed ready for use by 30 June. An invoice or payment date in June is not enough; delivery and installation are what count, so order early if the deduction matters to this year's tax position.
Only if the fund receives them by 30 June. A payment that leaves your account on 29 June but lands in the fund on 2 July is deductible next year (and under payday super rules from 1 July 2026, ongoing SG timing is now tied to each payday rather than quarters). Pay at least several business days before 30 June to be safe.
Last reviewed and updated: by Bishal Shrestha