The end of financial year has a habit of sneaking up on busy business owners. One minute you’re heads-down chasing invoices, the next minute it’s late June and you’re scrambling to find receipts, chase super deadlines, and work out whether that ute purchase actually qualifies for a deduction.
It doesn’t have to be that way.
With a few weeks of runway, you can turn EOFY from a stressful sprint into a planned wind-down: one that legitimately reduces your tax, tightens your books, and sets you up for a stronger new financial year. At VBA, we work with hundreds of small and medium businesses across Queensland, and the same eight moves come up time and again as the difference between a good EOFY and a great one.
Here’s our practical, no-jargon guide to making the most of the lead-up to 30 June.
1. Bring forward deductible expenses
If you know you’re going to spend money on the business in the next few months (repairs, consumables, marketing, software subscriptions, professional development), it’s worth asking whether you can pay for some of it before 30 June.
Bringing deductible expenses forward into this financial year reduces your taxable income now, rather than waiting another twelve months to claim it. The cash still leaves your account either way; you’re just choosing the timing.
A few practical examples:
- Stocking up on office supplies, materials, or consumables you’d buy anyway in July.
- Paying an annual software subscription or professional membership before EOFY.
- Booking and paying for staff training or industry conferences scheduled for the new year.
The key word is deductible. Make sure the expense is genuinely business-related, and keep the invoice. If you’re not sure whether something qualifies, ask your accountant before you spend.
2. Review the instant asset write-off
The instant asset write-off lets eligible small businesses immediately deduct the cost of qualifying assets in the year they’re first used or installed, rather than depreciating them over several years.
The threshold and eligibility rules have changed a number of times in recent years, so it’s important to confirm the current limit for the 2025-26 financial year before you commit to a purchase. Get this right and the savings are significant; get it wrong and you’ll be depreciating that new piece of kit over several years.
If you’re considering buying a vehicle, machinery, computer equipment, or office furniture, talk to your accountant first. The asset usually needs to be installed and ready for use by 30 June (not just ordered), so leave yourself enough lead time, especially with longer supply chains.
3. Maximise your superannuation contributions
Concessional super contributions are one of the most reliable ways to reduce taxable income while building wealth outside the business, but the deadlines are unforgiving.
A few things to keep in mind:
- Employee super for the June quarter must be paid and received by the fund before 30 June if you want to claim it as a deduction this financial year. Cleared, not just sent. Most clearing houses recommend paying at least a week before the deadline.
- Personal concessional contributions can be a smart move for sole traders, partners, and business owners drawing wages, but you’ll need to lodge a Notice of Intent to Claim with your fund.
- Carry-forward unused concessional cap rules may let you contribute more than the standard cap if you have a total super balance under the threshold and unused cap from previous years. Worth checking.
Super is one area where late by a day means missing out entirely, so flag this early.
4. Write off bad debts
If you’ve got invoices on your books that you genuinely can’t recover, EOFY is the time to deal with them.
To claim a bad debt deduction, the debt has to be physically written off in your accounts before 30 June, not just sitting in your aged receivables looking sad. You also need to have previously included the income in your assessable income (which you usually have, if you invoice on accruals) and have made reasonable attempts to recover it.
Run an aged receivables report, identify the customers you’ve effectively given up on, and have your bookkeeper or accountant write them off properly. Bonus: if you’re registered for GST on accruals, you may also be able to claim back the GST you previously remitted on those invoices.
5. Tidy up your trading stock
If you carry inventory, take a proper stocktake at 30 June. Not a guess.
You can value your trading stock using cost, market selling value, or replacement value, and you can choose a different method for each item. If some of your stock has lost value (damaged, obsolete, or simply unsellable at the price you paid), valuing it at market or replacement value can reduce your taxable income.
Small business entities with a stock value movement of less than $5,000 across the year can opt out of doing a full stocktake, but you still need to make a reasonable estimate. If you’re close to that threshold, it’s worth a proper count.
6. Prepay deductible expenses (where it makes sense)
Small businesses can often deduct certain prepaid expenses in the year they’re paid, provided the service period is twelve months or less and ends in the next financial year.
Common candidates:
- Business insurance premiums.
- Rent on business premises.
- Interest on business loans (talk to your lender about prepayment options).
- Subscriptions and memberships.
This is essentially a bigger version of move #1: you’re shifting deductions forward to where you need them most. It’s particularly useful in a year where your profit is higher than usual.
7. Get your records in order before 30 June, not after
Most accountants will tell you the difference between a cheap tax return and an expensive one isn’t complexity. It’s organisation.
Before EOFY, take an hour to:
- Reconcile your bank accounts and credit cards in your accounting software.
- Match receipts to expense claims, especially for cash transactions.
- Review your payroll and confirm STP (Single Touch Payroll) reporting is up to date.
- Check that vehicle logbooks are current if you claim motor vehicle expenses.
- Make sure contractor and ABN details are correct for your TPAR obligations (if applicable).
Clean books mean a faster, cheaper return, and far less back-and-forth digging through bank statements in October.
8. Plan for the new year, not just the old one
EOFY isn’t only about minimising last year’s tax. It’s also the best moment to look forward.
Use late May and June to sit down with your accountant and ask:
- Is my business structure still the right one? (Sole trader, partnership, company, and trust each carry different tax outcomes, and what worked at start-up isn’t always right at $1m+ turnover.)
- Am I on track with PAYG instalments, or am I likely to get a nasty bill?
- Do I have the right systems in place (accounting software, payroll, BAS) for where the business is heading?
- What deductions, concessions, or grants am I currently leaving on the table?
A 60-minute planning conversation now can be worth tens of thousands of dollars across the year ahead.
A final word
EOFY rewards business owners who plan. The eight moves above won’t all apply to every business, but most owners find that three or four of them genuinely move the needle on their tax bill and the health of their books.
The best results, though, come when these strategies are tailored to your specific situation: your industry, your structure, your cash flow, and your plans for the year ahead. A one-size-fits-all checklist will only get you so far.
If you’d like advice tailored to your business, the team at VBA is here to help. We work with small and medium business owners right across Queensland, and we’d be glad to walk you through what EOFY 2026 looks like for you, and what we can do together to make next year easier, sharper, and more profitable.
Get in touch with VBA today to book a tailored EOFY review with a Queensland accountant who knows your industry inside out.
This article provides general information only and does not constitute financial, tax, or legal advice. Please consult a registered tax agent or financial adviser for guidance tailored to your circumstances.
