EOFY 2026 Checklist for employees, sole-traders, business owners and retirees
In 1991, the late Kerry Packer was hauled before a Senate committee and asked, more or less, whether he was trying to avoid paying tax. His reply has since become Australian folklore:
“I pay whatever tax I am required to pay under the law, not a penny more, not a penny less,” he told the committee. “If anybody in this country doesn’t minimise their tax, they want their heads read, because as a government, I can tell you you’re not spending it that well that we should be donating extra.”
Minimising tax legally isn’t dodgy. It’s responsible. It’s the difference between giving the ATO your fair share and giving them a tip.
With 30 June 2026 closing in, we’ve put together a checklist of EOFY opportunities that could mean more in your pocket, more for your future, and less for the ATO.
Quick note.This is general information, not personal advice. The rules below interact in ways that aren’t always obvious. Contact us before you act.
EOFY Checklist 2026
If you’re a PAYG employee
-
Top up your super with a personal concessional (before-tax) contribution
You can contribute up to $30,000 this financial year, including what your employer has already paid in (12% Super Guarantee) and any salary-sacrifice contributions.
Important: Lodge a Notice of Intent with your super fund, or you won’t get the tax deduction. -
Use your unused cap from previous years
If your total super balance (TSB) is under $500,000, you can carry forward any unused concessional cap from the past five years and contribute it now. Especially relevant if you’ve had career breaks or part-time stretches.
-
Contribute to your spouse’s super
If your partner earns under $40,000, you could pop up to $3,000 into their super and claim a tax offset of up to $540.
-
Top up with the government’s co-contribution
If you earn under $62,488 and make an after-tax contribution, the government may chip in up to $500 through the co-contribution scheme.
-
Make a non-concessional (after-tax) contribution
If your total super balance is under $2 million, you can contribute up to $120,000 in a year, or trigger the bring-forward rule to put in up to $360,000 in one go. Worth knowing about if you’ve got a chunk of cash sitting around. Maybe from selling an investment property, downsizing the family home, an inheritance, or a bonus you don’t need right now.
A personal concessional (before-tax) contribution can soften the tax hit on a big capital gain, like the sale of an investment property or shares. The super contribution reduces your taxable income for the year, which directly reduces the tax payable on the gain. Take advantage of the carry-forward unused cap (if your total super balance is under $500,000) and the capital gains tax savings can be substantial.
If you’re self-employed (sole trader or partnership)
If you’re a sole trader or partnership, nobody is paying super for you. If you don’t actively pay yourself, the whole $30,000 cap goes unused year after year, and you miss the tax deduction along with decades of compounding.
-
Make a personal deductible contribution to super
You can contribute up to $30,000 this financial year and claim it as a deduction on your individual tax return. It cuts your taxable income at marginal rates (which can be as high as 47%) and leaves the money working at just 15% tax inside super.
Important: Lodge a Notice of Intent with your super fund, or you won’t get the tax deduction. -
Use your unused cap from previous years
If your total super balance is under $500,000, you can carry forward any unused concessional cap from the past five years and contribute it now. This is the big one for the self-employed. Especially powerful if you’ve had quieter income years or never got around to paying yourself super.
-
Bring forward deductible business expenses
Prepay rent, insurance, subscriptions and professional memberships up to 12 months in advance to claim the deduction this year. Cash flow allowing, it’s a quick way to lower your taxable income before 30 June.
-
Take advantage of the instant asset write-off
Eligible business assets up to $20,000 each can be written off immediately rather than depreciated over time. The threshold drops to $1,000 from 1 July, and the asset has to be installed and ready to use by 30 June for the deduction to apply this financial year.
-
Spouse and co-contribution moves still apply
If your partner earns under $40,000, the spouse contribution offset works the same way it does for PAYG employees. And if your taxable income is low enough, the government co-contribution is also on the table. (See the PAYG section above for the full rules.)
If you run your business through a company or trust
-
Salary sacrifice through the company to top up your super
If you pay yourself a wage from the company, salary sacrifice is the cleanest way to get more into super before 30 June. The company claims the deduction, you get the contribution taxed at just 15% inside super, and your taxable income drops at the same time. You can contribute up to $30,000 this financial year, including what the company has already paid in as Super Guarantee.
-
Use your unused cap from previous years
If your total super balance is under $500,000, you can carry forward any unused concessional cap from the past five years and contribute it now.
-
Bring forward deductible business expenses
Prepay rent, insurance, subscriptions and professional memberships up to 12 months in advance to claim the deduction this year. Cash flow allowing, it’s a quick way to lower your taxable income before 30 June.
-
Take advantage of the instant asset write-off
Eligible business assets up to $20,000 each can be written off immediately rather than depreciated over time. The threshold drops to $1,000 from 1 July, and the asset has to be installed and ready to use by 30 June for the deduction to apply this financial year.
-
Check your Division 7A position
If you’ve taken money out of the company as a loan during the year, repayments or minimum interest payments are due before 30 June. Miss it, and the loan can be treated as a deemed dividend, which means a tax bill you didn’t see coming.
-
Sign and date your trust distribution resolutions before 30 June
If you have a discretionary (family) trust, the trustee needs to decide who gets what before the financial year ends. Late or missing resolutions can mean trust income is taxed at the top marginal rate of 47%.
-
Plan your franking credits and dividend strategy
If there’s profit sitting in the company you might want to extract, the timing of dividends (this financial year versus next) can make a meaningful difference to the tax outcome at both the company and shareholder level. Worth modelling before you decide.
-
Take advantage of the small business CGT concessions if you’re selling
The four small business CGT concessions can dramatically reduce or eliminate the tax on the sale of an active business asset, but the eligibility rules are strict and often need years of planning to get right.
EOFY for business owners is a team sport. These strategies need our financial planning team and your accountant involved well before 30 June.
If you’re already retired (under 75)
-
Make a downsizer contribution if you’re selling the family home
If you’re 55 or older and you’ve owned your home for at least 10 years, you can contribute up to $300,000 each (so $600,000 for a couple) from the sale proceeds into super. Bonus: it doesn’t count towards your normal contribution caps, and there’s no upper age limit or work test.
-
Contribute to your younger spouse’s super to boost your Age Pension
If one of you is over Age Pension age (currently 67) and the other isn’t, super held in the younger spouse’s accumulation account doesn’t count under the Centrelink assets or income tests. Moving super to even out balances, or contributing to the younger spouse’s super, can lower the older spouse’s assessable assets and lift their pension. It only works while the younger spouse is under 67 and hasn’t started a pension, so timing matters.
-
Make a personal deductible contribution if you’re still earning
Up to $30,000 a year, claimed on your tax return. If you’re between 67 and 74, you’ll need to meet the work test (40 hours of paid work in 30 consecutive days) for the income year you’re claiming the deduction.
-
Make a non-concessional (after-tax) contribution
Up to $120,000 a year, as long as your total super balance is under $2 million. Or trigger the bring-forward rule to put up to $360,000 in over three years if your balance is under $1.76 million. Useful for moving a windfall, downsizing proceeds, or surplus cash into the lower-tax environment of super.
-
Use a cash-out and re-contribution strategy
This is an underused estate planning play that softens what’s commonly called the “death tax”. You withdraw your super, then re-contribute it as a non-concessional (after-tax) contribution. The withdrawal converts taxable super into tax-free super. When you die, non-dependent beneficiaries (usually your adult children) pay up to 17% tax on the taxable component, but nothing on the tax-free component. So shrinking the taxable side and growing the tax-free side means more of what you’ve built actually goes to your kids.
“Once I hit 65, I can’t do anything more with my super.”
Your super is a powerful wealth tool right through retirement and beyond, with income, tax and estate planning wins for you and your family.
A few EOFY reminders for everyone
-
Send super contributions 1-2 weeks before 30 June
BPAY and clearing houses take days. Anything that lands on or after 1 July rolls into next financial year.
-
Lodge any outstanding Notice of Intent
If you made a personal contribution last year and want to claim the deduction, lodge the Notice of Intent now. The NOI form is available from your super fund.
-
Check your private health insurance
If your income is over the threshold and you don’t hold the right cover, you’ll cop the Medicare Levy Surcharge.
-
Claim your income protection premiums
Income protection premiums paid outside super are tax-deductible.
-
Make charitable donations before 30 June
Charitable donations over $2 to a registered DGR are deductible. Make the donation before 30 June.
The bottom line
EOFY is full of opportunities, but no strategy is one-size-fits-all. The tax rules interact, the super caps have sub-rules, and like all financial planning, the right move depends on what you’re trying to achieve in life and with your money.
Want to talk through which of these EOFY opportunities are right for you? Contact our financial planning team.
Plan well. Live large.
Centaur Financial Services is a Gold Coast financial planning practice helping professionals, retirees, business owners, and investors make confident wealth decisions. Based in Robina and serving clients across Australia, we’re proud to be one of Australia’s most awarded advice firms. We specialise in retirement planning and back it with institutional-grade investment capability.
Frequently Asked Questions
This article is general information only. It does not take into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. Centaur Financial Services Pty Ltd is a Corporate Authorised Representative (CAR No. 342372) of Abundant Wealth Partners Pty Ltd, ABN 35 680 570 487, AFSL 564749. Please obtain personal advice before acting on any of this content.
