Prepare your small business for 30 June and beyond

As the end of the financial year approaches, now is the time to get your business ready for 30 June 2026 deadlines and prepare for changes effective 1 July 2026. Preparing early can save time, ensure you meet your obligations, reduce risk and help your business stay on track.

Tax Time - ATO focus areas for small business

With 30 June 2026 fast approaching, the ATO has released their 2026 Tax Time toolkit for small businesses to help you. The ATO has small business focus areas including:

• not reporting all income (including cash payments)
• mixing business and personal expenses
• incorrect deduction claims
• GST reporting and registration issues
• private use of business assets (for example, vehicles).

To help get your business tax return right, it is important that you keep your records in order.  Make sure your records are accurate and up to date, this is essential for meeting your tax, super and employer obligations.

Some common tips: 

• Reconcile your bank statements
• Summarise your income and expenses
• Prepare your financial statements
• If your business holds inventory, do a stocktake by 30 June.

You generally need to keep records for at least 5 years after you lodge your tax return.  If you don’t already use digital tools or accounting software, consider these for the coming financial year, as they can make record-keeping easier.

Refer to the ATO information aimed at helping small businesses get it right, and contact the ATO if you have questions or need to correct any records.

Other important dates and helpful links

Instant asset write‑off

Eligible small businesses (turnover under $10 million) may be able to immediately deduct eligible assets which each cost less than $20,000.

To claim the instant asset write-off, assets must be installed and ready for use by 30 June 2026.

Payday super

Under the ‘payday super’ rules coming into effect from 1 July 2026, superannuation contributions must be paid within 7 business days of payday.

Minimum wages increase

Minimum wages increase from 1 July 2026 for employees not covered by an award or enterprise agreement. Learn more from the Fair Work Commission.

SMS Sender ID Register

If you send SMS messages with your business or organisation name, make sure you register your sender ID by 1 July 2026, or your messages may be disrupted. Read more on the Australian Communications and Media Authority website.

Helpful links

• Business tax deductions – you can claim a tax deduction for most expenses you incur in carrying on your business if they directly relate to earning your assessable income
• Business losses – if you've made a business loss in a current year, you may be able to carry forward that loss and claim a deduction for your business in a future year or you may be eligible for the loss carry back tax offset
• Your PAYG withholding cycle may change from 1 July depending on your withholder status – the ATO will write to you if changes to your withholding cycle are required
• Fringe benefits tax (FBT) – find out if you need to pay FBT on certain employee benefits
• Scammers - To protect your business from scammers, be on the lookout for strange texts or emails from scammers impersonating a trusted organization. Be sure to verify or report a scam attempts that you might see.

Free ATO courses

The ATO offers Essentials to strengthen your small business, an online learning platform for small businesses. The courses cover the business lifecycle stages, from idea, start-up, day-to-day, to change and exit. 

Popular tax courses include:

• starting a small business
• using your business money and assets
• record keeping
• claiming small business tax deductions
• growing your small business
• goods and services tax (GST)

For more tax time information, visit the ATO’s Supporting Your Small Business page.