Opening Scenario
Every June, we see the same pattern play out. A small business owner who has had a genuinely good year suddenly realises they have not given a single thought to tax planning, and now there are only a handful of weeks left before the financial year closes. They start making rushed decisions, buying equipment they do not really need just to claim a deduction, or trying to squeeze in superannuation payments at the last possible moment without checking whether they will actually clear in time to count.
Tax planning before EOFY is not about scrambling in the final weeks of June. It is about understanding, well ahead of time, what levers are actually available to you, which ones genuinely benefit your business, and which ones are simply noise that sounds good on social media but does not hold up to scrutiny. This guide walks through what small business owners should actually be thinking about before the financial year closes, and why working with a business tax accountant Perth businesses rely on tends to make this process considerably less stressful.
Quick Answer
If you only have a minute, here is the essence of it. Good EOFY tax planning starts months before June, not days before. Key areas to review include whether the instant asset write off genuinely suits a purchase you were already planning to make, whether superannuation contributions will clear in your fund’s account in time to be deductible in the current year, whether any bad debts need to be formally written off before year end, and whether trust resolutions have been properly documented if your business operates through a trust structure. None of these strategies work well if your record keeping throughout the year has been patchy, so the real foundation of good tax planning is consistent bookkeeping across all twelve months, not a last minute scramble.
Quick Reference Table
| Planning Area | Key Timing Consideration | Common Mistake |
| Instant asset write off | Asset must be first used or installed ready for use by 30 June | Buying assets purely for the deduction, not business need |
| Superannuation contributions | Must clear in the fund’s account by the payment deadline to be deductible | Paying too close to the deadline, missing the cut off |
| Bad debts | Must be written off in your books before 30 June | Leaving write offs until after year end |
| Trust resolutions | Must be documented before 30 June for trusts | Resolutions made or dated after year end |
| Logbooks and records | Should be maintained consistently throughout the year | Reconstructing records from memory at tax time |
Why Tax Planning Needs to Start Well Before EOFY
The single biggest mistake we see small business owners make is treating tax planning as something that happens in the final weeks of the financial year, rather than as an ongoing conversation throughout the year. By the time June arrives, many of the opportunities to genuinely improve your tax position have already passed, simply because there was not enough time left to act on them properly.
Why a Business Tax Accountant Perth Owners Return to Every Year Starts Planning in March
A good business tax accountant Perth owners come back to year after year will typically start raising EOFY planning conversations several months out, not in the final fortnight of June. This gives enough runway to actually implement strategies properly, such as timing a genuine equipment purchase to land before year end, reviewing whether your superannuation contributions are on track, or restructuring how income is being drawn from the business if that makes sense for your circumstances. Starting early also means decisions can be made calmly and deliberately, rather than under the pressure of a looming deadline.
The Instant Asset Write Off: What It Actually Means for Your Business
The instant asset write off allows eligible small businesses to immediately deduct the cost of eligible assets rather than depreciating them over several years. As of the current financial year, the threshold sits at 20,000 dollars per asset for businesses with an aggregated turnover under 10 million dollars, though it is worth noting that the enabling legislation to make this threshold permanent has been subject to ongoing parliamentary process, so it is always worth confirming the current position with your accountant before relying on it.
The asset needs to be first used, or installed ready for use, by 30 June to qualify in that financial year, and the threshold applies per asset, meaning a business purchasing several pieces of equipment under the threshold can potentially write off each one individually in the same year. It is worth being honest with yourself here. This deduction is genuinely valuable when it applies to equipment your business was already planning to buy, but it is not a reason to purchase something you do not actually need. Spending 15,000 dollars to save perhaps 4,000 dollars in tax is not a good outcome if the equipment sits unused in a corner of your workshop.
Superannuation Contributions and the Timing Trap Many Businesses Fall Into
If you want to claim a deduction for superannuation contributions in the current financial year, including contributions for yourself if you are a sole trader or business owner, the contribution needs to actually clear in the superannuation fund’s bank account before 30 June, not simply be initiated or processed by your business before that date. Superannuation clearing houses and payment processing can take several business days, and if you leave your contribution until the final days of June, there is a genuine risk it will not land in time to count for the current financial year.
This is one of the easiest planning opportunities to get right simply by acting a little earlier than the absolute last minute. Processing your June quarter superannuation payment in the first half of June, rather than waiting until the 28th, removes almost all of the risk of missing the deduction altogether.
Reviewing Super Contributions Against Your Concessional Cap
Alongside timing, it is worth reviewing how much you have contributed to superannuation across the full financial year against the concessional contributions cap. Contributing beyond the cap can trigger additional tax, so this is not simply a case of contributing as much as possible before year end. A quick review with your accountant of your total contributions for the year, including any employer contributions already made, helps avoid an unpleasant surprise.
Bad Debts, Trust Resolutions and Other Paperwork That Cannot Wait
A few administrative tasks genuinely need to be completed before 30 June, not after, if you want them to count for the current financial year. If you have invoices that you have determined are genuinely uncollectable, writing them off as bad debts before year end allows you to claim the deduction in the current financial year. This needs to be a considered decision supported by evidence that recovery is unlikely, rather than simply writing off anything still outstanding at year end.
If your business operates through a trust structure, trust distribution resolutions need to be properly documented before 30 June. Leaving this until after year end, or backdating a resolution, creates real risk, since the ATO has been clear that resolutions need to genuinely reflect decisions made within the relevant financial year. This is an area where getting the paperwork right on time matters just as much as the underlying decision itself.
Why Consistent Record Keeping Is the Real Foundation of Good Tax Planning
Every strategy discussed in this guide depends entirely on having accurate, complete records to work from. If your bookkeeping has been inconsistent throughout the year, no amount of last minute planning in June will fully make up for it. Reconstructing a year’s worth of expenses from memory, trying to piece together motor vehicle logbooks after the fact, or discovering in June that invoices have been missed entirely all create unnecessary stress and increase the risk of errors in your eventual tax return.
If you use a motor vehicle for business purposes and want to claim using the logbook method, the logbook needs to be maintained consistently across a representative period, not reconstructed after the fact based on rough estimates. Similarly, if you work from home and want to claim home office expenses, keeping a running record of hours worked from home throughout the year makes the eventual claim far more straightforward and defensible than trying to estimate it after the year has already closed.
Reviewing Your Business Structure Before Year End
EOFY planning is also a sensible time to step back and ask whether your current business structure still suits where your business actually is, rather than where it was when you first set up. A sole trader structure that made perfect sense in the early days of a business can become less tax effective as profits grow, particularly once income starts pushing into higher marginal tax rates. Moving to a company structure, or introducing a trust into the picture, can sometimes improve how income is taxed and distributed, but these changes come with their own costs and compliance obligations that need to be weighed up carefully rather than chased purely for a tax saving.
This is not a decision to make lightly or in isolation, and it is certainly not something to rush through in the final weeks of June. If you suspect your structure might no longer be the right fit, raising it with your accountant well ahead of EOFY gives enough time to properly model what a change would actually mean for your specific numbers, rather than making a structural decision based on a general rule of thumb that may not apply to your situation.
Cash Flow Considerations Alongside Tax Planning
It is easy to focus purely on minimising tax and lose sight of the fact that every deduction and timing decision also has a cash flow consequence. Bringing forward an equipment purchase to claim a deduction before 30 June means that money leaves your business account now, which may or may not suit your cash position depending on what else is happening in the business at the time. Similarly, making additional superannuation contributions before year end reduces your immediate cash reserves even as it improves your tax position.
Good EOFY planning weighs both sides of this equation together rather than treating tax minimisation as the only goal. A business with tight cash flow heading into a quieter trading period may be better served holding onto cash rather than spending it on a deduction that saves less in tax than the cash itself is worth to the business in the weeks ahead. This is exactly the kind of judgement call that benefits from a conversation with someone who understands both your tax position and your broader financial picture, rather than a decision made purely by looking at a deduction in isolation.
Setting Up Next Financial Year While You Are Already Looking at the Numbers
EOFY planning conversations are also a natural opportunity to think ahead to the year that is about to start, not just tidy up the one that is ending. This might mean reviewing whether your pricing has kept pace with rising costs, checking whether your business is approaching any turnover thresholds that affect GST registration or access to small business tax concessions, or simply setting a more realistic budget for the year ahead based on how the current year actually played out rather than how you hoped it would.
Businesses that treat EOFY purely as a compliance deadline tend to miss this broader opportunity. Since you are already sitting down with your accountant and looking closely at a full year of financial data, it makes sense to use that same conversation to think about what needs to change going into the next twelve months, rather than scheduling an entirely separate planning session months later once the momentum and the detailed numbers are no longer fresh in mind.
Common EOFY Mistakes Small Business Owners Make
The most common mistake is leaving everything until the final weeks of June, which removes the ability to act thoughtfully on almost any genuine planning opportunity. A close second is buying equipment purely to claim the instant asset write off without a real business need for it, which rarely makes financial sense once you look past the headline deduction. We also regularly see superannuation contributions paid too close to the deadline and missing the cut off entirely, bad debts left unaddressed until well after year end, and business owners attempting to reconstruct a full year of records in a single weekend because nothing was tracked consistently along the way.
Checklist Before EOFY
- Review whether any planned equipment purchases should be brought forward before 30 June
- Confirm superannuation contributions will clear in the fund’s account well before the deadline
- Identify and formally write off any genuinely uncollectable bad debts
- Finalise trust distribution resolutions before year end if applicable
- Check your logbook and home office records are complete and up to date
- Review your total superannuation contributions against the concessional cap
- Book a planning conversation with your accountant well before June, not during it
Final Word
If you live in Byford and are looking for a reliable business tax accountant Perth business owners can plan ahead with, our team is here to help well before the EOFY rush begins. Good tax planning is not about last minute scrambling, it is about having the right conversations early enough to actually act on them.
We have been helping small businesses across Perth and Western Australia plan for EOFY properly for over 30 years. If you would like to get ahead of this financial year rather than reacting to it in June, get in touch with our team today.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. When should small business owners start thinking about EOFY tax planning?
Ideally several months before 30 June, rather than in the final weeks. Starting early gives you enough time to actually implement strategies properly, such as timing equipment purchases or reviewing superannuation contributions, rather than making rushed decisions under deadline pressure.
2. Is the instant asset write off always worth using?
Only if the asset is something your business genuinely needs. The deduction reduces your taxable income, it does not make the purchase free, so buying equipment purely for the tax benefit rarely makes good financial sense if the equipment is not actually required.
3. How early should I pay my superannuation contributions to ensure they are deductible this financial year?
Contributions need to clear in the superannuation fund’s account, not just leave your business bank account, before 30 June. Processing payments in the first half of June rather than waiting until the final days significantly reduces the risk of missing the deduction.
4. What happens if I write off a bad debt and the customer later pays?
If a previously written off debt is later recovered, the amount recovered generally needs to be included as assessable income in the year it is received. This is a normal part of how bad debt write offs work and does not mean the original write off was incorrect.
5. Do trust resolutions really need to be finalised before 30 June?
Yes, for trusts distributing income, resolutions generally need to be made and properly documented before the end of the financial year to be effective. Leaving this until after year end creates genuine risk around how that year’s trust income is taxed.
This article is general information only and does not constitute personalised tax or financial advice. Tax thresholds, rules and legislation can change, and the instant asset write off threshold referenced in this article was subject to parliamentary process at time of writing. Always confirm current rules with the Australian Taxation Office or seek advice from a qualified accountant or registered tax agent specific to your business circumstances.
