DIY Tax Planning Tips: Smart Moves for Your 2026 Taxes

Effective tax planning is about more than just filing on time; it’s about making strategic moves before the end of the financial year to optimise your position and improve cash flow.

Here are ten essential tax planning tips for small business owners:

If your business needs new equipment, technology, or vehicles, purchasing and installing them before 30 June may allow you to claim an immediate deduction. Ensure the asset is "ready for use" by the deadline to qualify for the current financial year.

Review your accounts receivable for any invoices that are unlikely to be paid. By formally writing off these bad debts in your bookkeeping system before year-end, you can claim a deduction for the lost income and potentially recoup the GST previously paid on those invoices.

Small businesses can often claim a deduction for expenses paid in advance. Consider prepaying up to 12 months of costs such as insurance premiums, professional subscriptions, rent, or business memberships to reduce your taxable income for the current year.

If you operate your business from home, ensure you are capturing all eligible costs. You may be able to claim a portion of running expenses, such as electricity, gas, internet, and phone usage, using either the fixed-rate method or the actual cost method.

If all that bookkeeping sounds hard there is the fixed-rate method for working. This is where you can claim 70 cents for every hour you work from home instead. To keep things smooth with the tax office, just ensure you have a simple record, like a calendar or timesheet, showing your actual hours worked.

If you’re constantly out and about for clients or site visits, the fuel, services, and rego costs really start to add up. But here’s the catch: to claim the full chunk of those costs, the ATO needs more than a best guess, they need a 12-week logbook.

Think of it as a 12-week snapshot of your driving habits. Once you’ve tracked your business trips for that window, you’ve locked in a percentage you can use to justify your claims. Getting it sorted now means you can claim every cent you’re entitled to with total confidence. Without it, your deductions might be capped, which is basically leaving money on the road that should be in your pocket.

Employee superannuation is only deductible in the year it is actually received by the super fund. To ensure a deduction for this financial year, clear your June quarter contributions well before the 30 June deadline to account for bank and clearinghouse processing times.

For the 2025–26 financial year, the concessional contributions cap has increased to $30,000. If you have a high-profit year, contributing more to your super not only builds your future but reduces your personal taxable income today. Remember, the fund must receive the payment by June 30.

Also, if your total super balance is under $500,000, you may be able to access unused concessional cap amounts from the previous five years. This is a powerful catch-up strategy for business owners who may have put their super on the back-burner during leaner start-up years.

Obsolete or damaged stock is a drain on your bottom line.

This means that if you keep inventory, performing a physical stocktake at year-end is vital. Identifying obsolete, slow-moving, or damaged stock allows you to write down its value, which reduces your closing stock figure and, consequently, your taxable profit

When you first started, being a Sole Trader was probably the easiest way to get the ball rolling. But as the business grows, that simple setup can start to cost you more than it saves.

There’s a bit of a sweet spot for making the jump to a company: once your profit hits around $130,000, your averaged individual tax rate usually climbs above 25%. Since a trading company is taxed at a flat 25%, the switch can keep a lot more cash in your pocket.

It’s not just about the tax savings, though. Moving to a company structure adds a layer of protection between your business and your personal life by separating your business risks from your personal assets, giving you that extra bit of security as you scale.

If you're hitting those milestones, it’s worth a quick chat to see if an upgrade is the right move, it’s all about making sure your structure is working as hard as you are.

We’ve all been there, digging through a glovebox or a kitchen drawer only to find a receipt that’s faded into a blank slip of thermal paper. It’s frustrating, especially since the ATO expects you to keep a solid paper trail for five years.

The easiest way to beat the shoebox stress is to go digital. By using cloud accounting software to snap and save your receipts as you go, you’re doing more than just staying compliant; you’re future-proofing your deductions.

Think of it as an insurance policy for your tax return. Digitising everything ensures those small expenses don’t go missing or become unreadable over time. It keeps your records crisp, your desk clutter-free, and ensures that when tax time rolls around, every dollar you’ve spent is accounted for and ready to be claimed.

As of 1 July 1 2026, the ATO is moving to Payday Super, meaning you’ll have to pay employee superannuation at the same time you pay their wages. The old quarterly buffer is disappearing.

Start transitioning your cash flow modeling now. If you’re used to holding onto that 12% super for three months, start looking at paying these amounts every payday and how it will affect your cashflow. This will help you avoid a shock when the laws come into effect.

A little preparation now may go a long way toward a better tax return result. We hope these tips help you feel more confident as you head toward the finish line. As always, feel free to reach out if you have any questions along the way