The Australian financial year ends on 30 June. For a tradie running a business, the few weeks before then are when a handful of decisions can legitimately cut your tax bill, and a few records you get straight now will save you serious grief in July. Here is the plain-English EOFY run-down for 2025-26: what is worth doing before 30 June, what can wait, and the free tools to do the sums.
The one with a hard deadline: the $20,000 instant asset write-off
If your business turns over under $10 million a year, you can immediately deduct the full business-use cost of eligible assets that cost less than $20,000 each, as long as each one is installed and ready to use by 30 June 2026 (ATO: $20,000 instant asset write-off). Not just ordered. Not just paid for. Installed and ready to use.
A $3,500 trailer, an $1,800 saw station, a $14,000 second-hand ute fit-out: each one under $20,000 is written off in full this year instead of being depreciated over several years.
- It applies per asset, so you can write off more than one.
- You claim the business-use portion only. If a tool is 80% work and 20% private, you claim 80%.
- The $20,000 is GST-exclusive if you are registered for GST — so a registered business can buy a tool costing up to about $21,999 including GST and still write it off — and GST-inclusive if you are not registered. That alone can be a $2,000 decision.
- Over $20,000? It is not lost: the asset goes into the small business simplified depreciation pool and is deducted at 15% in the first year and 30% each year after. A work vehicle is also capped at the car limit ($69,674 for 2025-26) no matter what you paid for it.
- It is a deduction, not a cash-back. It lowers your taxable income, so the real benefit is roughly the cost times your marginal tax rate. Do not buy gear you do not need just for the deduction; you are still out of pocket for most of it.
Run the numbers first with the instant asset write-off checker.
The deadline is real. Under current law the threshold drops back to just $1,000 from 1 July 2026. A permanent $20,000 write-off has been announced but is not yet law — so treat 30 June 2026 as a genuine cut-off, not a safe bet it will roll over.
Bring deductions forward, push income back (within reason)
Spending you were going to make anyway in early July can often be brought into June to claim a year earlier:
- Prepay things like insurance, subscriptions or rent (small businesses can prepay up to 12 months).
- Get tools serviced and vehicles repaired before 30 June.
- Write off genuinely bad debts before year end so you are not taxed on money you will never see.
- If you invoice on completion, there is nothing wrong with sending a job's final invoice on 1 July rather than 28 June, as long as the work genuinely finished then.
Check what counts with the expense checker and tax deductions for tradies.
Super: it only counts if the fund receives it in time
Two separate things, and the timing trips people up:
- Your crew's super. The super guarantee is 12% for 2025-26 (ATO: how much super to pay). You only get the deduction in the year the fund actually receives the money, not the year you send it. If you want the June quarter deducted this year, pay it early, well before 30 June, so it clears, rather than on the 30th.
- Your own super. A personal contribution before 30 June can be claimed as a deduction up to your concessional cap, which is handy if you have had a strong year. Get the paperwork (the notice of intent) right.
Tools and guides: super guarantee calculator, super guarantee, super caps and salary sacrifice, and for sole traders, super and retirement for sole traders.
Get your records straight now, not in October
The difference between a quick return and a stressful one is the shoebox:
- Reconcile your bank and your invoicing software so income and expenses match.
- Finalise your motor vehicle logbook, or start one now if you do not have a valid 12-week record.
- Pull together receipts for tools, gear, phone and home-office costs.
The mileage calculator and record keeping guide cover the detail.
The claims tradies most often miss
- Tools and equipment (immediately if under $20k, see above; otherwise depreciated).
- Protective gear, sun protection (sunscreen, sunnies and a hat are deductible for outdoor work) and work-specific clothing.
- Vehicle running costs and a fitted-out work vehicle (fitting out your vehicle).
- Phone and internet, work-use portion.
- Licences, tickets, white card renewals and training.
- Union or trade-association fees, and income protection insurance.
Full list: tax deductions for tradies.
After 30 June: BAS, PAYG and lodging
- Your June quarter (April to June) BAS is generally due 28 July, and a registered tax agent can usually buy you more time.
- If you pay PAYG instalments, your final one for the year falls due too.
- You do not have to lodge your tax return the moment the year ticks over. Using a registered tax agent typically extends your lodgment deadline well into the following year.
Sort the GST and BAS side with the BAS estimator, GST calculator, BAS explained and what is due this month.
Common mistakes
- Buying $20,000 of gear "for the tax" and forgetting you still pay most of the cost.
- Assuming the write-off is gone if an asset is $20,000 or more — it just goes into the pool instead.
- Paying June super on 30 June and assuming it is deductible, when the fund has not received it yet.
- Treating "ordered" or "paid" as the same as "installed ready for use" for the write-off.
- No valid logbook, so the vehicle claim gets cut back.
- Leaving the whole lot to your accountant on 5 July with no records.
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