Tax Planning Checklist: What You Should Be Considering Now

Most tax planning happens in the final three weeks of June, which is exactly when the fewest options are left. A tax planning checklist is far more useful in August than it is in late June, because by that point the income is earned, the assets are bought, and the decisions that would have shifted your position needed to happen months earlier.

This guide covers what to review now, early in the 2026-27 financial year, so you have twelve months to act instead of a fortnight. It works through the rules that changed on 1 July, the items worth checking each quarter, and the mistakes that quietly cost business owners money.

Why a Tax Planning Checklist Works Better Early

Tax planning is a timing exercise. Almost every lever available to a business only works before an event, not after it. Once you have issued the invoice, sold the asset, or paid the bonus, the tax treatment is largely locked in.

Starting early also gives you a usable number. If you know in October roughly where your taxable income will land by 30 June, you can set money aside, adjust your instalments, and decide on equipment purchases with a clear head. Leave year end tax planning until May and you are choosing between rushed decisions and a bigger bill.

What Changed on 1 July 2026

Three changes reset the starting point for business tax planning this year.

Payday super is now in effect

From 1 July 2026, employers must pay superannuation guarantee within seven business days of each payday rather than quarterly. Superannuation guarantee, or SG, is the compulsory contribution employers pay on top of wages, currently 12% of qualifying earnings.

The tax impact is small; the cash flow impact is not. Businesses that previously held super for up to three months now need it available every pay run. Because Single Touch Payroll (STP) reports wages and super each cycle, late payments are visible to the ATO almost immediately.

Super contribution caps have increased

The concessional contributions cap rose to $32,500 for 2026-27, up from $30,000. Concessional contributions are before-tax amounts, covering SG, salary sacrifice, and personal contributions you claim a deduction for. The ATO's contribution caps guidance sets out the current limits and how the carry-forward rules work if your total super balance sat under $500,000.

For many business owners, super remains one of the more straightforward tax planning strategies. It also carries a hard deadline: contributions count in the year the fund receives them, not the year you send them.

The instant asset write-off

Small businesses with aggregated turnover under $10 million can generally claim an immediate deduction for eligible assets costing less than $20,000. The Government announced in the 2026-27 Budget that this threshold would become permanent from 1 July 2026. The asset must be first used or installed ready for use during the year, so ordering equipment in June and taking delivery in July does nothing for the earlier year.

Your Tax Planning Checklist for the Year Ahead

Work through this tax planning checklist now, then revisit it at each Business Activity Statement (BAS), the form used to report GST and PAYG each quarter.

Forecast your taxable income

Pull your year-to-date figures and project them forward. A rough estimate beats no estimate. If profit looks higher than last year, deductions and structure are worth reviewing. If it looks lower, you may be paying instalments based on a position you no longer hold.

Review deductions and timing

Businesses under $50 million turnover can typically prepay expenses such as rent, insurance, and subscriptions where the service period ends within twelve months. Bringing forward repairs, maintenance, and consumables works the same way. Review your debtor list as well, since genuinely unrecoverable amounts must be written off and documented before year end to reduce taxable income. If you hold inventory, your closing stock valuation feeds straight into taxable profit, so a stocktake is not just an administrative task.

Check your structure and trust resolutions

Company, trust, and partnership structures each suit different stages of a business. If yours has grown, taken on partners, or changed direction, the structure that worked three years ago may no longer be the most effective. Trustees also need to prepare and document trust distribution resolutions before 30 June, which is far easier once the numbers are forecast. Our taxation services cover structure reviews, trust distributions, and lodgement for companies, trusts, and sole traders.

Plan capital gains before you sell

Capital gains tax (CGT) applies when you dispose of assets such as shares, property, or business goodwill. Individuals and trusts that have held an asset for at least twelve months generally qualify for the 50% capital gains tax discount, so settlement dates matter. Small business CGT concessions may also apply on a sale, and they are complex enough to raise well before contracts are signed.

Manage instalments, FBT, and cash flow

PAYG instalments are prepayments towards your expected tax bill, and they can be varied when income changes materially. Fringe benefits tax (FBT) runs on a separate year, from 1 April to 31 March, which regularly catches out businesses providing cars, entertainment, or car parking. Map both against your cash flow so a tax payment does not land in your tightest month.

Common Tax Planning Mistakes

Four mistakes come up again and again. First, spending money purely to cut tax; a deduction returns cents in the dollar, not the whole dollar. Second, treating aggressive arrangements as planning, when the ATO looks closely at schemes with no genuine commercial purpose. Third, leaving the books unreconciled until EOFY, which turns a two-hour review into a two-week reconstruction. Fourth, missing deadlines nobody can move for you, such as super payments and trustee resolutions.

Turn the Checklist Into a Plan

A tax planning checklist is only useful when someone applies it to your actual numbers. Thresholds change each year, and the right approach depends on your entity type, turnover, and plans for the next few years. The information above is general in nature and is not personal tax, financial, or credit advice; your own circumstances will determine what applies.

To book a tax planning session and map out your 2026-27 position while there is still time to act on it, contact The Calculators.