Every year, Australians leave money on the table at tax time. Not through anything complicated, but by simply missing the deadline. A contribution that didn’t clear in time. A deduction that wasn’t documented. An offset nobody mentioned.
This checklist pulls together the EOFY tax tips worth knowing before the financial year ends, organised by situation so you can quickly see what applies to you. Some will be relevant to your circumstances. Others won’t. The aim is to give you clarity on where to focus before 30 June, without the noise.
Things to Do Before EOFY: For Almost Everyone
Two EOFY tax tips apply broadly enough to mention before we separate by audience.
Claim your deductible expenses. Work-related costs, home office expenses, professional memberships, and investment-related expenses such as advice fees or rental property costs all need to be paid and documented before 30 June. The expense has to be genuinely deductible and backed by evidence, so if you are unsure whether something qualifies, check before you claim. For how deductions fit your broader position, understanding tax in an appointment with your financial adviser is a useful starting point.
Check your private health insurance cover. If you earn above the Medicare Levy Surcharge thresholds ($101,000 for singles, $202,000 for families) and don’t hold appropriate private hospital cover, you pay an extra 1% to 1.5% of income tax on top of the standard Medicare Levy. Taking out cover before 30 June can reduce or eliminate the surcharge, but the saving depends on how many days you held cover during the year.
Things to Do Before EOFY 2026 If You’re Accumulating Wealth
This section is for working Australians in their peak earning years who are focused on building their financial position.
A few of the settings worth flagging in this EOFY checklist for 2026 relate to super, particularly the concessional contributions cap, which now sits at $30,000.
Concessional (Pre-Tax) Super Contributions
Contributions made from pre-tax income, whether through salary sacrificing to superannuation or a personal contribution you claim as a deduction, are taxed at 15% inside your fund rather than at your marginal rate. For someone on the 34.5% or 39% rate (including Medicare Levy), that difference is meaningful.
Who it suits: Employees and self-employed people earning above roughly $45,000 who haven’t reached the $30,000 cap for the year. The benefit scales significantly with income: the difference between 15% and your marginal rate is the return you’re capturing.
A note for higher earners: If your income exceeds $250,000, Division 293 tax applies. This claws back some of the concessional contribution advantage by applying an additional 15% tax on contributions, reducing your effective benefit. It does not eliminate the benefit, but it changes the calculation.
When this doesn’t apply: If your employer contributions already take you close to or above the $30,000 cap, additional contributions may trigger excess concessional contributions tax. Check your year-to-date figure before acting.
The catch: For a personal deductible contribution, you must lodge a valid Notice of Intent to Claim form with your fund before you lodge your tax return. The money must also be received by your fund before 30 June, not just initiated. Allow at least three to five business days for processing.
Carry-Forward Concessional Contributions
If your total super balance was below $500,000 on 30 June last year, you may be entitled to contribute more than the standard $30,000 cap this year by using unused cap amounts carried forward from the previous five financial years. You can read more about how this works in detail in this guide to carry-forward concessional contributions and maximising your super.
Who it suits: People who have had years with lower super contributions, either because they were building a business, working part-time, or simply not topping up. This can be a significant catch-up mechanism.
When this doesn’t apply: If your total super balance was $500,000 or more on 30 June of the previous financial year, you cannot access carry-forward amounts this year.
The catch: You need to know your unused cap history, which is visible through your MyGov account. The same processing timing applies: funds must clear before 30 June.
Non-Concessional (After-Tax) Contributions
You can contribute up to $120,000 of after-tax money to super each year without triggering the contributions tax. If you’re under 75, you may also be able to bring forward up to three years’ worth of contributions in a single year, allowing up to $360,000 in one go.
Who it suits: People with savings or excess cash, for example, from proceeds from an asset sale sitting outside of super who want to move wealth into a more tax-effective structure.
The catch: If your total super balance was at or above $2 million on 30 June last year, non-concessional contributions are not available this year. The full three-year bring-forward is only available if your balance was below $1.76 million, and it reduces above that. Check your balance before assuming the full amount is accessible.
Things to Do Before EOFY If You’re Approaching Retirement
Spouse Contributions
If your partner earns below $40,000, you may be able to claim a tax offset of up to $540 by contributing to their super from your after-tax income. The full offset applies when your spouse earns below $37,000 and phases out entirely at $40,000.
Who it suits: Couples where one partner has lower income or has taken time out of the workforce. It’s a modest but straightforward benefit that is consistently underused.
The catch: The contribution must be received by the fund before 30 June. It cannot be claimed as a deduction by the contributing spouse; it generates an offset instead. Also note that the contributing spouse cannot claim this as a concessional contribution.
Downsizer Contributions
If you’re 55 or over and have owned your home for at least 10 years, you can contribute up to $300,000 per person ($600,000 per couple) into super from the sale proceeds of your principal residence. For a full breakdown of how this works, the downsizer contribution rules are worth reviewing before you act.
This contribution sits outside the usual super contribution caps, meaning it doesn’t affect your concessional or non-concessional limits.
Who it suits: Pre-retirees who have sold the family home and want to move a significant amount into super’s tax-favourable environment.
The catch: The contribution must be made within 90 days of settlement. It cannot be made if you haven’t sold a qualifying home. Your total super balance is irrelevant for eligibility, but the contribution will count toward your transfer balance cap if you move into pension phase.
When this doesn’t apply: If you haven’t sold your home, this isn’t available. It’s a post-sale strategy.
Things to Do Before EOFY If You Hold Investments Outside Super
Capital Gains Tax Timing
If you’ve realised capital gains on investments sold during the year, you may be able to offset them by selling other assets sitting at a loss before 30 June. The resulting capital loss reduces the gain you’d otherwise pay tax on.
Equally, if you’re sitting on unrealised losses and expect to have gains in a future year, this might be the year to crystallise those losses and bank them for offset later.
Who it suits: Investors with a mix of gains and losses in their portfolio, or those with carried-forward capital losses from prior years.
The catch: Be cautious of the wash sale provisions. Selling an asset purely to capture a loss and rebuying the same asset immediately is not a legitimate strategy and the ATO has flagged it explicitly. If you sell, there should be a genuine portfolio reason for the transaction. The 12-month CGT discount (50% reduction) only applies to assets held for more than a year, so check your acquisition dates before you act.
When this doesn’t apply: If you have no realised gains this year and no prospect of them, harvesting losses offers limited immediate benefit.
A note on the 2026 Federal Budget: The recent budget proposed major changes to capital gains tax, negative gearing, and discretionary trusts. None of those proposals affect your 2025/26 EOFY position. They are not yet law, and the start dates are 1 July 2027 and 1 July 2028. The strategies in this article still apply as they always have. For a full breakdown of what was proposed and what it means for your long-term wealth strategy, see our separate article on the 2026 Federal Budget.
What Requires Professional Input Before 30 June
Some items on this EOFY checklist for 2026 are do-it-yourself. Others require advice before you commit.
In particular, consider speaking with an adviser if:
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- Your total super balance is close to any threshold that affects eligibility (particularly $500,000 for carry-forward contributions, or $2 million for non-concessional contributions)
- You’re considering the bring-forward non-concessional rule for the first time
- You’ve received a lump sum and want to understand sequencing across contribution types
- You have a family trust and need to confirm that a distribution resolution is documented before 30 June
- You’re uncertain whether your income will push you above Division 293 thresholds this year
The cost of getting one of these wrong is typically higher than the cost of a short conversation before acting.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, provided your combined employer and personal contributions don’t exceed the $30,000 concessional cap for the year. Check your year-to-date employer contributions through your MyGov account or payslips before deciding how much to contribute personally.
You can access them only if your total super balance was below $500,000 on 30 June of the prior year. The MyGov display shows the available amount, but your eligibility depends on that balance threshold. Check both figures before acting.
Sometimes. If you have a genuine capital gain to offset and the asset you’re selling at a loss no longer fits your investment strategy, realising the loss before 30 June can be worthwhile. If you’re selling purely to create the loss and intend to buy the same asset back immediately, that is a wash sale arrangement. The ATO treats these as tax avoidance and the loss may be disallowed.
Not necessarily, but the window for certain time-sensitive decisions is short. If you want to contribute to super this year, particularly if you’re considering the bring-forward rule or a concessional deductible contribution, those actions need to be completed before 30 June. Money sitting in cash earns taxable interest from day one, so a clear plan matters sooner than many people assume. This is a situation where a short conversation with an adviser is worth the time.
The trustee may be assessed on the entire trust income at the top marginal tax rate. This is an avoidable and significant cost. If you’re uncertain whether your trust has a valid resolution in place, contact your accountant before the end of June, not after.
Your EOFY Planning Starts With a Conversation
The EOFY tax tips that matter most are the ones that fit your circumstances. The strategies here cover the most common situations, from accumulators and pre-retirees to investors holding assets outside super. Each comes with context about who benefits, what the limits are, and when it isn’t worth pursuing.
If one or more of these has prompted a question specific to your situation, that’s a good sign.
Precision Wealth Management offers independent, advice-driven guidance on end-of-financial-year planning from our Birtinya and North Lakes offices. If you’d like a focused conversation before 30 June, we’re happy to help. Get in touch and we’ll work through what applies to your situation.
