The Strategic Decisions That Decide Your 2025-26 Tax Bill
With only 8 weeks until 30 June 2026, every Melbourne small business owner faces a narrow window to make decisions that can permanently change their tax position for the year. Tax compliance — what most accountants do — happens after the fact. Tax planning happens now. The difference between the two is often $5,000-$50,000, depending on your structure.
This article walks through the seven strategic tax decisions every Melbourne small business owner — sole trader, company, or trust — should consciously make before 30 June 2026. None of these are last-minute tactics. They are structural choices that need 4–8 weeks of lead time, and most of them cannot be undone after 30 June.
The team at Wiselink Accountants — CPA-qualified, NTAA-registered, with offices in Melbourne (Camberwell) and Brisbane (Eight Mile Plains), serving clients across Australia — works through this exact framework with our business advisory clients every May and June. Below is a condensed version any owner can use to identify which decisions are worth a deeper professional conversation.
Decision 1 — Asset Acquisition: Use the Instant Asset Write-Off Before It Disappears
For 2025-26, eligible small businesses (aggregated turnover under $10 million) can instantly deduct the cost of qualifying assets up to $20,000 each, provided the asset is purchased and installed ready for use by 30 June 2026. The cap and threshold have been politically uncertain over the last several years; assume nothing about future budgets.
Strategic action items:
- Audit your asset wishlist now. Anything you were planning to buy in July-October — vehicles, computers, fit-out, tools — should be evaluated for a pre-30 June purchase
- “Installed ready for use” is the trigger, not invoice date. A $19,000 piece of equipment ordered on 28 June but delivered on 4 July does not qualify
- Don’t trip the $20,000 cap. If a single asset exceeds $20,000, you generally can’t pool it under the simplified depreciation rules — it must be depreciated normally. Plan unit price, not total spend
- Mixed-use assets need a use-percentage decision now. A car used 60% for business gives you a 60% deduction; documentation must be contemporaneous
If you are considering a $50,000 vehicle purchase, the difference between buying on 28 June 2026 versus 1 July 2026 can be one full year of depreciation deduction — about $7,000 of tax cash difference for a 30% tax rate.
Decision 2 — Superannuation: The Single Most Underused Tax Lever for Profitable Businesses
The concessional contribution cap is $30,000 for 2025-26 (combining employer SG and personal deductible contributions). For business owners with strong years, this is one of the most efficient tax-deductible spends available — money goes into super taxed at 15% instead of your marginal rate of up to 47%.
Three key rules:
- Catch-up contributions: If your super balance was under $500,000 at 30 June 2025 and you didn’t use your full concessional cap in earlier years (going back to 2018-19), you can carry-forward unused caps. Some clients have $80,000+ of unused capacity available — and most don’t know it
- Contribution timing: Personal deductible contributions must be received by the super fund by 30 June, with a Notice of Intent (NOI) lodged before lodgement of the year’s tax return. Don’t leave the actual transfer until 28 June
- Spouse contribution splitting: If your spouse has a much lower super balance, splitting can reduce future Division 293 tax exposure
For a high-earning sole trader, a properly structured $30,000 personal concessional contribution can save $9,000-$10,000 in tax — at the cost of locking the money in super until preservation age. For most owners 50+, that trade is excellent.
Decision 3 — Trust Distributions: Section 100A Has Permanently Changed the Game
If your business is held in a discretionary (family) trust, the trustee resolution determining who is presently entitled to the trust’s income for 2025-26 must be made and documented by 30 June 2026. Late or missing resolutions can result in the trustee being assessed at the top marginal rate of 47%.
Beyond the deadline, the larger 2026 issue is Section 100A. The ATO’s 2022 ruling significantly narrowed the conditions under which adult-child distributions can be made without being labelled a “reimbursement agreement” — which would result in the income being taxed back to the trustee, often catastrophically.
What every trust owner should pause and verify with their accountant:
- Are distributions to adult children, parents, or other relatives genuinely going to those beneficiaries’ bank accounts and being used by them — or are they being recycled back to the parent owners?
- Has the trust deed been reviewed against the new rules in the last 12 months?
- Is the trustee resolution drafted by 30 June (or your trust’s deed-specified date), and does it correctly identify each beneficiary’s entitlement?
This is the single area where a one-hour advisory conversation is most likely to prevent a six-figure ATO problem.
Decision 4 — Stocktake Method: The Decision You Make Once and Live with for Years
If you carry inventory, the cost flow method you use to value closing stock — FIFO (first in, first out), Weighted Average, or Specific Identification — directly affects your taxable income. In an environment where input costs are rising (which 2025-26 has been for many sectors), FIFO will generally produce higher taxable income than Weighted Average, because older, cheaper costs flow to cost of goods sold first.
Decisions to make before 30 June:
- Have you actually performed a physical stocktake, or are you relying on perpetual records?
- Are slow-moving and obsolete items being written down to net realisable value? (You can deduct the write-down)
- Is your method consistent with prior years? Changing methods requires good commercial reason and may require adjustments
Decision 5 — Bad Debts: Write Them Off Before 30 June, Not After
To claim a bad debt deduction in 2025-26, the debt must be actually written off in your books before 30 June 2026. Writing it off in July is too late — you lose the deduction for an entire year.
Conditions:
- The debt must have been included as assessable income in this or an earlier year
- The debt must be genuinely bad — i.e., reasonable steps have been taken to recover it
- A written board minute or ledger entry dated before 30 June is the cleanest evidence
If you have customers more than 90 days overdue, this week is the time to start the recovery process, document it, and — if recovery fails — write the debt off cleanly in June.
Decision 6 — Capital Gains Timing: Realise Before or After 30 June?
If you are sitting on either capital gains or capital losses on assets (shares, crypto, investment property, business equipment), the contract date determines the income year, not settlement date. This means selling on 28 June 2026 puts the gain in 2025-26, while 1 July 2026 defers it to 2026-27.
The strategic questions:
- Do you have unused carry-forward capital losses? If yes, realising offsetting gains in the same year is highly tax-efficient
- Will your taxable income be higher or lower next year? Defer gains into a lower-income year wherever possible
- Have you held the asset more than 12 months? The 50% CGT discount applies to individuals and trusts — but not companies
Crypto holders deserve a special note: the ATO is now data-matching directly with all major Australian and many international exchanges. If you have unrealised gains and were planning to dispose during 2025-26, your accountant needs to know now — not in October.
Decision 7 — Director Loans and Division 7A: Reconcile Before Year End
If you operate through a Pty Ltd company and have drawn money out as a loan to yourself or a related party, Division 7A rules require the loan to either be repaid by the lodgement date of the company’s return — or be put on a complying loan agreement (typically 7 years, secured) — to avoid being deemed an unfranked dividend.
Action items before 30 June:
- Reconcile the director loan account: total drawings, total repayments, current balance
- If there is a balance, decide: repay before lodgement, or formalise a Division 7A loan agreement
- If there is already a Division 7A loan, ensure the minimum yearly repayment for 2025-26 has been (or will be) made
- Director Penalty Notices for unpaid PAYG and SG are at record-high frequency in 2026 — clean books before EOFY reduce your exposure
What These Seven Decisions Are Worth — A Worked Example
Consider a Melbourne family business operating through a Pty Ltd holding 100% of the shares of a trust, with the family on a combined taxable income of $250,000:
- Asset acquisition — bringing forward $40,000 of fit-out spending to before 30 June 2026: ~$8,500 saved at the trust’s marginal rate
- Super contributions — $30,000 personal concessional contribution: ~$9,000 saved (at 47% marginal vs 15% in super)
- Trust distributions — proper resolution + s100A-compliant beneficiary structure prevents ~$30,000+ ATO recharacterisation risk
- Bad debt write-off — $10,000 of genuinely uncollectible invoices: ~$2,100 saved
- Director loan reconciliation — avoiding deemed dividend treatment on a $50,000 unrepaid balance: ~$10,500 saved
Total upside: ~$30,000 of legitimate tax savings, plus avoidance of ~$30,000+ of compliance risk. This is why the conversation with your accountant in May matters more than the conversation in October.
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the difference between tax planning and tax compliance?
Compliance is reporting what already happened — your BAS, your tax return, your year-end accounts. Planning is making structural decisions before the fact: when to buy assets, where to direct distributions, which entity to operate through. Compliance has fixed deductions; planning has options. Most accountants do compliance well; far fewer do planning well.
I’m a sole trader — do these strategies apply to me?
The directly applicable ones are #1 (asset write-off — sole traders qualify under the same small business rules), #2 (personal concessional super contributions), #5 (bad debts, if you account on accruals), and #6 (capital gains timing). Trust distributions and Division 7A don’t apply to sole traders — but if your business is growing, this might be the year to discuss whether moving to a Pty Ltd or trust structure is appropriate.
How early do I need to start before 30 June to make these decisions?
Asset purchases need 4-8 weeks lead time (orders, delivery, installation). Super contributions need at least 1 week before 30 June for clearing house processing. Trust resolutions can be drafted in days but need to be signed before 30 June. Director loan strategies are best resolved 4 weeks before 30 June so that any restructuring can be documented properly.
I missed last year’s tax planning. Can I still benefit from these strategies in 2025-26?
Yes. Most of these decisions are forward-looking — they affect 2025-26 tax. The catch-up super contribution rule even allows you to deduct unused caps from 2018-19 onwards (subject to the $500,000 super balance threshold). Many clients have $40,000-$80,000 of unused concessional cap they can still use in 2025-26.
What does professional tax planning cost?
For Wiselink, a strategic tax planning engagement for a typical small business is structured as either a fixed-fee project (usually $1,500-$5,000 depending on entity complexity) or a monthly business advisory retainer. The cost is almost always recovered many times over by the tax savings identified. We provide a written quote upfront — no hidden fees. Contact us for a scoped engagement proposal.
Book a Strategic Tax Review Before 30 June
Wiselink Accountants offers professional pre-EOFY strategic tax reviews for Melbourne, Brisbane, and Australia-wide small business clients. In a focused 1-hour session our CPA team will:
- Identify which of these seven decisions are most material for your specific structure
- Calculate the dollar impact of each opportunity
- Build a written action plan with deadlines for the next 8 weeks
- Quote any follow-on implementation work transparently
Wiselink Accountants is a CPA-qualified, NTAA-registered tax agency. We are ASIC-registered agents and Xero, MYOB and QuickBooks Partners. Our team has 13 years of experience advising 500+ small business clients across Melbourne, Brisbane, and Australia. We work with both English and Mandarin-speaking owners.
- Melbourne (Camberwell): 03 9600 0803
- Brisbane (Eight Mile Plains): 07 3188 8081
- Email: info@wiselinkaccountants.com.au
- Online: Submit a strategic consultation request
Related reading: EOFY 2026 Small Business Tax Checklist (10-Step Tactical Guide) · Melbourne Tax Return 2026: ATO Focus Areas & New Rules · Payday Super: What Employers Must Do Before July 2026 · Strategic Management Accounting Services
This article was prepared by the team at Wiselink Accountants. CPA Australia / Registered Tax Agent / NTAA Member / ASIC-registered. Last updated: 5 May 2026. This is general information only based on legislation in force at the date of publication and does not constitute personal tax or financial advice. Please contact us for advice specific to your circumstances.
