{"id":4290,"date":"2026-08-13T13:52:18","date_gmt":"2026-08-13T03:52:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wiselinkaccountants.com.au\/tax-planning-vs-compliance-accountant-check-australia\/"},"modified":"2026-08-13T13:52:18","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T03:52:18","slug":"tax-planning-vs-compliance-accountant-check-australia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wiselinkaccountants.com.au\/zh-hans\/tax-planning-vs-compliance-accountant-check-australia\/","title":{"rendered":"Your Tax Return Is Lodged. Did Anyone Plan the Year That Already Started?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\": \"https:\/\/schema.org\", \"@type\": \"BlogPosting\", \"headline\": \"Your Tax Return Is Lodged. Did Anyone Plan the Year That Already Started?\", \"description\": \"The ATO's published instant asset write-off table runs to 30 June 2026 and the current income year is not on it. That gap is the difference between an accountant who files and one who plans. Includes a 10-point self-check for Melbourne and Brisbane business owners, the right month for each conversation, and three questions to ask your accountant.\", \"image\": \"https:\/\/wiselinkaccountants.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/planning-vs-compliance-hero-2026-08-13.jpeg\", \"datePublished\": \"2026-08-13T09:00:00+10:00\", \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-13T09:00:00+10:00\", \"inLanguage\": \"en-AU\", \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\"@type\": \"WebPage\", \"@id\": \"https:\/\/wiselinkaccountants.com.au\/tax-planning-vs-compliance-accountant-check-australia\/\"}, \"author\": {\"@type\": \"Person\", \"name\": \"Lily Zhang\", \"jobTitle\": \"Founder & Principal Accountant\", \"hasCredential\": [\"CPA Australia member\", \"Registered Tax Agent\", \"ASIC Registered Agent\", \"NTAA Member\"], \"worksFor\": {\"@type\": \"AccountingService\", \"name\": \"Wiselink Accountants\"}, \"knowsLanguage\": [\"en\", \"zh\"]}, \"publisher\": {\"@type\": \"Organization\", \"name\": \"Wiselink Accountants\", \"logo\": {\"@type\": \"ImageObject\", \"url\": \"https:\/\/wiselinkaccountants.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/logo.png\"}}, \"about\": \"Tax planning versus tax compliance for Australian small business: what each covers, a worked instant asset write-off example showing why timing conversations matter, a 10-point annual check covering structure, remuneration mix, asset timing, superannuation, Division 7A, trust distributions, CGT timing, loan structure and cash flow, plus when in the financial year each decision should be raised, for owners in Melbourne and Brisbane\"}<\/script><\/p>\n<p><!--\n\u9009\u9898\u4f9d\u636e: demand-supply-map s12\u300c\u6000\u7591\u4f1a\u8ba1\u53ea\u62a5\u8d26\u4e0d\u89c4\u5212\uff0c\u591a\u4e86\u4ea4\u7a0e\u300d\uff0c\u6807 \u2b1c \u5f85\u5efa\uff0c\u610f\u56fe \u4fe1\u606f\u2192\u5546\u4e1a\u3002\n         map \u7ed9\u7684\u4fe1\u4efb\u4fe1\u53f7\u662f\u300c\u7ed9\u53ef\u81ea\u67e5\u7684\u5e74\u5ea6\u52a8\u4f5c\u8868\u300d\uff0c\u672c\u6587\u7167\u8fd9\u4e2a\u505a\u3002\n\u5173\u952e\u8bcd\u5206\u5de5: \u672c\u6587\u5403\u300c\u6211\u7684\u4f1a\u8ba1\u662f\u4e0d\u662f\u53ea\u5728\u62a5\u8d26 \/ \u62a5\u7a0e\u4e4b\u5916\u4f1a\u8ba1\u8be5\u505a\u4ec0\u4e48 \/ \u600e\u4e48\u5224\u65ad\u6709\u6ca1\u6709\u5728\u89c4\u5212\u300d\uff1b\n         EOFY \u65f6\u70b9\u7684\u5177\u4f53\u52a8\u4f5c\u7559\u7ed9 4191\uff1b\u67b6\u6784\u9009\u62e9\u7559\u7ed9 4245\uff1b\u6ce8\u518c\u540e\u7b2c\u4e00\u5e74\u5408\u89c4\u65e5\u5386\u7559\u7ed9 4258\uff1b\n         \u4e2d\u578b\u5bb6\u65cf\u96c6\u56e2\u91cd\u7ec4\u7559\u7ed9 4183\u3002\u672c\u6587\u4e0d\u91cd\u590d\u4efb\u4f55\u4e00\u7bc7\u7684\u6e05\u5355\u5185\u5bb9\uff0c\u53ea\u505a\u300c\u5224\u65ad\u5c42\u300d\u3002\n\u6570\u5b57\u53e3\u5f84: \u53ea\u7528\u4e86\u4e00\u6761\u6570\u5b57\uff0c\u4e14\u662f 2026-08-13 \u5728 ATO \u9875\u9762\u4e0a\u4e00\u624b\u62a0\u51fa\u6765\u7684\u8868\u683c\u884c\u3002\n         \u517b\u8001\u91d1 concessional cap \u7684 FY2026-27 \u6570\u5b57\u672c\u8f6e\u4e24\u4e2a ATO URL \u5747 404\uff0c**\u6574\u7bc7\u4e0d\u5199**\u3002\n\u5dee\u5f02\u5316: \u4e0d\u529d\u6362\u6240\u3002\u7ed9\u4e00\u5f20\u8bfb\u8005\u80fd\u81ea\u5df1\u6253\u5206\u7684\u8868 + \u6bcf\u6761\u5bf9\u5e94\u8be5\u5728\u4e00\u5e74\u4e2d\u7684\u54ea\u4e2a\u65f6\u70b9\u8c08\uff0c\n         \u8ba9\u8bfb\u8005\u62ff\u7740\u53bb\u95ee\u73b0\u6709\u4f1a\u8ba1\u2014\u2014\u8fd9\u6bd4\u300c\u4f60\u8be5\u6362\u6211\u4eec\u300d\u53ef\u4fe1\uff0c\u4e5f\u662f map \u5bf9 s12 \u7684\u539f\u610f\u3002\n\u6267\u4e1a\u8fb9\u754c: \u4e0d\u5199\u5177\u4f53\u67b6\u6784\u5efa\u8bae\uff08\u56e0\u4eba\u800c\u5f02\u4e14\u5c5e\u4e2a\u6848\u610f\u89c1\uff09\uff0c\u53ea\u5199\u300c\u8fd9\u4e2a\u8bdd\u9898\u8be5\u88ab\u63d0\u51fa\u6765\u300d\u3002\n--><\/p>\n<p>It is mid-August. For most Melbourne and Brisbane business owners, the return for the year that just closed is sitting with the accountant, or already lodged.<\/p>\n<p>That work is compliance. It reports what happened. Every decision it describes was made months ago, and none of them can be changed now.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile the year that will produce next winter&#8217;s tax bill started on 1 July. Six weeks of it are already gone. For a lot of businesses, nobody has had a single conversation about it.<\/p>\n<figure>\n  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/wiselinkaccountants.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/planning-vs-compliance-hero-2026-08-13.jpeg\" alt=\"Tax planning versus compliance for Australian small business \u2014 Wiselink Accountants Melbourne and Brisbane\" \/><figcaption>Compliance reports the year that closed. Planning shapes the one that has already started.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>One example that shows the gap<\/h2>\n<p>Suppose you are thinking about buying a piece of equipment this year.<\/p>\n<p>The instant asset write-off has been the reflex answer for years: under the limit, deduct it immediately. Here is what the ATO&#8217;s published table actually shows today, for businesses with aggregated turnover under $10 million that use the simplified depreciation rules:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Date range for when asset first used or installed ready for use: <strong>1 July 2023 to 30 June 2026<\/strong> \u2014 Limit: <strong>$20,000<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><small>Source: ATO, <em>Instant asset write-off<\/em>, table 1. Retrieved 13 August 2026.<\/small><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Read the date range again. It stops at 30 June 2026. <strong>The income year we are currently in is not on that table.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>An accountant doing compliance will handle this correctly next year, when the return is prepared and the purchase is already made. An accountant doing planning tells you about it before you sign the invoice, because the answer changes what you buy and when.<\/p>\n<p>That is the entire difference, and it repeats across a dozen other decisions every year.<\/p>\n<h2>What each one actually is<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Compliance<\/strong> is the work that has a due date attached: the return, the BAS, the STP finalisation, the ASIC statement, the super guarantee payments. It is mandatory, it is measurable, and if your accountant is doing it on time and accurately, they are doing their job as most people define it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Planning<\/strong> is the work with no due date. Nobody sends a letter when the window closes. It is also the only part where the outcome is still open, which is why it is worth more and why it is the first thing to disappear when an accountant is busy.<\/p>\n<p>Compliance-only is not automatically bad service. A sole trader with one income stream and no assets genuinely may not need planning. The problem is when a business has outgrown that and the relationship has not changed with it.<\/p>\n<h2>The 10-point check<\/h2>\n<p>Go through these and mark each one <em>raised<\/em>, <em>raised but only by me<\/em>, or <em>never come up<\/em>. The pattern matters more than any single line.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Structure review.<\/strong> Has anyone tested in the last two years whether your current structure still fits your revenue, your risk and who else is now involved?<\/li>\n<li><strong>How you pay yourself.<\/strong> Wages, director fees, dividends, trust distributions. The mix has consequences, and it needs deciding before the year runs out.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Asset purchases before you commit.<\/strong> Timing, threshold, and whether the deduction is immediate or pooled. Discussed before the purchase, not at return time.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Superannuation as a deduction, not just an obligation.<\/strong> Separate from the compulsory payments your payroll already makes.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Division 7A.<\/strong> If money has moved between you and your company, whether loans are documented and on terms.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Trust distributions.<\/strong> Whether the resolutions are made in time and can withstand scrutiny under current ATO views.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Capital gains before you sell.<\/strong> Contract date, holding period, available concessions. Once the contract is signed, the options close.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Loan and interest structure<\/strong> on investment or business borrowings, and whether the deductible portion is set up the way you think.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Cash flow against the payment calendar.<\/strong> Since 1 July 2026, super obligations move on a different rhythm for employers, and the annual total is the same while the weekly reality is not.<\/li>\n<li><strong>An actual conversation before 30 June<\/strong> that is not about collecting paperwork.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>If most of these are <em>never come up<\/em> and your business has employees, property, a company or a trust, you are paying for compliance and assuming you are getting planning.<\/p>\n<h2>When each conversation should happen<\/h2>\n<p>Timing is most of what separates the two. A rough shape of the year:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>July to September<\/strong> \u2014 the year is fresh and everything is still changeable. Structure, remuneration mix, and any purchase or sale you already know is coming. This is the cheapest time to change anything, and the quietest period in most practices.<\/li>\n<li><strong>October to March<\/strong> \u2014 mid-year check against how the year is actually tracking rather than how it was forecast. Distributions and loan positions reviewed while there is still time to correct them.<\/li>\n<li><strong>April to June<\/strong> \u2014 execution, not decision. Anything genuinely decided in June was decided too late to have many options.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Notice that most practices contact clients only in the last band, and only to ask for documents. We wrote up the June-specific actions separately in the <a href=\"https:\/\/wiselinkaccountants.com.au\/eofy-2026-tax-planning-checklist-melbourne\/\">EOFY planning checklist<\/a>, but by then the list of available moves is already short.<\/p>\n<h2>What to ask, in your own words<\/h2>\n<p>You do not need to change accountants to find out where you stand. Three questions do most of the work:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>&#8220;Looking at last year&#8217;s return, what would you have done differently if we had talked in September instead of May?&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;What is on your list to raise with me before 30 June next year, and when will you raise it?&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;Is my structure still the right one, and what would make you say it isn&#8217;t?&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>A planning accountant will have answers ready, because these are the things they were already tracking. If the answers are vague, that tells you what the relationship currently is. It does not tell you the accountant is bad at their job.<\/p>\n<h2>Where this leads<\/h2>\n<p>Sometimes the honest conclusion is that nothing needs to change. Sometimes it is that the business has grown past what the current arrangement was set up to handle, which is a different problem from poor service. If the question you are actually sitting with is whether your structure has been outgrown, the <a href=\"https:\/\/wiselinkaccountants.com.au\/sole-trader-vs-company-business-structure-2026-melbourne-brisbane\/\">sole trader versus company comparison<\/a> sets out where the thresholds tend to sit, and for larger family groups the <a href=\"https:\/\/wiselinkaccountants.com.au\/mid-market-family-business-restructure-2026-australia\/\">restructure window piece<\/a> covers the same ground at scale.<\/p>\n<p>What does not work is finding out in May, which is when most of these conversations currently start.<\/p>\n<h2>Talk it through<\/h2>\n<p>Wiselink works with business owners across Melbourne (Camberwell) and Brisbane, in English and Mandarin. If you want a second read on where your year is heading before the decisions harden, <a href=\"\/free-call\/\"><strong>book a 20 minute call<\/strong><\/a> and bring last year&#8217;s return. Most of what is worth saying becomes obvious from that one document.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><small><strong>Written by Lily Zhang, CPA and Registered Tax Agent, founder of Wiselink Accountants.<\/strong> Last reviewed: 13 August 2026.<\/small><\/p>\n<p><small>This article is general information, not advice for your circumstances. The instant asset write-off limits quoted are taken from the ATO&#8217;s published table as retrieved on 13 August 2026; thresholds and their end dates can change, and you should confirm the position that applies to your income year before relying on it. Structure, remuneration and distribution decisions depend on facts specific to your business and should be considered with a registered tax agent.<\/small><\/p>\n<p><script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\": \"https:\/\/schema.org\", \"@type\": \"FAQPage\", \"mainEntity\": [{\"@type\": \"Question\", \"name\": \"What is the difference between tax compliance and tax planning?\", \"acceptedAnswer\": {\"@type\": \"Answer\", \"text\": \"Compliance is the work with a due date attached: the tax return, BAS, STP finalisation, ASIC statement and super guarantee payments. It reports decisions that were already made and cannot be changed. Planning is the work with no due date, where the outcome is still open, which is why it is worth more and why it is the first thing to slip when a practice is busy. A compliance-only relationship is not automatically poor service, but it becomes a problem when a business has grown past what that arrangement was set up to handle.\"}}, {\"@type\": \"Question\", \"name\": \"Can I still claim the $20,000 instant asset write-off this year?\", \"acceptedAnswer\": {\"@type\": \"Answer\", \"text\": \"Check before you assume. The ATO's published table for businesses with aggregated turnover under $10 million using the simplified depreciation rules shows a $20,000 limit for assets first used or installed ready for use from 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2026. The income year that began on 1 July 2026 is not on that table. Thresholds and end dates change, so confirm the position for your income year before committing to a purchase. Source: ATO, Instant asset write-off, table 1, retrieved 13 August 2026.\"}}, {\"@type\": \"Question\", \"name\": \"When should tax planning conversations actually happen?\", \"acceptedAnswer\": {\"@type\": \"Answer\", \"text\": \"July to September is when the year is still fully changeable: structure, how you pay yourself, and any purchase or sale you already know is coming. October to March is for checking against how the year is actually tracking and correcting distributions or loan positions while there is still time. April to June is execution rather than decision. Anything genuinely decided in June was decided too late to have many options. Most practices make contact only in that final band, and usually to request documents.\"}}, {\"@type\": \"Question\", \"name\": \"How do I know whether my accountant is doing any planning?\", \"acceptedAnswer\": {\"@type\": \"Answer\", \"text\": \"Ask three questions. First: looking at last year's return, what would you have done differently if we had spoken in September instead of May? Second: what is on your list to raise with me before 30 June next year, and when will you raise it? Third: is my structure still the right one, and what would make you say it is not? An accountant who is planning will have answers ready because these are things they were already tracking. Vague answers tell you what the relationship currently is, not that the accountant is bad at their job.\"}}, {\"@type\": \"Question\", \"name\": \"My business is small. Do I actually need tax planning?\", \"acceptedAnswer\": {\"@type\": \"Answer\", \"text\": \"Not necessarily. A sole trader with one income stream and no significant assets may genuinely need compliance and nothing more. The check is whether the business has changed since the arrangement was set: employees, property, a company or trust in the structure, borrowings, or a sale on the horizon all shift the answer. The problem is rarely that an accountant is doing bad work, it is that the relationship has not changed while the business has.\"}}, {\"@type\": \"Question\", \"name\": \"Do I have to change accountants to get planning?\", \"acceptedAnswer\": {\"@type\": \"Answer\", \"text\": \"No. Most of the useful information comes from asking your current accountant directly, and many will welcome the conversation because planning work is more interesting than data entry. Raise the three questions above and see what comes back. If the answers are solid, you have your answer without changing anything. If the business has genuinely outgrown the arrangement, that is a separate decision to make on its own merits.\"}}]}<\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Compliance reports the year that closed. Planning shapes the one that started on 1 July, and six weeks of it are already gone. A worked example on the instant asset write-off, a 10-point check you can score yourself, the point in the year each conversation should happen, and three questions to put to your current accountant.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":4289,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,17,61,18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4290","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-topics","category-business-solutions","category-english-post","category-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wiselinkaccountants.com.au\/zh-hans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4290","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wiselinkaccountants.com.au\/zh-hans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wiselinkaccountants.com.au\/zh-hans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wiselinkaccountants.com.au\/zh-hans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wiselinkaccountants.com.au\/zh-hans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4290"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wiselinkaccountants.com.au\/zh-hans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4290\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wiselinkaccountants.com.au\/zh-hans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4289"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wiselinkaccountants.com.au\/zh-hans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4290"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wiselinkaccountants.com.au\/zh-hans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4290"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wiselinkaccountants.com.au\/zh-hans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4290"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}