For most small business owners, the end of the financial year arrives the same way every year. Suddenly, and with a long list of things that probably should have been done earlier. The tax return feels like the main event, but by the time you’re sitting down with your accountant to prepare it, the decisions that could have changed the outcome have already been made, or missed. What happens in the weeks before 30 June matters far more than most people realise, and it doesn’t require a complex strategy to make a meaningful difference.
If you run a small business, whether through a sole trader arrangement, a company, or a trust, and your revenue sits somewhere below $5 million, the items in this guide are worth working through before the year closes. Some of them are straightforward compliance tasks that carry real penalties if they’re not done right. Others are genuine planning opportunities that most small business owners leave on the table simply because nobody flagged them at the right moment.
Know What Your Numbers Actually Look Like
Before making any year-end decisions, it’s worth taking stock of your likely taxable income for the year, what expenses have been incurred and whether they’ve been properly recorded, whether your bookkeeping is up to date and reconciled, and whether there are any transactions from earlier in the year that haven’t been properly categorised. Getting your accounts into reasonable order now, rather than in August when your accountant is trying to prepare your return from a box of receipts, makes every other decision in this guide more straightforward.
The Small Business Tax Rate and What It Means for You
Companies that qualify as base rate entities pay tax at 25% rather than the standard 30% corporate rate, and most small businesses operating through a company will qualify. The ATO’s base rate entity guidance sets out the conditions, which broadly require aggregated turnover below $50 million and no more than 80% passive income. For a typical trading business this is unlikely to be an issue.
Understanding which rate applies to your business matters because it affects the value of every dollar of taxable income you either bring into or keep out of this financial year. The timing of expenses and income across the end of the financial year becomes more meaningful once you understand the rate you’re working with.
Super Guarantee: Get This Right Before the Deadline
The super guarantee rate for 2024-25 is 11.5% of ordinary time earnings. The June quarter deadline falls on 28 July, but the contribution needs to be received by the fund before 30 June if you want it to be deductible this year. The ATO’s super guarantee guidance for employers sets out exactly when payments need to be made and to which funds.
Late super guarantee payments don’t just attract penalties. They lose their tax deductibility entirely and trigger the Superannuation Guarantee Charge, which includes the unpaid amount, an interest component, and an administration fee. The cost of getting this wrong is meaningfully higher than the cost of getting it right.
Your Own Super as a Tax Planning Tool
For a sole trader or partner who isn’t receiving employer contributions at all, the full $30,000 concessional cap may be available for personal contributions, which can make a significant difference to taxable income in a year where the business has performed well. The ATO’s guidance on personal super contributions explains how to claim a deduction and the notice of intent requirement.
If your total super balance is below $500,000, the carry-forward rules may also give you access to unused cap space from prior years, which is worth exploring if this has been a stronger year than usual.
Timing Expenses: What Can Still Be Brought Forward
One of the most practical things a small business owner can do before 30 June is identify expenses that were planned for early next year and consider whether bringing them forward makes sense. Repairs and maintenance on business assets, renewing subscriptions and memberships, purchasing consumables or materials you’ll need anyway, and prepaying certain business costs can all potentially be deducted in the current year.
The instant asset write-off rules allow eligible businesses to immediately deduct the cost of certain depreciating assets. The ATO’s simpler depreciation guidance sets out the current thresholds and eligibility conditions for small business. These have changed in recent years and the rules for 2024-25 should be confirmed before making a purchase decision based on them.
Trust Distributions: The Deadline That Cannot Slip
If your business operates through a discretionary trust, the trustee must make a valid distribution resolution before 30 June. The ATO’s guidance on trustee resolutions explains what a valid resolution requires. Missing the deadline means the ATO’s default provisions apply, and those defaults are almost never the outcome you would have chosen.
The substance of the resolution matters too. If trust income can be distributed across multiple beneficiaries at different tax rates, allocating it thoughtfully can reduce the overall tax burden across the family group significantly. The right answer this year may look different from last year, particularly if anyone’s income or personal situation has shifted.
Division 7A: What Small Business Company Owners Need to Know
If you operate through a private company and you’ve taken money out in a way that isn’t a salary or a formal dividend, Division 7A is something you need to understand before year end. The ATO’s Division 7A guidance explains what triggers the rules and how complying loan agreements work.
The practical consequence for a small business owner who has drawn funds from their company informally is that those amounts can be treated as unfranked dividends in their hands unless the right steps are taken before 30 June. Doing nothing and hoping it works out is not an approach that ends well, and the time to address it is before the financial year closes.
Reviewing Your Deductions Properly
The areas worth reviewing before year end include vehicle expenses, home office expenses, travel with a genuine business purpose, equipment and technology, and professional development costs. The ATO’s guidance on working from home deductions is worth checking if you work from home, as the available methods and their substantiation requirements have changed in recent years.
The question to ask for each item is whether you can support the claim with documentation if you were asked to. If you can, make sure you’re claiming it. If you can’t, the more useful exercise is putting better records in place going forward.
Getting Your Bookkeeping Into Shape
Before 30 June, it’s worth making sure your accounts are reconciled to your bank statements, transactions are correctly categorised, and receipts are matched to expenses. If your payroll records don’t reconcile with what’s been reported through Single Touch Payroll, that’s worth finding and fixing now rather than after the ATO raises a discrepancy.
Related EOFY Tax Planning Guides
Book a Tax Planning Meeting Before the Year Closes
The guide you’ve just read covers the decisions that are still available to you before 30 June. But reading about them and actually acting on them are two different things, and the gap between the two is usually a conversation with your adviser that hasn’t happened yet.
A tax planning meeting before year end is worth far more than the same meeting in July or August, because in June you can still do something with what you find. Super contributions, trust distribution resolutions, timing of expenses and income – none of these can be revisited once the year has closed. If you don’t have that meeting in the diary, booking it now is the most straightforward thing you can do to improve your position before 30 June.
Book a tax planning meeting with a Prime Partners adviser.
Your Pre-30 June Checklist for Small Business Owners
Use this as a starting point for your year-end conversation with your adviser, not as a substitute for it.
Business Position and Records
- Ensure bookkeeping is up to date and reconciled to bank statements
- Categorise and record all transactions for the year correctly
- Reconcile payroll records against Single Touch Payroll reporting
- Prepare a clear view of likely taxable income for the year across all entities
Superannuation
- Confirm the super guarantee has been paid correctly for all eligible employees and received by funds before 30 June
- Review your own concessional contribution position as a business owner against the $30,000 cap
- Assess whether carry-forward contributions are available given your super balance and prior year contributions
- Lodge a notice of intent to claim a deduction if making personal concessional contributions
Timing of Income and Expenses
- Identify planned expenses that can be legitimately brought forward and deducted this year
- Confirm instant asset write-off eligibility and thresholds with your adviser before making asset purchases
- Consider whether deferring any income to the new financial year is appropriate given your income position
Trust Distributions
- Confirm trustee distribution resolutions will be documented and signed before 30 June
- Review the tax positions of all beneficiaries to determine the most effective distribution strategy for this year
- Check whether prior year distribution assumptions still apply given any changes in beneficiaries’ circumstances
Division 7A
- Review any amounts drawn from the company by shareholders or associates during the year
- Confirm whether complying loan agreements are required and, if so, that they are in place
- Ensure minimum yearly repayments have been made on any existing Division 7A loans
- Identify any new transactions this year that may create Division 7A obligations
Deductions
- Review vehicle expense records and confirm the correct method is being applied with adequate substantiation
- Check home office expense claims are supported by the appropriate records and method
- Confirm all business-related expenses are correctly recorded and can be substantiated if required
Company Tax Rate
- Confirm your company qualifies as a base rate entity for 2024-25 and that the 25% rate applies
Frequently Asked Questions
This article is general in nature and does not constitute financial, tax, or legal advice. Business structures and circumstances vary and you should speak with a qualified adviser before making decisions based on your specific position.