EOFY 2026 Checklist: What Australian Businesses Need to Do Before 30 June

To prepare for EOFY 2026, Australian businesses need to reconcile all bank accounts and GST coding by 30 June, finalise Single Touch Payroll by 14 July, pay superannuation early enough for it to clear before 30 June, and take advantage of the $20,000 instant asset write-off before it reverts to $1,000. This year also requires preparation for Payday Super starting 1 July 2026 and the closure of the ATO Small Business Superannuation Clearing House. Below is a step-by-step checklist covering bookkeeping, payroll, tax preparation, and the specific compliance changes that affect the 2025-26 financial year

Reconcile your books before 30 June

Before anything else, your books need to be clean. Your accountant or tax agent can't prepare an accurate return from incomplete records, and gaps discovered in August cost more to fix than gaps found in April. Whether you handle this yourself or work with an outsourced bookkeeping team, start early

• Reconcile all bank accounts to 30 June - every transaction in Xero should match your bank feed. If you have unreconciled items sitting in your bank feed from earlier in the year, clear them now. Unreconciled transactions and missing documentation for large asset purchases or finance are the biggest sources of EOFY delays we see across client files
• Reconcile credit cards, loans, and petty cash - these accounts drift easily. Compare your Xero balances to the actual statements and adjust for anything missing
• Review accounts receivable - run the Aged Receivables report and chase anything overdue. If debts are genuinely unrecoverable, process the write-off in Xero before 30 June - not just a note in your diary. Your accountant will determine the deductibility as part of your tax return
• Review accounts payable - make sure all bills received before 30 June are entered, even if they haven't been paid yet. For accrual-basis businesses, your accountant needs these recorded in the correct period to prepare accurate year-end accounts
• Check GST coding - run the GST Reconciliation report in Xero and look for private expenses coded to the business with GST claimed, missing GST on cash purchases, and any coding inconsistencies. These are the items we most commonly flag during pre-EOFY reviews, and they're common ATO audit triggers

Payroll, super, and STP finalisation

Payroll is where the compliance stakes are highest. Incorrect STP data, late super, or wrong award rates don't just cost penalties. They damage trust with your employees. If you're managing payroll in-house, this section needs your full attention

• Review payroll accuracy for the full year - check that every pay run has been processed correctly. Look for missed pays, incorrect leave accruals, and any manual adjustments that weren't reconciled. Your payroll reports should match your general ledger. Common payroll errors compound over a full year and are harder to unwind at EOFY
• Process bonuses and commissions by 28 June - anything you want included in this year's income statements must be processed before 30 June. If you're paying bonuses, tell your bookkeeper or payroll team early. Last-minute bonus runs on 29 June create errors. We see it every year
• Pay superannuation by mid-June - for super contributions to count toward this financial year, the payment must be received by the super fund before 30 June, not just sent. Give yourself at least two weeks for clearing times. The super guarantee rate for 2025-26 is 12% of ordinary time earnings
• Check super on terminated employees - if anyone left during the year, confirm their final super was paid. Unpaid super on terminated employees is a common gap that the ATO's data matching picks up
• STP finalisation is due 14 July - after your last pay run for the financial year, you need to finalise your Single Touch Payroll (STP) data in Xero. This generates employee income statements (the replacement for payment summaries). Employees can't lodge their tax returns until you finalise. Don't make them wait

Award rates, leave, and employment compliance

EOFY is a natural checkpoint for employment compliance. Award rates change, contracts go stale, and obligations shift

• Confirm you've been paying the correct rates all year - the national minimum wage increased to $24.95 per hour (3.5%) from 1 July 2025, and every modern award rate increased by the same percentage. If you haven't checked since then, run an audit now. Underpayments discovered later are harder to fix and carry back-pay obligations
• Prepare for the next rate increase - the Fair Work Commission announces the Annual Wage Review in early June each year, and new rates take effect from the first full pay period on or after 1 July. The 2026-27 decision is expected in early June 2026. Once it's announced, update your payroll before processing the first July pay run. Don't wait until August to catch up
• Review employment contracts - make sure contracts reflect current superannuation obligations, award rates, and any role changes during the year. Pay particular attention to salary-inclusive-of-super contracts now that the SG rate is 12%
• Review leave balances - check that annual leave and personal leave balances in Xero match what employees expect. Discrepancies surface at EOFY when people check their income statements. Better to catch them now
• Account for leave liabilities - accrued leave is a liability on your balance sheet. Large leave balances can significantly affect your reported profit, and your accountant will need accurate figures for the year-end accounts. If several employees have been banking annual leave, make sure the accruals are up to date

Instant asset write-off ($20,000 threshold)

The $20,000 instant asset write-off is legislated through 30 June 2026 for businesses with aggregated turnover under $10 million. This allows an immediate deduction for eligible depreciating assets costing less than $20,000 each, provided they're first used or installed ready for use before 30 June

Unless the government extends it again, the threshold reverts to $1,000 from 1 July 2026. The $20,000 threshold has now been extended three years running, each time as a last-minute one-year measure rather than a permanent change. Industry groups have called for it to be made permanent, but it hasn't happened yet. Don't assume a fourth extension. If you've been considering equipment purchases, technology upgrades, or vehicles, the timing matters

• The $20,000 limit is per asset, not a total. You can claim multiple assets as long as each one is under the threshold
• Assets costing $20,000 or more go into the small business depreciation pool at 15% in the first year, then 30% each year after
• Pool balances under $20,000 at the end of the 2025-26 income year can be written off entirely
• Don't buy things you don't need just for the deduction. The write-off reduces the after-tax cost, it doesn't make it free

Talk to your accountant about whether any planned purchases should be brought forward before 30 June

Stock and inventory

If your business holds physical stock, a year-end count is required. Don't leave this to the last day of June if you can avoid it

• Conduct a physical stocktake on 30 June - compare the count to your inventory records in Xero and process adjustments for any discrepancies, damaged goods, or obsolete stock
• Write down obsolete or damaged stock - stock that can't be sold at its recorded value should be written down to its net realisable value. This gives a more accurate picture of your assets, and your accountant will factor it into your year-end tax position

What to discuss with your accountant before 30 June

These are the key items to raise with your accountant before the numbers lock in on 30 June. The earlier you have these conversations, the more options they have to work with

• Run a year-to-date tax position estimate - your accountant can use the current P&L and projected income to estimate your tax position. Ask your bookkeeper or outsourced team to make sure the numbers are up to date so your accountant has clean data to work with
• Prepaying expenses - your accountant may suggest prepaying some regular expenses (subscriptions, insurance, rent) before 30 June. If so, the service period generally needs to be 12 months or less. Ask them what makes sense for your situation and cash flow
• Personal super contributions - if your accountant or financial adviser has recommended making personal super contributions before 30 June, make sure the payment reaches your fund in time - clearing can take several business days. You'll also need to lodge a Notice of Intent to Claim with your fund before your tax return is lodged. Your accountant can walk you through the timing
• Trust distributions - if your business operates through a trust, your accountant needs to complete distribution resolutions by 30 June. Missing this deadline can have significant tax consequences, so make sure it's on their radar early
• Gather documentation for your accountant - start compiling records for asset purchases and disposals, new loan or hire purchase agreements, invoices for significant or unusual expenses, and final bank and loan statements as at 30 June. The earlier your accountant has these, the faster your return gets done
• FBT return - the fringe benefits tax year ended 31 March 2026. If your business provides fringe benefits (cars, entertainment, expense reimbursements), your FBT return is due 21 May 2026, or 25 June if lodging through a tax agent. If this is still outstanding, get it done

ATO interest is no longer deductible

From 1 July 2025, the ATO General Interest Charge (GIC) on overdue tax debts is no longer a tax deduction. The GIC rate is updated quarterly by the ATO and compounds daily. Carrying a tax debt has always been expensive. Now it's more expensive, because you can't offset the interest against your taxable income

If you have an outstanding tax debt, this is the year to deal with it. Lodge on time, pay on time, or arrange a payment plan with the ATO before interest accumulates. Your bookkeeper can help you forecast the liability so you're not caught off guard

Prepare for 1 July 2026

Several things change on 1 July, and this year has more moving parts than usual. Get your payroll and systems ready before the first pay run in July

Annual changes (every 1 July)

• Award rates and minimum wages - new rates announced by the Fair Work Commission in early June, effective from the first full pay period on or after 1 July. Update payroll before you run the first July pay
• Super contribution caps - concessional and non-concessional caps are indexed each year. The ATO confirms the new figures by February. Your financial adviser can confirm whether these affect you
• Maximum super contribution base - the quarterly earnings cap above which employers don't have to pay SG. Currently $62,500 per quarter for 2025-26. The new figure for 2026-27 will be published by the ATO
• PAYG withholding tax tables - if tax brackets or rates change, the ATO publishes updated tables. Your payroll software should update automatically, but verify it has

Specific to 1 July 2026

• Payday Super starts - employers must pay superannuation at the same time as wages, not quarterly. Contributions must reach the employee's super fund within 7 business days of payday. If you currently batch super quarterly, that's ending. Read our full Payday Super guide
• ATO Small Business Superannuation Clearing House closes - if you use the SBSCH to process super payments, you need to transition to an alternative SuperStream-compliant clearing house before 1 July. Your payroll software provider or super fund can advise on alternatives
• PAYG rate change - the tax rate for income between $18,201 and $45,000 drops from 16% to 15%. This affects withholding calculations for every employee in that bracket. Confirm your payroll software has the updated tax tables before the first July pay run
• Paid Parental Leave expands to 24 weeks - up from 22 weeks. The government also pays 12% super on government-funded PPL for parents of babies born on or after 1 July 2025

Use the EOFY period to stress-test your cash flow against pay-cycle super payments. If you run fortnightly payroll and currently pay $20,000 in super per quarter, that becomes roughly $3,300 per fortnight leaving your account alongside wages. Make sure your cash flow can handle it

Xero year-end tasks

A few Xero-specific tasks before 30 June

• Lock your completed periods - use Xero's lock date feature to prevent accidental changes to transactions in months you've already reconciled. Go to Settings > General Settings > Financial Settings
• Run the Balance Sheet report - check that your bank balances, loan balances, GST liability, PAYG withholding liability, and super liability all look reasonable. If a number looks wrong, investigate before your accountant has to
• Check your fixed asset register - if you use Xero's fixed assets, review that all acquisitions and disposals during the year have been recorded. Your accountant will need this for depreciation calculations
• Review your chart of accounts - archive any accounts you no longer use. Make sure income and expense accounts are mapped correctly for tax reporting
• Back up your data - Xero is cloud-based, but it's still good practice to export key reports (P&L, Balance Sheet, Trial Balance, Aged Receivables, Aged Payables) as PDFs for your records

Key dates

Already a Digit client?

If Digit already handles your bookkeeping and payroll, most of this is taken care of. Your accounts will be reconciled, your STP will be finalised, and your super will be paid on time. We'll be in touch before EOFY with anything specific to your situation

If you manage your own books and want a hand getting ready for tax time, or if you want to talk about what Payday Super means for your cash flow, get in touch

Rates, thresholds, and deadlines referenced in this article are sourced from the Australian Taxation Office, Fair Work Commission, and Xero, current as at March 2026