Tax time has a habit of sneaking up when you’re focused on running your business, but doing a little groundwork can save stress, reduce the risk of errors and help you check whether any concessions are available. With tax time for the 2025–2026 income year now here, it’s a good time to check your records, review your deductions and speak with your adviser about any changes that may affect your business.
Get your online access sorted
Before you lodge, make sure your digital access and adviser authorisations are in order. This may include checking that your business can access online tax and super services, confirming that the right people are authorised to act for the business, and ensuring your tax professional can access the information they need. Sorting this out early can help avoid delays when lodgment deadlines approach.
Report all income and separate the personal stuff
One of the simplest ways to avoid problems at tax time is to make sure all business income is captured, including cash payments and non-monetary benefits such as goods or services received for your work. Keeping business and personal spending separate will also make life easier. If you’ve used business money for personal expenses, keep good records separating business and personal spending to help prevent issues later.
Practical tests for deductions
When considering tax deductions, keep these three tests in mind: the expense must relate to your business, not private use; if the expense mixes business and private use, only the business portion is claimable; and you need records or receipts to substantiate your claim. There’s also an important change for interest charges. General interest charge and shortfall interest charge incurred on or after 1 July 2025 are no longer deductible. Amounts incurred before 1 July 2025 may still be deductible for the 2024–2025 and earlier income years, depending on the circumstances.
Concessions worth checking
Don’t overlook the concessions available to eligible small businesses, including simplified depreciation rules, immediate deductions for prepaid expenses, and the instant asset write-off. For example, businesses with aggregated annual turnover of less than $10 million that use the simplified depreciation rules may be able to immediately deduct the business-use portion of eligible assets costing less than $20,000, provided the assets are first used or installed ready for use between 1 July 2025 and 30 June 2026.
Payday super’s here
Payday super started on 1 July 2026. Employers now need to pay super guarantee for each payday, with contributions generally required to be received by employees’ super funds within seven business days after payday. Super guarantee is now calculated using the new concept of qualifying earnings, so check your payroll, STP reporting and super payment processes are up to date.
Looking ahead
The ATO also has practical small business tax time resources, including its 2026 Tax Time toolkit for small business, with guidance on common issues such as deductions, record keeping, business and private expenses, and changes for the new income year. Reviewing these can help you identify questions and opportunities to discuss with your tax professional before lodging. Every business is different, and the right approach depends on your circumstances. Please contact our office to discuss how these tax time obligations, concessions and new changes apply to your business. We can help identify issues early, confirm your eligibility for concessions and ensure your return reflects your situation correctly.
