EOFY Tax Checklist: 8 Moves to Make Before 30 June 2027

Tom is 38, a project manager in Sydney earning $110,000 a year. Topping up his super to this year's cap cuts his 2026–27 tax by $3,281, after the 15% his fund pays. Prepaying three work subscriptions brings another $813 of his refund forward a year. He doesn't earn a dollar less.

Every move below works within the ATO's rules, and most take less than half an hour. Most of them have to be done by 30 June 2027 to count for 2026–27.

1. Check Your Carry-Forward Super: the 2021–22 Amount Expires 30 June 2027

If your total super balance was under $500,000 on 30 June 2026, you can use concessional (before-tax) cap you didn't use in the previous five years. The oldest year still available is 2021–22. Its cap was $27,500, and any unused part of it expires on 30 June 2027. The unused 2020–21 amount already expired on 30 June 2026.

Unused amounts only come into play once your contributions for the year go over the $32,500 cap. They're used oldest first, so the 2021–22 amount is drawn on before any later year.

Tom's numbers: In 2021–22 Tom earned $100,000. His employer paid super at that year's rate of 10% ($10,000) against a $27,500 cap, so $17,500 went unused. His super balance is under $500,000, so that amount stays available until 30 June 2027. Using it means contributing more than this year's $32,500 cap, which is the next move.

2. Top Up Concessional Super to the $32,500 Cap

The concessional cap for 2026–27 is $32,500 (it was $30,000 in 2025–26). It covers your employer's super guarantee (12%), salary sacrifice, and personal contributions you claim as a tax deduction. Your fund taxes these contributions at 15% instead of your marginal rate.

The saving on each $1 is your marginal tax rate plus the 2% Medicare levy, minus the 15% contributions tax:

Here is what filling the rest of the cap is worth at different salaries:

Income tax and Medicare levy saved, minus the 15% contributions tax, at 2026–27 rates. Assumes all income is salary and no salary sacrifice yet. At $70,000 the saving includes a larger low income tax offset at the lower taxable income. Source: ATO — Concessional contributions cap

Check what's already counted. Contributions count in the year your fund receives them. Super for April to June 2026 that your employer paid in July 2026 can count toward your 2026–27 cap. A Bill introduced into Parliament in October 2026 would disregard some of those July 2026 payments; it wasn't law as at 19 October 2026. Your fund's online account or myGov shows what has been received.

Allow time. Your fund has to receive the money by 30 June 2027. Bank transfers and BPAY can take several business days. Since 1 July 2026, employers have up to 7 business days after payday to pay super, so salary sacrifice from a late-June payday can arrive in July and count toward 2027–28. Salary sacrifice only applies to pay you haven't earned yet, so set it up with your employer before the pay periods it covers.

Tom's numbers: Employer super at 12% of $110,000 is $13,200 for the year, leaving $19,300 of the $32,500 cap (none of his April–June 2026 super arrived in July 2026). If he contributes $19,300 himself and claims it as a deduction, his taxable income falls to $90,700. His income tax and Medicare levy fall by $6,176, his fund pays $2,895 in contributions tax, and his net saving is $3,281, or 17c per $1. If he also uses the $17,500 left from 2021–22, he contributes $36,800 in total. His taxable income falls to $73,200, still in the 30% band, and the net saving rises to $6,256.

3. Prepay Deductible Expenses Before 1 July 2027

You can claim a prepaid expense in the year you pay it if the period it covers is 12 months or less and ends by 30 June of the following year. Pay by 30 June 2027 for a period that ends by 30 June 2028, and the whole amount goes on your 2026–27 return.

Prepaying brings a deduction forward a year. 2026–27 is also the first year of the $1,000 standard deduction for work-related expenses (move 7). Prepaying work expenses that it covers only adds to your refund if your total of those expenses ends up above $1,000.

Expenses that are often worth prepaying:

• Professional memberships and subscriptions — CPA Australia, CA ANZ, Engineers Australia, a law society. A renewal due in July or August can be paid in June.
• Union fees — deductible in full. Your union can send a receipt or annual statement.
• Income protection insurance premiums — premiums you pay yourself, outside super, are deductible. If the policy also includes life or trauma cover, only the income protection part counts.
• Investment loan interest — if your lender allows it, prepaying up to 12 months of interest on an investment loan brings that deduction into 2026–27.
• Journals and software — annual subscriptions to work-related software, databases or industry publications.

Tom's numbers: His CPA membership ($1,100), an industry journal ($480) and work software ($960) all renew in August 2027. Paying all three in June 2027 puts $2,540 of deductions on his 2026–27 return instead of his 2027–28 one. At 32%, that brings $813 of refund forward a year.

4. Business Owners: Claim the Instant Asset Write-Off by 30 June 2027

If your business has turnover under $10 million, you can deduct the full cost of each eligible asset costing less than $20,000 (excluding GST if you're registered for GST). The $20,000 threshold is permanent from 1 July 2026 and has been law since August 2026. For 2026–27, the asset has to be bought and first used or installed ready for use by 30 June 2027. There's no limit on the number of assets. It's for businesses, so employees can't use it.

Example: A consultant who buys a $4,200 laptop and a $1,800 monitor set-up for the business in June 2027 claims $6,000 on the 2026–27 return. At 32% (30% tax plus the 2% Medicare levy), that's $1,920 less tax for 2026–27, instead of spreading the deduction over the assets' effective lives.

5. Sell Loss-Making Investments by 30 June 2027 if You Have Gains

A capital loss reduces capital gains made in the same year, or carries forward to later years. It can't go back to an earlier year. A loss on shares sold on 2 July 2027 can't reduce a gain on an asset sold on 28 June 2027 in your 2026–27 return.

If you hold shares, managed funds or crypto worth less than you paid, and you've made capital gains in 2026–27, selling the loss-making asset by 30 June 2027 lets the loss reduce this year's gains. Losses come off your gains before the 50% discount is applied.

The CGT change on 1 July 2027. From that date the 50% discount is replaced by indexation, which adjusts your cost for inflation, with a 30% minimum tax on the gain after inflation. Gains built up to 30 June 2027 keep the 50% discount, because each asset's market value on 30 June 2027 becomes its new starting point. You don't need to sell by 30 June 2027 to keep the discount on growth up to that date. Keep a record of what each asset was worth on that day, and model both regimes with the CGT calculator.

6. Check the Medicare Levy Surcharge Before 1 July 2027

For 2026–27, the surcharge applies to singles with income for surcharge purposes above $105,000, and to families above $210,000 (plus $1,500 for each child after the first), who don't have private hospital cover. It's charged for each day you didn't have cover.

• Salary sacrifice and personal super contributions you claim as a deduction don't take you under the threshold. They're added back to your income for the surcharge test.
• A pay rise can push you over. In 2026–27, a rise from $98,000 to $108,000 adds $6,800 after income tax and the Medicare levy. Without hospital cover, the surcharge then takes $1,080: 1% of the whole $108,000, not just the part over the threshold.
• Hospital cover only counts from the day it starts. Cover taken out in June 2027 doesn't remove the surcharge for the earlier days of 2026–27, but cover held from 1 July 2027 covers all of 2027–28.

Run your numbers with the Medicare levy and surcharge calculator.

7. Decide: $1,000 Standard Deduction or Itemised Work Expenses

2026–27 is the first year of the $1,000 standard deduction for work-related expenses. If your work expenses come to $1,000 or less, the flat amount gives you a bigger deduction without listing each one. If they come to more, you can claim your actual expenses instead, with records for each.

It only replaces work-related expenses. Donations to registered charities, tax agent fees and investment costs are claimed as usual.

Tom's position: His prepaid subscriptions alone come to $2,540, so claiming his actual expenses gives him more than $1,000. He keeps every receipt.

8. Get Your Records in Order: Claims the ATO Checks Closely

These three claims get close attention from the ATO. If any apply to you, sort out the records before you lodge your 2026–27 return.

Working from home

For the fixed-rate method you need a record of the actual hours you worked from home across the whole year, kept as you go: a timesheet, roster, diary or calendar. An estimate made at the end of the year isn't accepted. You also need one bill for each running cost the rate covers, such as electricity or internet. The rate was 70c an hour for 2025–26; the ATO hasn't yet confirmed the rate for 2026–27.

Tom's position: He works from home about 22 hours a week and keeps his work calendar as his record. Over 48 weeks that's 1,056 hours. At the 2025–26 rate of 70c an hour, that was worth $739; his 2026–27 claim depends on the rate the ATO sets for that year.

Rental properties

You can only claim expenses for the time a property was genuinely available for rent. Weeks you block out for your own use, or a vacancy in peak season with no advertising, reduce what you can claim.

Holiday homes you also use

If you rent a property out for part of the year and also use it yourself or let family stay free, split the expenses between rental and private use. Claiming all the costs of a property your family uses in the school holidays doesn't meet the rules.