EOFY Tax Planning 2026 — A Six-Week Countdown for AU Construction, Solar and EPC Operators
- May 27
- 7 min read
The 2025-26 financial year ends Tuesday 30 June 2026. For construction, solar and EPC operators, EOFY is a six-week window where the right structural moves can save $15k-$150k+ in cash tax — and where the wrong ones bake in painful July-September cash crunches that take two quarters to recover from.
This is the practitioner checklist we run for TechEdge Finance Office clients in the weeks leading up to 30 June. It's organised by week so you can sit down each Sunday afternoon between now and 30 June and tick the next block.
Week of 25-31 May (NOW) — Decide what you're optimising for
EOFY tax planning is a trade-off. You can't maximise everything. Pick one of three modes before doing anything else:
1. Tax-minimise mode. Bring forward deductions, defer income, maximise super, harvest losses. Reduces this-year tax. Costs you bank cash this year and bigger tax next year. Right for operators with stable forward cash flow and a high effective marginal rate.
2. Cash-preserve mode. Don't accelerate deductions if it requires actual cash outflow you can't afford. Pay the tax now to preserve working capital. Right for operators in a growth phase, fresh off a bank covenant scare, or carrying unbilled WIP.
3. Position-for-finance mode. Keep the P&L strong — don't bring forward losses, don't over-write-off assets — so that your June 2026 management accounts show good covenant compliance for the next 12 months of bank facility renewals. Right for operators with a major debt facility renewing in the next 6 months.
The mode determines every other decision below.
Week of 1-7 June — Asset write-off and capex decisions
Instant asset write-off / temporary full expensing
The instant asset write-off thresholds and rules change year-to-year. For 2025-26 the small business write-off threshold is $20k per asset for SBE (Small Business Entity) taxpayers with aggregated turnover under $10M. Larger businesses use general depreciation rules unless temporary measures are in force.
Action items:
List every capital purchase made between 1 July 2025 and today.
Identify assets installed and ready-for-use before 30 June 2026 that qualify for the relevant write-off.
For assets you've been deferring — utes, scaffolding, install equipment, solar tooling — decide before 15 June whether to pull the trigger pre-EOFY for the write-off, or wait to FY27.
Confirm "installed and ready for use" — assets ordered but not delivered don't qualify.
Vehicle decisions
For utes and dual-cabs with carrying capacity above 1 tonne — full deduction subject to threshold. For passenger vehicles — depreciation cost limit (currently around $69,674 for the 2025-26 year, indexed annually). Confirm the current limit before claiming.
Capex strategy crosswalk
Don't buy things for the deduction. The cash cost is always higher than the tax saving. Only accelerate purchases you needed anyway.
Week of 8-14 June — Super and director payments
Concessional super contributions
The concessional contribution cap for 2025-26 is $30,000 per person. Includes employer SG, salary sacrifice, and personal deductible contributions.
Action items:
For each director / owner / family member on payroll, compute year-to-date concessional contributions.
If there's headroom under $30k, decide whether to top up with personal deductible contributions before 30 June.
File a Notice of Intent to Claim with the super fund — must be done before lodging your tax return.
Critical timing: funds must be received by the super fund clearing house, not just sent, by 30 June. Use SuperStream early — pay by 20 June to be safe.
Unused concessional cap carry-forward
If your total super balance was under $500k at 30 June 2025, you can use unused concessional cap from up to five prior years (2020-21 onwards). This is one of the highest-ROI EOFY moves for operators with rising income — you can stack $50k-$100k+ in deductible contributions in a single year. Worth checking even if your historical contributions were modest.
Director loans (Div 7A)
For private companies — any director / shareholder loans outstanding from prior years need minimum yearly repayments by 30 June. The benchmark rate for 2025-26 was set at 8.77%. If you have an unrepaid Div 7A loan, model the minimum repayment now to avoid deemed dividend treatment.
Week of 15-21 June — Revenue and WIP review
This is where construction and EPC operators get the largest swings.
Stage-of-completion review (AASB 15)
For long-duration projects, revenue is recognised at stage of completion — not when the invoice goes out. If you have projects mid-flight at 30 June, you need to compute the % complete and accrue or defer revenue accordingly. See our Construction Accounting Australia pillar for the full method.
Common errors to fix before 30 June:
Unbilled work that should be recognised — under-claiming means understated revenue and a wrong tax position.
Over-claimed progress payments where work hasn't been done — over-billing should be deferred.
Retention treatment — should be a contract asset, not a trade receivable.
Stock-take
For inventory-holding businesses — solar installers, electrical wholesalers, parts businesses — physical stock count at 30 June is mandatory. Bring forward bad/obsolete inventory write-offs into FY26 if you have a tax-minimise mode.
Bad debt write-offs
Receivables that are unlikely to be recovered should be written off before 30 June for the deduction. Document the recovery efforts — emails, statements, calls. The ATO wants evidence the debt was actively pursued before write-off.
Provisions vs accruals
Provisions (warranty, defect liability) are generally not deductible until incurred. Accruals (invoiced but unpaid expenses) are deductible. Make sure your June close correctly distinguishes the two.
Week of 22-28 June — Prepayments, tax-effective spend, ACCU specifics
Prepayments
Small Business Entities (aggregated turnover under $50M for the prepayment rule) can prepay deductible expenses up to 12 months ahead and claim the full deduction in the year of payment. Examples:
Insurance renewal paid in June covering July-June next year.
Software subscriptions (annual).
Rent up to 12 months ahead.
Professional services retainers.
One of the cleanest tax-minimise moves — turning calendar-year spend into a current-year deduction.
ACCU and STC inventory revaluations
For carbon-credit operators — ACCUs held as inventory at 30 June need to be valued at the lower of cost or NRV (net realisable value). If the ACCU market has moved, this could be a meaningful adjustment. See our ACCU accounting pillar for the AASB 138 / AASB 102 framework.
For STC inventory — similar process, valued at cost or NRV.
R&D tax incentive
If you've been doing genuinely novel work (energy storage R&D, carbon-credit measurement methodology, software development for project management) — the R&D Tax Incentive is worth checking before EOFY. Eligible activities + expenditure over $20k can claim a 43.5% refundable offset (for entities under $20M turnover). Lead time on registration is 10+ months from EOFY, so flag the activities now.
Week of 29-30 June — Final actions and lock-in
Director / owner remuneration
Confirm director salary / bonus paid before 30 June.
Confirm associated PAYG withholding paid to ATO.
Confirm super for the June quarter scheduled to pay by 28 July — but if you want the deduction in FY26 it must be paid AND received before 30 June.
Final stock and cash count
Physical stock count at 30 June close-of-business.
Bank statement at 30 June.
Reconcile all bank accounts to GL.
Document the package
Build an EOFY tax planning file that records:
All EOFY actions taken and the dollar impact of each.
Rationale for any structural decisions — e.g. why a particular asset was purchased pre-30 June.
Backup for prepayment deductibility — invoices, payment receipts.
Notice of Intent to Claim filings for super.
This is what saves you in a future ATO review.
What changes in 2025-26 vs prior years
A few rule changes operators should specifically check this year:
Instant asset write-off — the temporary $20k SBE threshold extended into 2025-26 — confirm with your accountant what's in force at 30 June 2026.
Super contribution cap — increased to $30k for concessional, $120k for non-concessional. Bring-forward rules unchanged.
Stage 3 tax cuts — applied from 1 July 2024, so this is the first full year at the new rates. The 30% bracket now runs $45k-$135k. Effective marginal rates for many operators are lower this year — adjust your tax-minimise math.
Payment Times Reporting Scheme — entities above $100M turnover have ongoing PTRS obligations. June period reporting due late August.
Safeguard Mechanism reforms — facilities above the threshold have evolving reporting obligations. Get a specialist if this applies.
Common EOFY mistakes we fix in first-quarter engagements
1. Paying super late and missing the deduction. SG for the June quarter is due 28 July — but to deduct in FY26, it must be paid and received before 30 June. Many operators miss this and lose the deduction.
2. Buying assets for the deduction. A $40k ute saves you ~$10-12k in tax. You're still $28k poorer in cash. Don't let the deduction tail wag the capex dog.
3. Not bringing forward bad debts. Receivables aged 180+ days with no recovery plan should be written off. Otherwise you're paying tax on revenue you'll never collect.
4. Forgetting the under/over-billing adjustment. For projects mid-flight at 30 June, the AASB 15 stage-of-completion adjustment is mandatory — and frequently missed by generalist accountants.
5. Missing the unused concessional cap. If TSB was under $500k at 30 June 2025, you may have $50k-$100k+ in unused concessional cap from prior years. This is one of the highest-ROI moves available and is routinely missed.
6. Last-minute panic. 28 June is too late to do anything meaningful. The work needs to happen progressively across June.
Where this fits in a TechEdge engagement
EOFY tax planning is built into every tier:
Finance Manager (from $2,750/mo): Standard EOFY checklist run in the May / June close. We tell you what to do — you decide whether to pull the trigger.
Financial Controller (from $4,950/mo): All the above plus tax-minimise modelling — run 3 scenarios with cash impact, recommend the optimal mix — R&D tax incentive review, Div 7A modelling.
Head of Finance (from $8,500/mo): All the above plus structural advisory — trust distributions, related-party transactions, complex CGT events, group consolidation decisions, pre-disposal planning if you're heading toward an exit event.
We start EOFY conversations with new clients in late April. By 1 June we've modelled the three scenarios. By 15 June we've executed the agreed moves. By 28 June we're double-checking everything closed cleanly.
Related reading
Take the Maturity Audit before 30 June
5 minutes. 12 questions. Tier recommendation back within 48 hours — with a flag if your EOFY position has structural risk worth addressing in the next month.
Or book a 30-min EOFY scenario discovery call — we'll model your three scenarios and you'll leave with a clear answer on what to do before 30 June.
EOFY tax planning is fact-specific and rule-dependent. This article is general guidance, not personal tax advice. Engage a CPA to review your specific circumstances. Last updated 27 May 2026 reflecting current ATO guidance and known FY26 settings.
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