Tax Planning Strategies for the Second Half of the Financial Year

The back half of the financial year is when tax planning is still useful — early enough to act, late enough to have real numbers. Once you're past year-end, most of the levers are gone; the point of planning now is to make deliberate choices while there's still time to change the outcome. Here's a practical framework for the months before 30 June.

Start from an accurate picture, not a guess

Every worthwhile decision here depends on knowing where you actually stand, so the first job is to get your books current. Reconcile your accounts, chase up any un-entered transactions, and produce a reliable profit figure for the year to date. From there, project the full-year result with your accountant. You can't plan for a tax position you can't yet see, and a rough estimate of your likely taxable income is the number every other strategy hangs off.

This is also the moment to catch problems while they're still fixable — a BAS that doesn't reconcile, superannuation that's fallen behind, or PAYG instalments that no longer match reality. Sorting these out mid-year is far less painful than discovering them after the fact. Keeping this picture continuously visible is one of the quiet advantages of a connected back office.

Time income and expenses deliberately

One of the few genuinely powerful levers is timing. If you have discretion over when income is received or when deductible expenses are incurred, moving them across the year-end boundary can shift tax between financial years. The classic moves are bringing forward genuinely needed expenditure into the current year, or deferring income where it's legitimate to do so.

Two cautions. First, this only makes sense as a decision about timing, not a reason to spend money you wouldn't otherwise spend — a deduction is only ever a fraction of the dollar you outlay. Second, the rules on when income is derived and when an expense is deductible are specific; don't assume you can simply date an invoice. Work through the timing with your accountant so it stands up.

Get the deductible obligations right and on time

Some deductions depend on doing something by a deadline, and missing the deadline forfeits them. Superannuation is the standout: employer contributions are generally only deductible in the year they're actually received by the fund, not merely when you pay them, so contributions need to be made with enough lead time to clear before year-end. If you're considering additional or catch-up contributions, check the ATO's current contribution caps before acting, because exceeding a cap creates its own tax problem.

Other timing-sensitive items worth reviewing before 30 June include writing off genuinely bad debts, scrapping obsolete stock or assets, and any small-business capital allowance measures currently available — the instant asset write-off arrangements change from year to year, so confirm what's in force this year with the ATO or your accountant rather than relying on last year's rules.

Use the runway to tidy structure and records

The second half of the year is a good window for the housekeeping that's hard to do in the June rush. Make sure your record-keeping is in order so any deduction you intend to claim is actually substantiated — the deduction you can't evidence is the one you lose. Review whether your business structure and any arrangements still suit your circumstances, since structural changes are best considered with a full year's runway rather than decided in a panic.

If your income varies, this is also the time to check that your PAYG instalments broadly match your expected result, so you're neither starving cash flow with overpayments nor setting up a nasty balancing bill.

Plan the cash, not just the tax

Good tax planning is half about the tax and half about being ready to pay it. Once you have a projected result, you can estimate your likely liability and set money aside deliberately across the remaining months rather than being caught short when it falls due. Knowing the number early turns a stressful lump sum into a manageable provision — and gives you room to make the timing and contribution decisions above without cash-flow anxiety forcing your hand.

The common thread is simple: planning works when you do it with real numbers and enough time to act. Left until year-end, it becomes reporting.

This is general information, not tax advice. Tax rules, caps and thresholds change and depend on your circumstances — confirm the current position with the ATO and work through specific strategies with a registered tax agent or accountant.