How to Prepare for EOFY: An End of Financial Year Checklist for Small Business
EOFY isn’t just about tax returns. Before 30 June rolls around, most small businesses also need to finalise payroll, review super, reconcile their books, and decide what still needs to happen before 30 June. This checklist covers what needs attention, and when.
This article contains general information only and isn’t personal tax advice. Every business is different, so speak with a registered tax agent, BAS agent or accountant about your specific situation.
Key takeaways:
- STP data needs to be finalised by 14 July for most employees, with a later 30 September deadline for closely held payees.
- Since 1 July 2026, Payday Super means EOFY super review is about checking every payday met the 7 business day payment deadline, not one final quarterly payment.
- A stocktake at 30 June is required for businesses holding trading stock, but not for service businesses without physical inventory.
- The instant asset write-off threshold changes year to year by legislation — confirm the current year’s figure before relying on it.
- TPAR is due 28 August for businesses in industries required to report contractor payments.
- Reconciling the books before 30 June makes every other EOFY task faster and more accurate — it’s the step most often left too late.
What EOFY involves for a small business
EOFY isn’t a single event — it’s a cluster of separate obligations that all land around the same few weeks: finalising payroll data, reconciling the year’s transactions, deciding on any last deductible purchases or write-offs, and preparing the records your tax agent will use to lodge your return. It’s easy to think of EOFY as simply the lead-up to tax return season, but that mindset often means important deadlines get missed — several of these (STP finalisation, stocktake, super timing) have their own separate deadlines that don’t wait for tax return season.
Reconciling your books before EOFY
Every other EOFY task is faster and more accurate once your bookkeeping is up to date — bank accounts reconciled, sales and purchases correctly coded, and any outstanding invoices or bills accounted for. It matters more at EOFY than at any other time of year, since decisions like whether to bring forward a purchase or write off a bad debt depend on having an accurate picture of the year’s actual position first. If you’re behind, our guide to catching up on overdue bookkeeping explains where to start.
Check GST coding on transactions near 30 June specifically — a miscoded transaction that straddles the year-end can distort both your final BAS for the year and your income figures for the tax return.
STP finalisation: the 14 July deadline
If you employ staff, your STP data needs to be finalised by 14 July. This confirms that the year-to-date figures for every employee are complete and accurate — including casuals who haven’t worked recently and anyone who left during the year. Closely held payees have until 30 September, or the payee’s own tax return due date for small employers who only have closely held payees. We’ve covered STP finalisation in more depth, including common mistakes, in our Single Touch Payroll guide.
Superannuation under Payday Super: what needs to be true by 30 June
Since 1 July 2026, Payday Super requires super guarantee contributions to reach an employee’s fund within 7 business days of each payday. That changes the EOFY review completely. Instead of checking whether one quarterly payment went through on time, you’re checking that every super payment throughout the year reached employees’ funds within the required timeframe, and flagging any gaps before they compound. Review this alongside your STP data, since the superannuation liability figures reported through STP each pay event are what the ATO uses to check contributions are keeping pace.
Stocktake and trading stock
If your business holds trading stock, a stocktake at year-end is generally required to determine the value of stock on hand for tax purposes. The difference between opening and closing stock value affects taxable income for the year. Businesses without physical inventory (most service-based businesses) don’t have this obligation, although it’s still worth reviewing any work in progress or unbilled work before year-end.
Some businesses with simple, low-value stock may be eligible for simplified trading stock rules that reduce the formal stocktake requirement. Check whether these apply before assuming a full stocktake is needed regardless of business size.
Reviewing debtors and writing off bad debts
Reviewing outstanding invoices before 30 June serves two purposes: it flags cash flow issues worth chasing before year-end, and it identifies uncollectable debts that may be claimable as a bad debt deduction, provided the debt has been written off in the accounts before the end of the income year. A debt that’s simply overdue isn’t automatically a bad debt — there needs to be a reasonable basis for treating it as unrecoverable, not just a slow-paying client.
Instant asset write-off and depreciation timing
Small businesses can generally claim an immediate deduction for eligible assets under the instant asset write-off, provided the asset is installed ready for use, or first used, within the relevant income year and falls under the threshold set for that year. For the 2025–26 income year, that threshold is $20,000. This threshold is set year by year through legislation, not as a permanent rule, so confirm the current year’s figure and eligibility criteria instead of assuming last year’s rules still apply.
Timing is important here: an asset ordered before 30 June but not delivered or installed ready for use until after it won’t qualify for that earlier income year, regardless of when it was paid for.
Prepaying deductible expenses
Some small businesses bring forward deductible expenses — insurance premiums, subscriptions, or other recurring costs — to claim the deduction in the current financial year rather than the next. Prepayment rules and eligibility depend on the type of expense and business structure. Not every prepaid expense is treated the same way for tax purposes, so check with your accountant before assuming a prepayment automatically brings the deduction forward.
Director loans, trust distributions and other structure-specific items
Companies and trusts carry EOFY items that sole traders and simple partnerships don’t. Company director loans need reviewing against Division 7A requirements, since an unrepaid loan from a private company to a shareholder or associate can be treated as an unfranked dividend if it isn’t handled correctly before the company’s lodgment day. Trusts need distribution resolutions made and properly documented before 30 June, since a resolution made after year-end generally can’t validly distribute that year’s income.
These are technical areas where mistakes can be expensive to fix later. Action them with your accountant well before 30 June, not as a last-minute item.
TPAR and other easy-to-forget lodgements
Businesses in certain industries — building and construction, cleaning, courier, road freight, IT, and security/investigation/surveillance services among others — need to lodge a Taxable Payments Annual Report (TPAR) by 28 August each year, reporting payments made to contractors. It’s easy to overlook if a business only engages a handful of contractors occasionally, because it’s not as familiar as the BAS or tax return — but the reporting obligation applies based on the industry and whether contractor payments were made, not on how large or frequent those payments were.
A practical EOFY timeline
| Task | Typical due date |
|---|---|
| Financial year ends | 30 June |
| STP finalisation (arm’s length employees) | 14 July |
| Payroll tax annual reconciliation (Victoria) | 21 July |
| Taxable Payments Annual Report (TPAR) | 28 August |
| STP finalisation (closely held payees) | 30 September |
| Individual/sole trader tax return (self-lodged) | 31 October |
| Company/trust tax return (via registered agent) | Varies — confirm with your agent |
If you’re lodging through a registered tax or BAS agent, your due dates may be quite different from the standard self-lodgement deadlines. Always confirm your specific due dates with whoever is lodging on your behalf — the dates above are a starting point, not a guarantee.
Common EOFY mistakes small businesses make
- Leaving bookkeeping until after 30 June, making every other EOFY task harder.
- Missing the STP finalisation deadline because it feels secondary to the tax return itself.
- Assuming last year’s instant asset write-off threshold still applies without checking the current year’s figure.
- Forgetting TPAR entirely in industries where it applies, since it’s a separate lodgement from the BAS and tax return.
- Making trust distribution resolutions after 30 June, when they need to be made and documented before year-end to be valid.
Quick recap: the EOFY checklist
- Reconcile bank accounts, sales and purchases before 30 June
- Finalise STP data by 14 July (30 September for closely held payees)
- Confirm every payday’s super reached the fund within 7 business days under Payday Super
- Complete a stocktake if you hold trading stock
- Review debtors and write off genuine bad debts before year-end
- Confirm the current year’s instant asset write-off threshold before relying on it
- Action any prepayment decisions with your accountant
- Finalise director loan and trust distribution documentation before 30 June
- Diarise TPAR (28 August) if it applies to your industry
Getting help
If EOFY keeps arriving faster than your books are ready for it, our bookkeeping services page covers how we keep records current throughout the year so EOFY becomes a review rather than a scramble. For payroll-specific EOFY items like STP finalisation and Payday Super compliance, our payroll services page covers what we handle for Melbourne small businesses.
Official resources
Frequently asked questions
When does the Australian financial year end?
The standard Australian financial year runs from 1 July to 30 June. Some businesses can apply to the ATO for a substituted accounting period ending on a different date, but this is uncommon and generally only relevant where there's a genuine business reason, such as aligning with an overseas parent company's reporting year.
Do I need to do a stocktake if my business doesn't sell physical products?
No — a stocktake at year-end is specifically an income tax requirement for businesses holding trading stock. A service-based business with no inventory to sell generally has no stocktake obligation, though reviewing work-in-progress and unbilled services is still part of EOFY reconciliation.
What happens if I can't finalise my STP data by 14 July?
Finalising late doesn't remove the obligation, and it can delay your employees' ability to lodge their own tax returns using accurate income statement data. If you're not going to make the deadline, engage a registered agent or contact the ATO before the due date, not after it's already passed.
Is the $20,000 instant asset write-off available every year?
The instant asset write-off threshold and eligibility are set year by year through legislation, not as a permanent fixed rule, so the amount and eligibility criteria that applied last financial year aren't guaranteed to carry over unchanged. Confirm the current year's threshold before relying on it in EOFY planning.
Do sole traders need to do anything different for EOFY compared to a company?
The core mechanics are similar — reconciling records, reviewing deductions, and preparing for the tax return — but a sole trader reports business income through their individual tax return rather than a separate company return, and doesn't have company-specific items like Division 7A loans or trust distribution resolutions to consider.
What's the difference between EOFY and my tax return due date?
EOFY (30 June) is when the financial year itself ends and the figures for that year are locked in. The tax return due date is separate and later — for individuals and sole traders lodging their own return it's generally 31 October, though lodging through a registered tax agent can extend this considerably, sometimes well into the following year, provided you're registered with the agent before 31 October.
Do I need an external party to conduct my stocktake?
No, a business can conduct its own stocktake internally. What matters is that the count is accurate, properly documented, and reflects genuine physical stock on hand at year-end — some businesses do use an external party for a large or complex stocktake, but it isn't a legal requirement.
Does Payday Super change what I need to check at EOFY for superannuation?
Yes — since super guarantee now needs to reach an employee's fund within 7 business days of each payday rather than quarterly, the EOFY super check becomes a review of whether every payday during the year met that deadline, instead of just confirming one final quarterly payment went through on time.
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