Smart ways to minimise your tax bill before 30 June

ARTICLE
15 April 2026 dot 5 min read

By Ali Mostaghimi, Senior Financial Planner

As the end of the financial year approaches, I always encourage people to pause and check whether their money is working as hard as it could be. A few well-timed decisions before 30 June can make a meaningful difference to your tax bill.
 
One thing I wish more Australians understood is that tax planning is a before-the-fact activity. Once 30 June passes, most of the real opportunities are already gone. Below I cover the practical steps that make the biggest difference, using strategies that are simple, legitimate, and still available right now.

Boost your super and cut your tax at the same time

If there is one strategy I come back to, it is making the most of concessional super contributions.
 
For the 2025-26 financial year, the concessional cap is $30,000. This includes employer super, salary sacrifice, and personal contributions you claim as a deduction. Inside super, those contributions are generally taxed at 15 percent, compared to personal tax rates of up to 47 percent.
 
I often describe this as a win-win. Every dollar redirected into super may reduce tax today while also strengthening your long-term financial position.
 
Before 30 June, I suggest:
 
  • Logging into MyGov to check how much has already been contributed
  • Looking at whether you are eligible to use carry forward contributions from previous years
  • Consider making a personal super contribution if you have room left under the cap
Carry forward contributions are particularly powerful and often overlooked. Unused caps do not last forever, and some older amounts are expiring soon. Once they are gone, you cannot get them back.
 
If you plan to claim a deduction for a personal contribution, remember you must lodge a Notice of Intent to Claim with your super fund and receive confirmation before lodging your tax return.

Prepay expenses to bring deductions forward

Another simple strategy is prepaying deductable expenses you were going to pay anyway.
 
This might include:
 
This is not about spending money unnecessarily. It is about timing expenses so they fall in the year where they are most useful. This can be especially effective if your income is higher this year than it is likely to be next year.

Review deductions people often miss

Every year, I see people miss deductions simply because they did not stop to review their expenses before the year ended.
 
Some of the most commonly overlooked deductions include:
 
  • Income protection insurance held personally
  • Work related phone and internet expenses
  • Home office equipment costing $300 or less
  • Union fees and professional memberships
  • Tax agent fees from last year’s return
  • Donations to registered charities
Rarely is it one big deduction that moves the needle. More often, it is lots of smaller claims that quietly add up.

If you work from home, choose the right tax method

Working from home remains one of the biggest opportunities for deductions, but it is also an area the ATO pays close attention to.
 
You can choose between two methods.
 
The 70 cent per hour method allows you to claim a flat rate for each hour worked from home. It covers electricity, internet, phone use, and basic consumables. You must keep a record of the hours actually worked, not an estimate. You can still claim depreciation on work equipment separately.
 
The actual cost method allows you to claim the work-related portion of your real running costs. This suits people with a dedicated home office and higher expenses. It requires more detailed records but can result in larger deductions.
 
The key is choosing the method that fits your situation and having the records to support it. The deduction is there, but it has to be defensible.

Review investments and capital gains

If you have investments, the end of the financial year is a good time to review how tax fits into your decisions.
 
Before 30 June, I suggest considering:
 
  • Selling loss making investments to offset capital gains
  • Deferring the sale of assets until after 1 July where appropriate
  • Checking whether assets held longer than 12 months qualify for the 50 percent capital gains tax discount
Capital gains tax is largely about timing. Sometimes a small adjustment to when you sell can materially change the outcome.
 
If you own an investment property, make sure all expenses, including depreciation, are being correctly claimed.

Check health insurance and avoid extra tax

For higher income earners (singles earning above $101,000 or families earning above $202,000), the Medicare Levy Surcharge often comes as an unpleasant surprise.
 
If you do not have suitable hospital cover, the surcharge can be up to 1.5 percent of your taxable income. In many cases, basic hospital cover costs less than the surcharge itself. 

A final word before 30 June

In my experience, the biggest tax savings come from decisions made before the financial year ends, not from scrambling to find receipts after it is over.
 
Before 30 June, I encourage everyone to:
 
  1. Check their super contributions
  2. Review deductible expenses that could be prepaid
  3. Speak with a financial planner or registered tax agent before the deadline
A short conversation at the right time often makes the biggest difference.
Ali Mostaghimi
Ali Mostaghimi has over 20 years’ experience in financial services. He holds a Master of Commerce degree majoring in Financial Planning. As a licensed Senior Financial Planner with AIA Financial Wellbeing, Ali protects and builds his clients’ wealth, while building strong relationships along the way.
Disclaimer:
Copyright © 2026 AIA Financial Services Pty Limited (ABN 68 008 540 252, AFSL 231109), trading as AIA Financial Wellbeing. All rights reserved. This information is current at the date of this publication and is subject to change. This provides general information only, without taking into account factors like the objectives, financial situation, needs or personal circumstances of any individual and is not intended to be financial, legal, tax, health, medical, nutritional or other advice. Before acting on the information in this publication, individuals should consider its appropriateness having regard to such factors.

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