Tax planning (yep, it's a thing)

🖥️ 1. Claim immediate deductions if purchasing assets
As long as your turnover is under $5 billion (!), you can likely claim an immediate tax deduction on business plant/equipment installed and ready to use by 30 June 2023. Think tech or vehicle purchases for example (note that deductions on cars are capped at $60,733), but only if you actually need them.

⏳ 2. Pay super guarantee obligations on time

If you want to claim deductions on super contributions come 30 June, make sure you’ve paid them by then (simple but often overlooked).

💳 3. Prepay FY24 expenses by 30 June

Businesses with less than $50 million turnover can claim deductions on prepaid expenses due within the next 12 months. So if your cashflow permits, consider paying FY24 expenses like rent, utility bills and subscriptions before 30 June 2023.

⛔ 4. Write off bad debts

It can be hard to call it but it pays to write off bad debts sooner rather than later. So take a look at any payments outstanding to you and if they can’t be recouped, write them off before 30 June so you can claim a tax deduction on them.

📉 5. Consider revaluing trading stock

If you have stock on hand, is its value below what it cost to make/acquire? If so, consider revaluing it to its net realisable value so you can claim a tax deduction come 30 June (net realisable value = what you could sell an asset for minus a reasonable estimate of any costs associated with sale/disposal).

🔍 6. Take a look at dates on your invoices

It’s not always a good idea to issue invoices for work that’s not completed before 30 June. If they’re disputed, they might need to be refunded in part/full, which means they might not be able to go in your tax return.

🚐 7. Consider scrapping old plant/equipment 

If you have any plant or equipment (e.g. technology, vehicles and machinery) that won’t be installed or needed by 30 June, consider scrapping it before then so you can claim a deduction on it.

👩‍💼 8. Make a binding resolution about bonuses

If you have staff bonuses in the 2023 financial year, make a binding resolution to pay them by 30 June. Then, even if you don’t pay them until later, they can still be deductible in the 2023 financial year.

🔃 9. All is not lost if you make a loss

If a company makes a tax loss, you can use that to offset tax paid in the previous three financial years (2022, 2021 and 2020). That means you could wind up with a tax refund to inject into your business.