For most doctors, tax planning happens in one of two ways: proactively, before 30 June, or reactively, in a slightly stressed phone call to their accountant in July. This checklist is for the first group.
The 2026-27 financial year (1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027) brings a few genuine changes worth knowing about now, not in June – including some that directly affect how doctors use super to build long-term wealth. Here’s what actually matters, whether you’re an employed specialist, a practice owner, or running income through a company or trust.
Superannuation: The Single Highest-Value EOFY Move
Superannuation contributions are one of the few tax-effective levers doctors control directly, and the timing rule is unforgiving: a contribution only counts for a financial year once the fund actually receives it – not when you initiate the payment.
- The concessional contribution cap is $30,000 for 2025-26, rising to $32,500 for 2026-27. This includes employer super guarantee, salary sacrifice, and personal deductible contributions.
- If your total super balance was under $500,000 at the end of the prior financial year, you may be able to use unused cap amounts carried forward from previous years – a genuinely useful strategy for doctors who had a lower-income year during training or parental leave.
- The super guarantee rate is 12% from 1 July 2025.
- Payday Super begins 1 July 2026, meaning employers will generally need to pay super at the same time as wages rather than quarterly. If you run a practice with employees, this changes your payroll cash flow planning, not just your own contributions.
- The ATO’s Small Business Superannuation Clearing House (SBSCH) closes permanently on 1 July 2026. If your practice uses it, you’ll need an alternative super payment solution in place well before then.
Practical tip: don’t leave a Q4 super payment until the last week of June. Processing delays through clearing houses are common, and a payment that arrives in July doesn’t count for the year you intended.
Instant Asset Write-Off
For 2025-26, eligible small businesses (aggregated turnover under $10 million) can immediately deduct the cost of eligible depreciable assets up to $20,000, provided the asset is first used or installed and ready for use by 30 June. The 2026-27 Federal Budget proposed making this $20,000 threshold permanent from 1 July 2026, though at the time of writing this is not yet law – worth confirming with your accountant before committing to a large purchase based on an announced-but-unlegislated measure.
If you’re planning to buy equipment, a vehicle, or technology for your practice, timing the purchase around 30 June (and making sure it’s genuinely in use, not just ordered) can bring the deduction forward into the current year.
Review Your Business Structure Before, Not After, Year-End
EOFY is a natural checkpoint to ask whether your current structure – sole trader, company, trust, or a combination – is still the right fit. A structure that made sense as a solo GP may no longer suit a multi-doctor practice with employees and retained earnings. If you’re considering a change, it’s far cleaner to plan it to take effect from the start of a new financial year. Our guide on trust vs company structures for medical practices is worth reading alongside this one if structure is on your mind.
Reconcile Your Books Properly
Before claiming anything, make sure every transaction for the year is actually recorded – in Xero, MYOB, or whatever system your practice uses. If bookkeeping has fallen behind, EOFY is the forcing function to catch up, because incomplete records are the single most common reason legitimate deductions get missed or, worse, disallowed on review. If this is a recurring headache, our bookkeeping guide for doctors covers how to fix it properly rather than just catching up once a year.
Common Deductions Doctors Miss
- Professional development, conferences and courses directly related to maintaining or improving your clinical skills.
- Professional memberships, indemnity insurance and registration fees.
- Work-related equipment and technology, subject to the asset write-off rules above.
- Motor vehicle costs for travel between workplaces (not your regular commute) – using a proper logbook rather than an estimate.
- Home office costs were genuinely applicable, particularly for doctors doing after-hours admin, telehealth, or on-call work from home.
- Prepaid expenses, where legitimate, brought forward under the 12-month prepayment rule to bring the deduction into the current year.
The golden rule: bring forward deductible expenses and don’t artificially defer income, but never claim private expenses or claim the GST-inclusive amount incorrectly if you’re GST-registered.
Stocktake and Trading Stock (Where Relevant)
If your practice holds trading stock – common in dermatology, cosmetic, or dispensing-adjacent practices – an accurate stocktake at year-end directly affects your taxable income calculation. Don’t skip this even if it feels like a formality.
Set a Realistic Q4 Super Deadline
Superannuation guarantee for the April–June quarter is generally due by 28 July, and it’s still deductible in the financial year it relates to – but only if it reaches the fund in time. Given the clearing house changes coming with Payday Super, plan to make this payment by mid-June rather than waiting for the formal deadline.
Putting It Together
None of this needs to be complicated, but it does need to be planned before 30 June, not reviewed after it. The highest-value moves – superannuation timing, asset purchases, and structure reviews – all depend on decisions made with weeks of lead time, not days. If you want a second set of eyes on your specific situation before the year closes, our tax and accounting services for medical professionals are built around exactly this kind of proactive planning for doctors and practice owners.
Frequently Asked Questions
$32,500, up from $30,000 in 2025-26. This includes employer contributions, salary sacrifice, and personal deductible contributions combined.
Only when the superannuation fund receives it – not when you initiate the payment. Always allow for processing delays, especially near 30 June.
From 1 July 2026, employers will generally need to pay employee superannuation at the same time as wages, rather than quarterly. Practice owners with staff should review payroll systems well before this date.
It’s been proposed to become permanent from 1 July 2026 as part of the 2026-27 Federal Budget, but this is not yet law. Confirm current status with your accountant before relying on it for a major purchase.
Potentially, yes – if your total super balance was under $500,000 at the end of the prior financial year, carry-forward (catch-up) contribution rules may let you use unused cap space from up to five previous years.
It won’t be deductible for the financial year you intended, and it may also expose your practice to the Superannuation Guarantee Charge if it’s for employee super. Pay well ahead of the formal deadline.
No – only bring forward purchases you genuinely need for the practice. A deduction reduces tax by your marginal rate; it doesn’t make an unnecessary purchase free.
The ATO’s Small Business Superannuation Clearing House (SBSCH) closes permanently. Practices using it need an alternative super payment solution in place beforehand.
Yes, where genuinely applicable – for example, after-hours admin, telehealth consultations, or on-call work done from home – provided you keep proper records of the work-related use.
Ideally by April or May, so there’s enough lead time for superannuation processing, any asset purchases, and a proper structure review – rather than trying to fit everything into the last week of June.
