End of financial year checklist for small businesses

The end of the financial year (EOFY) is looming but with some planning and preparation, it need not be an exhausting time for small business owners.This checklist will help you meet your legal obligation and to get the right tax outcomes for your business:
 

1. Get paperwork up to date

Having important paperwork in place helps to streamline the EOFY process. Some examples of records you need to keep are:
 

• Receipts for sales and purchases;
• Records concerning tax returns, activity statements and employee super contributions; and
• GST & BAS statements/documents.
   

 2. Manage your deductions

Ensuring you get the right deductions for your expenses makes good business sense, so it’s important to find out what you can claim. And there’s good news for small business owners on the deductions front: a popular federal government scheme that offers an immediate write-off for any asset costing less than $20,000 has been extended for another financial year.

The government stated in its recent Budget paper that the scheme will “improve cash flow for small businesses, providing a boost to small business activity and investment for another year”.

Consider whether you will need new office equipment in the coming year, or if existing ones need to be repaired or replaced. Note that any such assets need to be installed and ready for use by 30 June 2018 – the tax cannot be deducted if delivery or payment occurs after the new financial year begins.

You can also claim deductions if you prepay certain expenses for 12 months or less, such as professional subscriptions, electricity, rent, wages, insurance and utilities. For more information on the types of prepaid expenses that are eligible, visit the ATO’s website.

If you’re an agribusiness owner you can take advantage of Farm Management Deposits, which can help you manage your tax position in years of good production as you only pay tax when you draw on those funds deposited.

3. Write off bad debts

Writing off bad debts allows you to claim a GST refund. Before writing off a debt, consider offering the client a small discount if they pay before 30 June. Businesses registered for GST can include the bad debt in the June quarter BAS or annual GST Return to receive a refund of the GST previously paid.
 

4.Meet your superannuation requirements

Businesses with superannuation guarantee (SG) obligations are required to pay employee contributions of 9.5%. Meeting your obligations early, by 30 June 2018, will allow you to claim a tax deduction in your 2018 income tax return rather than having to wait until the following year.

Note that super isn’t tax-deductible until it has been paid, so ensure all super contributions are completed by the end of the financial year.
 

5. Be aware of due dates

Put all the required dates in your calendar to avoid ATO penalties.

This article is produced by the Davidson Institute, Westpac's home of free financial education resources, building confidence today for a better financial future.