The end of financial year 2025 was 30 June 2025. From 1 July 2025, Australia moved into the 2025-26 income year, and returns covering the 12 months to 30 June 2025 became lodgeable through myTax and registered tax agents. Anyone who earned salary or wages, ran a business, held an investment property or sold shares during that period reports it in the 2024-25 return.
This guide is written for employees, sole traders and small business operators who want to understand what the June cut off actually changes. It sets out when the year starts and finishes, which ATO dates follow it, what individuals and businesses each need to do, and which records to gather before the books close.
The important idea behind the end of financial year 2025 is timing. A cost you paid on 29 June belongs to a different year from one you paid on 2 July, and that single day can change which return it appears in. The same applies to super contributions, invoices, donations and asset purchases. Understanding the cut off helps you report accurately rather than chase a bigger number, and it makes the following quarter of reporting far less stressful.
- The Australian financial year runs from 1 July to 30 June, so the end of financial year 2025 fell on 30 June 2025 and the 2025-26 year began the next day.
- Individuals who lodge their own return generally have until 31 October to lodge for the year just finished, according to the ATO.
- Employers finalise Single Touch Payroll data after 30 June so prefilled income statements show as "tax ready" in myGov.
- Timing matters: an expense or a personal super contribution generally counts in the year it is paid and received by the fund, not the year it is invoiced.
- Records, not intentions, support a claim. Keep receipts, logbooks and bank statements for the period the ATO requires.
The Australian financial year runs for 12 months from 1 July to 30 June. The ATO calls it the income year, and it is the period over which your taxable income, your work or business expense claims and your deduction entitlements are all measured. The end of financial year 2024 was 30 June 2024, and the end of financial year 2025 was 30 June 2025, which is why the year in between is written as 2024-25.
Australian financial year quarters follow the same cycle and drive most reporting rhythms, including activity statements, super guarantee payments and STP reporting for employers.
| Quarter | Months covered | Typical reporting focus |
|---|---|---|
| Quarter 1 | July to September | First BAS and super guarantee payment of the new year |
| Quarter 2 | October to December | BAS, super, and the individual lodgement deadline for the prior year |
| Quarter 3 | January to March | BAS, super, and mid-year review of income and expenses |
| Quarter 4 | April to June | Final BAS of the year, superannuation top-ups, stocktake and end of financial year tips put into practice |
Retail activity such as end of financial year 2025 sales sits inside quarter 4, so purchase dates in late June decide which income year the cost belongs to.
The end of the financial year is 30 June each year, and EOFY is simply the shorthand for that date and the weeks of reconciling around it. Every reporting obligation you have flows from it.
For individuals, EOFY closes off the income and expenses that belong in one return. Your employer reports your salary, tax withheld and super through Single Touch Payroll, then finalises that data after 30 June. Once it is marked tax ready, the ATO prefills your return. Health insurers, banks, share registries and government agencies also report to the ATO, so prefill usually covers interest, dividends and private health cover. What prefill does not cover is your own claims. A work-related tax deduction still needs your records, and the amount you can claim depends on how much of the cost related to earning your income.
The end of financial year 2025 also set the clock for balancing. After lodgement, the ATO works out whether the tax withheld across the EOFY period was more or less than the tax assessed on your taxable income, which produces either a refund or a bill.
Rental owners and investors have extra EOFY work, since interest, rates and agent fees need to be split by property and by ownership share. If you are unsure which category a cost falls into, the Australian deductions library groups each EOFY claim by type so you can check the conditions before you lodge.
The new financial year in Australia starts on 1 July, the day after the old one ends. The July to June cycle is a product of Australia's colonial administration and early federal budgeting practice: government accounts and appropriations were set on a mid-year cycle, and the tax year was aligned with them rather than with the January calendar used in much of Europe. Once payroll, superannuation and state revenue systems were built around it, the cycle stayed.
Tax in Australia works on self-assessment across that 12 month window. Employers withhold tax from each pay and report through STP, the ATO prefills what third parties tell it, and you declare the rest. Your income for the year is totalled, your allowable deduction amounts are subtracted, and marginal rates plus the Medicare levy apply to what is left.
The cut off is why what to do before end of financial year matters more than what you do after it. A cost paid on 30 June sits in the year just ended. The same cost paid on 1 July waits a full year for its tax deduction. A super contribution only counts once the fund receives it, not when you transfer it. Keep the receipt with the payment date visible, because the date is what proves the year. The end of financial year 2024 boundary worked the same way.
The 2024-25 year ran from 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025, and the ATO publishes the financial year date milestones that follow it. The first is 1 July, when returns for the year just ended open and prefill begins loading. The ATO suggests waiting until late July, once employers finalise STP and banks report, because early lodgement often means amending later.
The next deadline is 31 October, the ATO lodgement date for individuals preparing their own return. If you engage a registered tax agent, you generally need to be on their client list before that date to access later agent due dates.
Employers had until 14 July to finalise STP for most employees, and super guarantee contribution amounts for the June quarter were due by 28 July. Setting reminders for each financial year date in the current financial year is a simpler way to maximise accuracy than scrambling in October.
For Australian businesses, EOFY is a reconciliation deadline rather than a single filing event. The Australian financial year starts on 1 July and ends on 30 June, and the July to June cycle exists because federal appropriations and revenue collection were historically set on that mid-year basis, so business accounts inherited it.
The financial year EOFY close involves several jobs that cannot be done retrospectively:
- Reconcile bank accounts, loans and credit cards to 30 June so the trial balance matches the statements.
- Complete a stocktake if you carry trading stock, and value it consistently.
- Review debtors and decide which are genuinely bad debts before 30 June.
- Finalise STP for every employee so their income statements are complete.
- Pay employee super so the contribution is received by the fund in the year you want the deduction.
Timing decisions carry trade-offs. Bringing a purchase forward for a contribution before June or an asset bought in an end of financial year 2025 sales period only helps if the asset is installed ready for use by 30 June and the business is eligible under the relevant write-off rules. Otherwise the cost is spread over later years. When you calculate the benefit, compare the deduction value against the cash you part with now. That is the real answer to what to do before end of financial year: spend on things the business needed anyway, not on tax timing alone. The small business deductions guide sets out the conditions for each category.
Quarterly reporting follows the June to July boundary closely. Businesses registered for GST that report quarterly lodge a BAS for each quarter, and PAYG instalments are usually reported on the same form. The ATO publishes each due date, and the standard pattern is 28 October, 28 February, 28 April and 28 July for the quarters ending September, December, March and June.
Super guarantee runs on its own quarterly clock, due 28 days after each quarter ends. A late super contribution is not deductible, which is a harder outcome than a late expense claim.
Two year EOFY items often get missed. Deductible gift recipient status is what makes end of financial year donations claimable, and the receipt must show the date. And an expense prepaid in late June may need to be apportioned rather than claimed in full. The ATO number to call for activity statement help is published on its contact page; treat any figure you see quoted elsewhere, such as 1300661508, as unverified.
Lodgement deadlines repeat on the same annual pattern, which makes forward planning straightforward. For each income year ending 30 June, self-preparers face a 31 October lodgement deadline for that year. The 2025-26 year ends 30 June 2026, so its self-prepared deadline falls on 31 October 2026.
Registered tax agents work to a concessional lodgement program with later dates, often into the following May, but only for clients engaged before the October deadline. If you have prior year returns outstanding, those concessions may not apply until you bring them up to date.
Employers must finalise STP declarations for each year before the ATO marks income statements as tax ready, generally by 14 July. Deductible end of financial year donations made in June belong to the year just ended, so keep them with that year's papers rather than the next. Published ATO contact lines change over time, so verify any number, including figures such as 1300650286, against the ATO website before dialling. A single calendar reminder per lodgement date prevents most late filing.
Records are the evidence layer behind every claim, and the ATO expects them to exist at the time you lodge rather than be reconstructed later. Gather these before the cut off:
- Income statements, bank interest summaries, dividend statements and rental agent reports.
- Receipts or invoices for each work or business expense, showing the supplier, amount and date.
- A valid logbook if you use the logbook method for a vehicle.
- Super fund confirmations for any personal deductible contribution, plus the notice of intent the fund must acknowledge.
- Depreciation schedules and accounting reports reconciled to 30 June.
The general ATO requirement is to keep written evidence for five years from the date you lodge. Interest on a loan may be only partly eligible where the borrowed money had mixed use, so keep the loan statements as well as the repayment records.
Among the things to do before end of financial year, the highest value one is filing as you go. A June scramble tends to produce a smaller, weaker deduction claim than a folder kept across the year.
The difference is the start date. A calendar year runs 1 January to 31 December. The Australian financial year runs 1 July to 30 June, and it is the period the ATO uses to measure your taxable income, your reporting and your entitlements.
That gap causes practical confusion. Foreign income, overseas dividends and offshore employer statements often arrive on a calendar basis, so they need to be re-split into the Australian July to June period before you report them. Some entities may apply to use a substituted accounting period, but this is not automatic and requires ATO approval.
Personal planning also spans both. A superannuation contribution counts in the financial year the fund receives it, so a contribution before 30 June belongs to that year even if you decided on it in January. Insurance premiums, subscriptions and memberships are frequently billed on calendar terms and may need apportioning.
A short checklist of end of financial year tips is worth keeping: note the payment date on every record, and among the things to do before end of financial year, confirm that any super transfer has actually landed.
The 2024-25 year closed on 30 June 2025, with 31 October as the self-preparer lodgement date and quarterly BAS and super dates following. Eligibility depends on the expense relating to your income, the amount depends on apportionment and payment timing, and records must be kept for five years. Deductit shows the ATO rule and formula behind each calculation; it does not provide personal tax advice or lodge returns.
How much will I earn after taxes if I make $120,000 a year in Australia?
An income of $120,000 as a resident individual is taxed under the marginal rates the ATO publishes for the relevant year, plus the 2% Medicare levy, so take-home pay depends on the year, your residency status and whether you have HELP debt or private health cover. Rather than relying on a single quoted figure, work it out for your own year and circumstances with the tax calculator that shows every formula. Registered tax agents can advise on your personal position; Deductit does not.
What happens if I don't do my tax return by October 31?
Missing 31 October means your return is late, and the ATO may apply a failure to lodge on time penalty that increases the longer the return is outstanding. If you owe tax, general interest charge can also accrue. Lodging late is still better than not lodging, and the ATO asks that you contact it if you cannot meet the date. If a registered agent was engaged before 31 October, their later program date may apply instead.
What are the ATO tax due dates for 2026?
ATO due dates for the 2026 calendar year follow the standard annual pattern: STP finalisation around 14 July, quarterly BAS and super dates 28 days after each quarter ends, and 31 October for self-prepared individual returns covering the year to 30 June 2026. Confirm each date on the ATO website, because dates falling on a weekend or public holiday shift to the next business day.
What is the last date to file my tax return?
The last date to file a self-prepared individual return is 31 October following the end of that income year. Clients of a registered tax agent may have a later date under the agent lodgement program, provided they were on the agent's books before 31 October.
What is the last date to do a tax return in Australia?
In Australia, the last date for a self-prepared return is 31 October for the income year that ended on the previous 30 June. Prior year returns can still be lodged after that date and generally should be, since outstanding returns can delay refunds and remove access to agent concessions.
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