As the period to submit your tax return draws to a close, you might be wondering how you can get ready to knock your taxes for next year into shape.
So, what should you be doing as we head towards June 30, 2025?
1. Gather your records
Take some time to gather together all the info you’ll need to help you prep your tax returns - meaning any invoices and receipts for work-related expenses, plus any bank/credit card statements with items of work-related expenses that you don’t have receipts or invoices for.
If you're not sure if it's claimable, collect together the receipt or invoice anyway and discuss it with your tax agent.
No paperwork = no deduction, so it makes sense to set aside this time in advance of the end of the financial year to spare yourself a stressful document hunt whilst you're actually in the process of getting your return prepared!
In addition, if you're claiming any expenses that have a work-related element and a private element (such as for the use of a personal mobile phone) set some time aside to work out what a reasonable apportionment is for the work-related bit.
2. Equip your home office
If you do any work from home, you are entitled to deductions for costs that arise from it. The expenses that you can claim include:
- Heating, cooling and lighting
- Cleaning costs
- Decline in value (depreciation) of home office furniture and fittings, office equipment, and computers (*for items over $300)
- Computer consumables, stationery, telephone and internet costs
- Items of capital equipment (meaning furniture, computers, and associated hardware and software) which cost less than $300 can be written off in full immediately
With many retailers running end of financial year specials, any purchases you make during these sales can be deducted in your tax return. This means you can minimise the time between the purchase and the tax deduction!
Make your claim using the work-related portion of actual costs, or the ATO's 67 cents per hour fixed rate – but you’ll need to have a record (for example, timesheets, rosters or a diary) of your WFH hours for the entire year using this method.
3. Update your log book
If you use the log-book method, now is the time to check that your log is up to date - and that you have all the receipts, invoices and records of journeys which you will need to calculate and substantiate your claim.
If you use the cents per kilometre method, you’ll still need a record of all work-related journeys during the year.
Heads up: the ATO will be looking particularly closely at car claims this year, as they believe that too many taxpayers are claiming for journeys they didn't actually take.
4. Keep a mobile phone log
If you used your personal mobile phone for work purposes, you can claim a deduction for the business related use!
Make sure you have your phone bills collected together and have kept a log of your business/personal use over a four-week period. You can then apply that percentage to the whole year.
Remember, you can't claim for mobile phones if you have made a claim for working from home expenses using the 67 cents per hour rate; included in that rate is an element that recognises mobile phone use and therefore a separate claim is "double dipping", which is firmly on the ATO's radar!
5. Donate to charity
Boost your tax return and make the world a better place at the same time! By making a last-minute charitable donation, you can claim a deduction for any amount over $2 to a registered charity; provided you have a receipt for the donation you made.
6. Prepay some expenses
You can claim a tax deduction this year for expenses that wholly or partly relate to next year.
This means that if you have some spare cash, consider paying things like your union fees, any professional subscriptions, or annual insurance premiums in advance so you can accelerate the deduction when June rolls around.
7. Treat yourself to a new bag!
If you use a bag for work, to carry papers or a laptop for example, you can claim a tax deduction for the cost. This could be a backpack, a tote bag, or a cute handbag to accessorise with your trinkets - whatever suits your needs!
8. Make a tax-deductible super contribution
If you have some spare cash, look at making a personal contribution into your super fund.
As long as the total amount of your super contributions (
Remember: the payment must be made by June 30, and you need to advise your super fund that you've made the payment by the time you lodge your tax return. Your super fund or accountant can give you guidance on how to complete the form, and there's a standard version on the ATO website.
9. Offset capital gains against capital losses
If you've disposed of shares or any other form of investment and you know you've made a capital gain, take a look at your investment portfolio and consider getting rid of any of your assets which you know are sitting at a loss. The resulting capital losses can be offset against the capital gain.
Be careful, though; avoid selling your shares at a loss and then buying them back in the new tax year. This is known as a "wash sale", and the ATO will not be pleased with you if they see this happening. This refers to the sale of an asset before the year end and the purchase of a substantially identical asset immediately after the year end.
The ATO regard the purchase and the sale as effectively the same asset, and have issued a Tax Ruling stating that they can apply the anti-avoidance provisions to cancel any tax benefits and apply penalties.
10. Seek expert help
When in doubt, speak to a tax agent.
They can identify exactly what you need to do to get into shape for the 2025 tax season and maximise your deductions.
