The 2026 EOFY checklist for Australian ecommerce: every deadline, rate, and ATO rule that breaks if you miss it

Most Australian ecommerce operators get fed a generic small-business EOFY checklist every June and miss the things that actually break in an ecom profit and loss: GST on unredeemed Shopify gift cards, AUD/USD revaluation of Stripe balances, marketplace EDP rules, the actual cutoff date for super contributions to land a FY26 deduction, and the freshly-extended $20,000 instant asset write-off. This post organises every line item by deadline, not by category. On each one we call out the ecom-specific wrinkle a generalist accountant misses.

Here is what changed since FY25 EOFY: the $20,000 Instant Asset Write-Off (IAWO) is now legislated for FY26. The Treasury Laws Amendment (Strengthening Financial Systems and Other Measures) Act 2025 passed the Senate on 27 November 2025, extending the $20K threshold to assets first used or installed ready for use between 1 July 2025 and 30 June 2026. Up to 4.1 million small businesses with aggregated turnover under $10M are eligible. Super Guarantee also stepped up to 12% from 1 July 2025, the final increment of the legislated SG ramp. Concessional contributions cap holds at $30,000.

A separate Budget announcement on 12 May 2026 proposed making the $20K IAWO permanent from 1 July 2026. That measure is not yet law. The FY26 extension you can rely on. The post-FY26 permanence you cannot.

The deadlines that matter, in order

Operators triage by what is due first, so we sorted this list by date. Three deadlines cluster on 30 June 2026. Three more land in July. The R&D Tax Incentive window sits 10 months out.

The table below is the hero artifact for this post. Print it. Pin it. Most ecom operators we work with miss two or three of these every year.

Deadline	Item	What ecom operators most often miss
21 May 2026	FBT return + payment (self-lodgers)	FBT year already ended 31 March 2026, separate cycle from EOFY. Many ecom founders forget the company-provided EV or the staff Christmas party is in scope.
21 Jun 2026	May 2026 monthly BAS	Reconcile Shopify Payments and Stripe USD clearing accounts to AUD before lodging.
24 Jun 2026 (practical)	Super contributions sent to clearing house	Must be received by the super fund by 30 June to be deductible in FY26. Allow 5+ business days through clearing houses.
25 Jun 2026	FBT return + payment (via tax agent)	Same return as above but with the registered-agent extension.
30 Jun 2026	Trustee distribution resolutions	Discretionary trust trading entities. Written resolution required by 30 June or the trustee is taxed at 47%.
30 Jun 2026	Div 7A minimum yearly repayments	Loans to shareholders or directors. Minimum yearly repayment due by end of income year.
30 Jun 2026	Bad debts formally written off in accounts	Chargebacks plus long-aged Klarna or Afterpay disputes must be journaled out by 30 June to deduct in FY26.
30 Jun 2026	Stocktake snapshot + foreign currency balances	Physical count vs Shopify on-hand; freeze AUD value of Stripe, PayPal and Shopify USD balances at the year-end spot rate.
30 Jun 2026	Asset installed ready for use (IAWO)	$20K threshold. Asset must be first used or installed by this date, not just paid for or ordered.
14 Jul 2026	STP finalisation (arm's length employees)	Reconcile STP totals to GL wages and super accrual before marking each employee 'final'.
21 Jul 2026	June 2026 monthly BAS	Final monthly BAS of FY26. Last chance to true up FY26 GST adjustments (returns, refunds, gift card breakage).
28 Jul 2026	Q4 FY26 BAS (self-lodger)	Apply the Div 100 increasing adjustment for unredeemed gift card breakage at label 1A.
28 Jul 2026	Q4 FY26 SG payment	12% from 1 July 2025 onwards. Still due 28 days after quarter end.
25 Aug 2026	Q4 FY26 BAS (via registered agent)	Extended due date if lodged through a registered BAS or tax agent's lodgment program.
30 Sep 2026	STP finalisation (closely held payees)	If a spouse or director is on the payroll as a closely held payee alongside other employees, this is the closely-held deadline.
31 Oct 2026	Income tax return (no tax agent)	Individual and company returns if you are not on a tax agent's lodgment program.
30 Apr 2027	R&D Tax Incentive registration with AusIndustry	Custom Shopify app, headless build, or proprietary integration work may qualify if it passes the core and supporting activity tests.

What changed for FY26 (and why it matters)

Three things changed materially between FY25 and FY26 EOFY. If you only read 30 seconds, read this section.

The $20,000 IAWO is locked in for FY26. Treasury Laws Amendment (Strengthening Financial Systems and Other Measures) Act 2025 received Senate passage on 27 November 2025. Eligibility test: aggregated turnover under $10 million, asset first used or installed ready for use between 1 July 2025 and 30 June 2026. The "installed ready for use" wording matters. Paying a deposit on a 3PL conveyor in late June 2026 does not qualify; the asset has to be physically on site and ready to operate by 30 June. For ecom operators this typically covers warehouse racking, packing benches, label printers, pick carts, photography lighting kits, and laptops for the team. Aggregated turnover means group revenue across all connected entities, so a founder running multiple Pty Ltds needs to add them together before claiming the small business threshold.

Super Guarantee stepped up to 12% from 1 July 2025. This is the final step of the legislated SG ramp that began in 2014. Your Q4 FY26 SG payment, due 28 July 2026, is the first full quarter at 12% for most employers. If your contractor agreements have language about "SG-equivalent" payments, get them re-checked; the rate change can quietly underpay contractors if the contract referenced an older percentage.

The concessional contributions cap holds at $30,000. No change from FY25. Carry-forward unused concessional cap from prior years is still available if your total super balance was under $500,000 at 30 June 2025 and you have unused cap from any of the prior 5 income years.

A separate 2026-27 Budget measure announced on 12 May 2026 proposed making the $20K IAWO permanent from 1 July 2026. As at this publish date that bill has not been introduced or passed. Treat FY27 IAWO as TBD. Your accountant will know by September whether the permanent extension landed.

The ecom-specific GST traps generalist accountants miss

Three GST positions get fluffed every EOFY by ecom operators on Shopify. Here is how each one actually works.

Unredeemed gift cards trigger a 1/11th increasing adjustment under Div 100 of the GST Act. When you sell a Shopify gift card, GST is not attributable on issue. It becomes attributable on redemption (when the gift card is used to buy goods). When the gift card is written back as breakage (typically after 36 to 60 months of inactivity, depending on your accounting policy), the supplier must report an increasing adjustment of 1/11th of the unredeemed balance at label 1A on the BAS. Worked example: $50,000 in unredeemed gift cards as at 30 June 2026, of which $10,000 is written back as breakage. The Div 100 increasing adjustment is $10,000 ÷ 11 = $909. Lodge it on your Q4 BAS.

Amazon AU and eBay are deemed suppliers on low-value imports. If you sell goods under $1,000 into Australia through Amazon AU or eBay and those goods are imported (not held in an Australian warehouse), the EDP operator remits GST under Subdiv 84-D, not you. If you ship from an Australian 3PL or warehouse on your own ABN, you remit GST as the supplier under standard rules. Check your seller settlement reports to confirm which path each transaction took. A common error: marking all Amazon AU sales as GST-included in Shopify Orders when Amazon already remitted for a chunk of them.

Shopify Payments, Stripe and Afterpay fees are an input-taxed financial supply. No GST is charged on the merchant fee, and you cannot claim an input tax credit unless the invoice from the provider explicitly shows AU GST. Most do not. Promotional discount codes follow GST at the discounted price actually paid under section 9-75, not the gross price before discount. Goods exported within 60 days of payment are GST-free under Div 38.

Line item	GST treatment	ATO reference
Shopify Payments / Stripe / Afterpay merchant fees	Input-taxed financial supply from provider. No ITC unless tax invoice shows AU GST.	GST Act Div 11 + Div 40
Unredeemed gift card balance (write-back)	Increasing adjustment of 1/11 reported at label 1A on BAS	GST Act Div 100; ATO GST and vouchers
Gift card sale (face value voucher)	GST attributable on redemption, not on issue	GST Act Div 100
Refunds and returns	Decreasing adjustment in the BAS period the refund occurs	GST Act Div 19
Amazon AU low-value imports (under $1,000)	EDP (Amazon) remits GST as deemed supplier	GST Act Div 84 + Subdiv 84-D
Amazon AU sales shipped from AU warehouse	You remit GST as the supplier	GST Act standard rules
Goods exported within 60 days	GST-free	GST Act Div 38
Promotional discount codes	GST is on the discounted price actually paid	GST Act s9-75 + GSTR 2000/19

Year-end positions: stocktake, foreign currency, bad debts

Three positions that have to be sorted by 30 June, with the ecom-specific wrinkles operators miss.

Stocktake snapshot. Division 70 of the Tax Act lets you value trading stock at cost, market selling value, or replacement value (you can choose per item). For ecom operators that means matching your Shopify on-hand by SKU to a physical count, then valuing slow-moving or obsolete stock at the lower of cost or net realisable value (NRV is short for net realisable value, the price you would actually clear it at, less the cost to sell). Document the methodology and your provisions. The ATO accepts inventory write-downs to NRV for income tax purposes if you can show the goods are genuinely impaired (returns, expired stock, end-of-season clearance).

AUD/USD revaluation of Stripe, Shopify Payments and PayPal balances. If you hold USD-denominated balances in any payment processor at 30 June 2026, translate them to AUD at the year-end spot rate. Foreign exchange gains and losses on those receivables go through your assessable income or deductions under Division 775. Document the rate source. RBA reference rates published at 4pm Sydney time on 30 June are the cleanest reference; your bank's published TT rate is also defensible.

Bad debt write-offs. To deduct a bad debt in FY26, the debt has to be formally written off in your accounts by 30 June 2026. For ecom that includes chargeback losses that have aged past your dispute window, long-aged BNPL (buy now, pay later) disputes with Klarna or Afterpay that have not resolved, and any wholesale receivables you have decided are uncollectable. A journal entry dated 30 June. Notes file explaining the reasonableness of the call. That is the documentation standard.

Structuring before 30 June: Div 7A, trusts, super

Three high-leverage items most ecom founders should be talking to their accountant about right now.

Div 7A loans to shareholders or directors. If you have been drawing money from your Pty Ltd through the year (not as wages, not as franked dividends), you have probably triggered Division 7A. Three options before 30 June 2026: repay the drawing in full from after-tax money, declare the drawing as a dividend (with franking credits attached), or put a complying Div 7A loan agreement in place with a minimum yearly repayment over 7 years (or 25 years if secured by mortgage). The benchmark interest rate the loan must charge is published by the ATO just before 1 July each year. At publish date the FY26 rate is not yet set; check the ATO Div 7A benchmark rate page before applying.

Trustee distribution resolutions. If you trade through a discretionary trust, a written resolution distributing the trust's FY26 net income to beneficiaries must be in place by 30 June 2026. Miss it and the trustee is taxed on the undistributed income at 47% (top marginal rate plus Medicare levy). The resolution can be a board minute, a signed letter, or a trustee minute referencing the trust deed clauses; it does not need to be lodged anywhere, but it has to be dated 30 June or earlier and held in the trust's records. If the trust has corporate beneficiaries, also confirm the UPE (unpaid present entitlement) treatment with your accountant before drafting.

Super contributions. Make the contribution early enough that the fund receives the cash by 30 June. If you use the Small Business Super Clearing House or a similar provider, allow at least 5 business days. The practical cutoff for paying your June contribution is around 24 June 2026. Late by even one day and the deduction shifts to FY27.

What comes after 30 June: BAS, STP, R&D

EOFY does not end on 30 June. Four post-EOFY items to schedule into your calendar.

STP (Single Touch Payroll) finalisation. Due 14 July 2026 for arm's length employees, 30 September 2026 for closely held payees if you have a mixed payee population (some arm's length, some related-party). Before you mark each employee 'final' in your payroll software, reconcile total wages and total super accrual against the general ledger. Common error: STP totals do not match the GL because reportable fringe benefits or salary sacrifice arrangements were processed outside payroll.

Q4 FY26 BAS. 28 July 2026 if you self-lodge, 25 August 2026 via a registered agent. This is where the Div 100 increasing adjustment for gift card breakage gets reported at label 1A. Also reconcile your full-year GST position before lodging: any GST adjustments you missed during the year (refunds, returns, write-backs) can be true-ed up on Q4.

R&D Tax Incentive registration. Register with AusIndustry (Department of Industry, Science and Resources) by 30 April 2027 for FY26 year-ends. The R&DTI is two layers: AusIndustry registers your activities and confirms eligibility, then the ATO administers the tax offset claim. Custom Shopify app development, headless build work, proprietary integrations, and platform consolidation projects are the typical fits for ecom. The work has to pass the core activity test (systematic, experimental work with an unknown outcome) and the supporting activity test (work directly related to a core activity). It is fuzzy. Document everything, and brief your accountant on the projects you think might qualify before the year ends.

FBT. The FBT year ended 31 March 2026, so this cycle is already behind you for FY26 EOFY purposes. The return and payment were due 21 May 2026 (self-lodgers) or 25 June 2026 (via tax agent). If you missed it, get the return in immediately and talk to your accountant about general interest charge exposure.

The single biggest EOFY mistake we see in Australian ecom is treating 30 June as one deadline. It is not. It is a cluster of seven separate decisions (trustee, Div 7A, super, IAWO, stocktake, foreign currency, bad debts) that all happen to land on the same day, plus a stack of post-EOFY admin in July. Triage by date and by who owns each one. The founder rarely owns more than two of them.

Sources and methodology

This checklist is sourced from primary ATO guidance pages, Treasury legislation, and Department of Industry, Science and Resources guidance, with each line item verified against the relevant section of the GST Act, Income Tax Assessment Act, or Tax Administration Act.

Legislation. Treasury Laws Amendment (Strengthening Financial Systems and Other Measures) Act 2025 passed the Senate on 27 November 2025. Bill page on aph.gov.au. Treasury Minister media release. Schedule 7 extends the $20,000 IAWO to 30 June 2026.

ATO primary sources. Due dates by month. BAS due dates. $20K IAWO for 2025-26. Instant asset write-off rules (Div 328). Super guarantee (12% from 1 July 2025). Contributions caps ($30K concessional FY26). FBT rates 2026. STP end-of-year finalisation. STP closely held payees. Trustee resolutions checklist. Div 7A benchmark interest rate. Valuing trading stock (Div 70). Foreign exchange gains and losses (Div 775). GST and vouchers (Div 100). EDP operator guidance. R&D Tax Incentive registration deadline. business.gov.au R&DTI.

Open items at publish date. The FY26 Division 7A benchmark interest rate is published by the ATO just before 1 July each year and was not yet set on this post's publish date. Check the ATO Div 7A benchmark rate page before applying a complying loan agreement. The permanent $20K IAWO measure announced in the 2026-27 Budget on 12 May 2026 was not yet law as at publish date; treat FY27 IAWO threshold as TBD.

Limitations. This is not tax advice. Every line item should be confirmed with a registered tax agent against your specific entity structure, group composition, and reporting obligations. Aggregated turnover thresholds (for IAWO and other small business concessions) require you to add revenue across all connected and affiliated entities, which is fact-specific and often gets miscalculated by founders running multiple Pty Ltds.

If you have decided you need the role itself and not just compliance, see our virtual CFO services.

Frequently asked questions

when is eofy 2026?

The Australian End of Financial Year (EOFY) 2026 is 30 June 2026. The 2025-26 financial year runs from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026, so 30 June 2026 is the hard deadline for FY26 tax planning, super contributions, trust distributions, and asset purchases.

when is the eofy date?

In Australia the EOFY date is 30 June every year. For FY2026 that falls on Tuesday 30 June 2026, and the new 2026-27 financial year begins the next day, 1 July 2026.

when does the australian financial year end?

The Australian financial year ends on 30 June. The 2025-26 financial year ends 30 June 2026 and the following 2026-27 financial year ends 30 June 2027. This differs from the calendar year and from the US and UK tax years.

is the $20,000 instant asset write-off actually law for fy26 or is it still a proposal?

It is law for FY26. The Treasury Laws Amendment (Strengthening Financial Systems and Other Measures) Act 2025 passed the Senate on 27 November 2025 and extended the $20,000 instant asset write-off to assets first used or installed ready for use between 1 July 2025 and 30 June 2026, for small businesses with aggregated turnover under $10 million. Note the 2026-27 Budget announcement on 12 May 2026 proposed making the $20K threshold permanent from 1 July 2026, but that measure is not yet law.

when is the q4 fy26 bas due if i lodge quarterly?

28 July 2026 if you self-lodge. 25 August 2026 if you lodge through a registered BAS or tax agent under their lodgment program. Monthly lodgers, your May 2026 BAS is due 21 June and your June 2026 BAS is due 21 July.

what do i need to do before 30 june if i trade through a family trust?

A trustee resolution distributing the trust's FY26 income must be in writing and dated on or before 30 June 2026. Miss it and the trustee is taxed on undistributed income at 47% (top marginal rate plus Medicare levy). Most ecom founders trading through a discretionary trust forget this until the first week of July.

how do i make my june super contribution count as a fy26 deduction, what date do i need to pay by?

The contribution has to be received by the super fund by 30 June 2026, not just sent by you. Allow at least 5 business days through a clearing house. The practical cutoff for paying your June contribution is around 24 June 2026 if you use the Small Business Super Clearing House or a similar provider.

what is the gst treatment of unredeemed shopify gift cards at year end?

Under Division 100 of the GST Act, when a face-value voucher (most Shopify gift cards qualify) is written back as breakage, the supplier must report an increasing adjustment of 1/11th of the unredeemed balance at label 1A on the BAS. On a $10,000 unredeemed gift card balance that is roughly a $909 GST adjustment most ecom founders never lodge.

who remits the gst when i sell through amazon au or ebay, me or the marketplace?

For low-value imported goods (under $1,000) sold through an electronic distribution platform (EDP) like Amazon AU or eBay, the marketplace is the deemed supplier and remits the GST under Div 84 of the GST Act. If you ship from an Australian warehouse on your own ABN, you remit GST as the supplier under the standard rules. Check your seller settlement reports to confirm which path your sales took.

how do i value usd cash sitting in stripe at 30 june?

Translate the closing USD balance to AUD at the 30 June spot rate. Foreign exchange gains and losses on receivables and payables go through your assessable income or deductions under Division 775 of the Tax Act. Document the rate source (your bank's published rate or the RBA reference rate) so your accountant can defend the valuation if it ever gets queried.

can shopify app development or custom theme work qualify for the r&d tax incentive?

It may qualify if the work passes both the core activity test (systematic, experimental work with an unknown outcome) and the supporting activity test (work directly related to that core activity). Custom Shopify app builds, headless commerce platform builds, and proprietary integrations are the typical fits. Register with AusIndustry (Department of Industry, Science and Resources) by 30 April 2027 for FY26 year-ends.