As the end of the financial year (EOFY) approaches, now is the time to review your finances and take advantage of available strategies to reduce tax, boost your retirement savings, and ensure you’re on track with your goals.

Below are key strategies you can consider before 30 June to make the most of the current financial year.

1. Maximise Superannuation Contributions

Superannuation remains one of the most tax-effective ways to build wealth for retirement.

Concessional Contributions

These are pre-tax contributions and include employer super guarantee, salary sacrifice, and personal deductible contributions. The cap for 2024–25 is $30,000. If you haven’t fully used your concessional caps from the previous five years and your total super balance is under $500,000 on 30 June the previous year, you may be eligible to carry forward unused cap amounts under the carry-forward rule.

Non-Concessional Contributions

These are after-tax contributions. The annual cap for non-concessional contributions is $120,000. If you’re under age 75 and your total super balance is under $1.9 million as at 30 June 2024, you may also be able to bring forward up to three years of contributions in one year, allowing you to contribute up to $360,000 without breaching the cap.

This can be a powerful strategy for individuals who receive a windfall, inheritance, or sell an asset and want to boost their retirement savings significantly.

2. Government Co-Contribution

If you’re a low- or middle-income earner and make a personal (non-concessional) contribution to your super, you may be eligible for the government co-contribution of up to $500.

To qualify:

• You must earn less than $60,400for the 2024–25 financial year.
• At least 10% of your income must come from employment or business.
• You must be under age 71 at the end of the financial year.
• You can’t exceed the non-concessional contribution cap or have a total super balance over $1.9 million.

Even small contributions can go a long way with the help of government incentives.

3. Spouse Contributions

If your spouse earns under $37,000, you can make a non-concessional contribution into their super and potentially receive a tax offset of up to $540.

This strategy not only helps grow your household’s combined retirement savings but also offers a tax benefit today. Partial offsets are available for spouse income up to $40,000.

4. Contribution Splitting

You can also split up to 85% of your concessional contributions made in the previous financial year with your spouse, provided they’re under preservation age or under age 65 and not retired.

This strategy helps equalise super balances between spouses, which can be beneficial for managing tax and accessing super earlier depending on age and circumstances.

5. Review Gifting and Gifting Thresholds

For those looking to support children or grandchildren financially, gifting can be a useful strategy—but it’s important to understand the rules.

Centrelink allows individuals to gift up to $10,000 per financial year, or $30,000 over five years, without impacting age pension entitlements. Amounts above this may be counted as a deprived asset for Centrelink purposes and included in your assets and income tests for five years.

If gifting is part of your broader financial or estate planning strategy, make sure it’s timed and structured carefully.

6. Offset Capital Gains with Capital Losses

If you’ve made any capital gains during the year, now is a good time to review your investment portfolio. Realising capital losses on underperforming assets can be used to offset gains and reduce capital gains tax (CGT).

However, ensure that any disposals are genuine and comply with ATO rules—‘wash sales’ (where the asset is sold and quickly repurchased) are not permitted.

7. Prepay Deductible Expenses

Pre-paying certain expenses can bring-forward the tax deduction and reduce assessable income in 2024/25. Examples of deductible expenses that may be pre-paid include:

• premiums on an income protection policy held outside super
• interest on a fixed rate investment loan
• expenses for a rental property, and
• work related subscriptions.

8. Review Your Tax Structure and Asset Protection

If you’re self-employed, a business owner, or a high-income professional, the right structure—such as a family trust, company, or self-managed super fund (SMSF)—can make a big difference in protecting your assets and optimising tax.

A trust, for example, allows you to distribute income to beneficiaries in lower tax brackets, while also offering potential asset protection benefits.

EOFY is the ideal time to assess whether your current structures still meet your needs and whether any changes are worth considering in the new financial year.

EOFY isn’t just about ticking boxes—it’s an opportunity to take control of your financial future. From boosting your super and reducing tax to aligning your structure with your goals, small changes now can lead to long-term benefits.

Remember, there’s no one-size-fits-all strategy. The best approach depends on your unique situation, goals, and priorities. If you’re not sure where to start, I’m happy to help you explore your options and make the most of this EOFY.

Get in touch if you’d like to review your position before 30 June.