Australian Financial Year Dates: EOFY Guide for Small Business

• Tax
• Small Business
• Accounting
• Bookkeeping

The Australian financial year is the 12-month period most businesses use for tax, accounting and annual reporting. It runs from 1 July to 30 June, so the current 2026-27 financial year started on 1 July 2026 and ends on 30 June 2027. The next financial year, 2027-28, starts on 1 July 2027.

For small businesses, the financial year is more than a calendar label. It is the cycle that shapes bookkeeping, BAS and GST checks, payroll finalisation, tax planning, reports for advisers, and the end-of-financial-year review commonly called EOFY.

The financial year gives your business a clear reporting period: what happened between 1 July and 30 June, what records support it, and what needs to be lodged, reviewed or planned next.

Quick answer

In Australia, the financial year generally runs from 1 July to 30 June. The ATO explains that an individual tax return covers the income year from 1 July to 30 June, and that people lodging their own tax return usually need to lodge or engage with a tax agent by 31 October. Businesses may have different due dates depending on structure, lodgement history, tax agent arrangements and obligations such as BAS, payroll tax or company reporting.

For a small business owner, the practical habit is to treat 30 June as a checkpoint. Before and after that date, review your bank reconciliation, invoices, bills, payroll, Profit and Loss, balance sheet, GST records and tax evidence so your accountant or BAS agent is not rebuilding the year from memory.

FY2026–27 key dates

These dates were checked against official guidance on 3 August 2026. The 15 May 2028 entry is an indicative tax-agent program date, not a universal or yet-confirmed deadline for 2026-27 returns. Always check the due date shown in ATO online services or confirm it with your registered tax agent.

Key points

• The Australian financial year runs from 1 July to 30 June.
• FY 2027, FY27 and 2026-27 usually refer to the year ending 30 June 2027.
• EOFY means end of financial year, when businesses clean up records, reports and tax evidence.
• Your financial year work should connect bookkeeping, GST/BAS, payroll, super, assets, cash flow and adviser review.
• Good EOFY preparation starts with current records, not a last-minute scramble in June.

Financial year terms explained

Different people use slightly different labels for the same period. The table below shows the common wording.

This is why a June invoice, a July payment and a late supplier bill can matter. The date that belongs in the accounts may affect which financial year the income, expense, GST, asset or liability appears in.

Why the financial year matters for small business

It frames your tax records

Your business records need to explain what happened during the year: sales, purchases, wages, super, GST, assets, loans, owner drawings and other transactions. If those records are late or incomplete, tax time becomes slower and riskier.

The Australian Government’s end of financial year checklist recommends getting records ready, preparing a Profit and Loss statement, reviewing debtors and creditors, collecting asset records, checking deductions and completing tax or compliance tasks. That is a good plain-English starting point for small businesses.

It gives reports a consistent period

Reports only make sense when the period is clear. A Profit and Loss shows income and expenses over time. A balance sheet shows assets, liabilities and equity at a point in time. A cash flow statement explains cash movement.

The financial year gives those reports a shared frame. You can compare this year with last year, prepare tax information, discuss results with an adviser and make decisions for the next period.

It affects payroll and employer tasks

If you employ staff, 30 June is a payroll checkpoint. Employers may need to use an STP finalisation checklist, review PAYG withholding, check employee records, reconcile wages and super, and prepare for any 1 July pay-rate, tax-table or super changes.

Payroll should not sit outside the books. Wage expenses, withholding liabilities, Superannuation Guarantee and bank payments need to line up with the accounting records.

It helps plan the next year

EOFY is also a planning moment. Once the records are current, you can review pricing, cash pressure, unpaid invoices, supplier bills, stock, fixed assets, debt, tax obligations and software needs for the year ahead.

The best EOFY work usually creates two outputs: cleaner records for the year just finished and a simpler routine for the year about to start.

What to check before 30 June

A small business does not need an elaborate EOFY process. It needs a clear sequence.

1. Reconcile bank accounts and credit cards so cash records match bank statements.
2. Review unpaid customer invoices and supplier bills.
3. Check GST coding and prepare for your next BAS or IAS.
4. Review payroll, STP, PAYG withholding and super records if you employ staff.
5. Update fixed asset records for purchases, disposals and depreciation.
6. Check loans, owner drawings, director loans or shareholder payments with your adviser.
7. Run Profit and Loss, balance sheet and cash flow reports.
8. Collect evidence for deductions, assets, GST, PAYG, super and other tax positions.
9. Back up records and make sure the right people can access them.
10. Note recurring issues to fix in the new year.

If your bookkeeping is behind, start with bank reconciliation. It is the control that usually exposes missing income, duplicated expenses, private spending, unreconciled transfers and payments that have not been matched to invoices or bills.

What changes on 1 July?

Some changes are routine. New reporting periods begin. Payroll settings may need review. Budgets reset. Accountants and bookkeepers begin preparing prior-year work. Businesses also start making decisions based on the new year’s cash flow, tax and compliance settings.

Some changes are policy-specific. For example, Australian businesses may need to watch tax-rate, PAYG withholding, superannuation, payroll tax, BAS or software changes that apply from a particular 1 July. The 2026-27 and 2027-28 income tax cuts, for example, are a payroll and planning signal for employers even if the dollar effect per employee is modest.

For the 2026-27 year, the ATO’s 2026 PAYG withholding tax tables say all 15 withholding schedules and 12 tax tables are being updated and will apply from 1 July 2026. Employers should make sure payroll software, employee settings and review routines are ready before the first pay run in the new financial year.

Employers that still use the ATO’s Small Business Superannuation Clearing House also need a separate super checkpoint. The ATO says the SBSCH closes from 1 July 2026, with access for existing registered users until 11:59 pm AEST on 30 June 2026.

If that applies to your business, use the SBSCH closure and Payday Super checklist to download records, test a replacement payment path and map the first July 2026 pay run.

Do not assume every headline applies to your business. A sole trader, company, trust, GST-registered business and employer may all have different obligations.

How different business types should think about EOFY

If your business has unusual transactions, get advice early. EOFY is not the time to guess the accounting treatment for a car purchase, private-use asset, dividend, loan, trust distribution or complex GST issue.

How Gimbla can help

Gimbla helps keep everyday records close to the reports you need at EOFY. Invoices, bills, receipts, payments, bank reconciliation, GST settings, payroll records and reports all work better when they are part of the same accounting file.

Useful starting points include:

• Create an invoice
• Bank reconciliations
• GST, VAT and sales tax
• Small business bookkeeping checklist
• Fixed asset depreciation
• Capital Gains Tax (CGT)
• Australia Budget 2026 takeaways

Software will not replace professional tax advice, but it can make the advice process much easier. Clean records mean fewer questions, fewer missing documents and a better chance that reports reflect the business that actually happened.

Frequently asked questions

What are the Australian financial year dates?

The Australian financial year generally runs from 1 July to 30 June. For example, the 2026-27 financial year starts on 1 July 2026 and ends on 30 June 2027.

What does EOFY mean?

EOFY means end of financial year. For small businesses, it is the period when you finish bookkeeping, review reports, check tax records, finalise payroll tasks and prepare for lodgements or adviser review.

Is FY 2027 the same as 2026-27?

Usually, yes. FY 2027, FY27 and 2026-27 commonly refer to the financial year ending 30 June 2027. Some organisations may use their own reporting labels, so check context when reading reports.

Do all businesses lodge tax returns on 31 October?

No. The ATO says people lodging their own individual tax return generally need to lodge or engage with a tax agent by 31 October, but business due dates can vary by structure, lodgement history, agent arrangements and other obligations. Check your ATO account or registered tax agent if you are unsure.

In short

The Australian financial year is simple on paper: 1 July to 30 June. The hard part is keeping the records clean enough that the year can be explained.

Use EOFY as a checkpoint. Reconcile the bank, clean up invoices and bills, review reports, check BAS and payroll records, collect evidence and make a short list of improvements for the next year. That is how the financial year becomes a useful business rhythm rather than a once-a-year panic.