The end of the financial year is approaching. What are your options?

With the end of the financial year fast approaching, it can be an excellent time to evaluate your finances and set your goals for the future. 

It’s generally a time when we are more aware of our finances and motivated to take some time to review plans from a career, personal finance, health, relationships, passions and causes we care about. 

With June 30 under a month away, we’ve set out some options you may consider seeking advice on to set you up for the next financial year and beyond.

Boost your superannuation

1: Add to your super and get a tax deduction

If you are employed, self-employed, or earn taxable income from other sources (such as investments), you could claim a tax deduction by making an after-tax super contribution before June 30.

2: Get more from your salary or bonus

If you are an employee, arrange for your employer to contribute some of your pre-tax salary or a bonus into super as part of a salary sacrifice agreement. This may mean you pay less tax on your salary and increase your retirement savings.

3: Convert your savings into super savings

If you have money outside your super that you’d like to invest for retirement, you could make an after-tax super contribution which may help you pay less tax on investment earnings and increase your retirement savings.

4: Get a super top-up from the government

If you earn less than $54,838 pa from your job or business and make an after-tax super contribution, you are eligible to receive a Government co-contribution of up to $500 which may help increase your retirement savings.

5: Boost your spouse’s super and reduce your tax

If your spouse earns less than $40,000 pa, you may be eligible to make an after-tax contribution into your spouse’s super account. This will increase your spouse’s retirement savings, and you could receive a tax offset of up to $540.

To use any of these strategies, you’ll need to meet certain conditions. Contribution caps and thresholds are also increasing from July 1 2021. This may impact contribution strategies and should be considered when deciding whether to contribute in FY 2020/21. One of our team of financial advisers can assess your eligibility and help you determine which strategies are appropriate for you.

Make donations to Charity

If you want to support a charity and receive a tax deduction for doing so, now is a good time to make your donation to ensure you can claim it as a deduction.

When you donate, make sure you receive your receipt via email as evidence and make your claim in your 2020-2021 tax return.

Bring forward deductions and delay income

End of the financial year is an appropriate time to bring forward tax deductions by spending money before June 30 and delay taxable income after July 1. Delaying income is particularly relevant for self-employed, business owners or investors who may be looking to sell investments for financial gain. It can make sense to defer receipt of this income until the new financial year, depending on your circumstances.

Be prepared for the next financial year

In an ideal world, we would all have our records and reports in order before June 30, but this is often not the case. If you have this in order before June 30, it makes it much easier to begin the process of submitting both business and personal tax returns before other distractions take your focus away. 

Any money you are owed is much better in your pocket, so make sure you have your records in order so you can submit your returns quickly and put the money to good use.

General Advice Warning

Any advice or information in this publication is of a general nature only and has not taken into account your personal objectives, financial situation and needs. Because of that, before acting on the advice, you should consider its appropriateness to you, having regard to your personal objectives, financial situation and needs. Before making a decision to acquire a financial product, you should obtain and read the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) relating to that product, it is important for you to consider these matters and to seek appropriate advice. Past performance is not a reliable guide to future returns. The information in this document reflects our understanding of existing legislation, proposed legislation, rulings etc as at the date of issue. In some cases, the information has been provided to us by third parties. While it is believed the information is accurate and reliable, this is not guaranteed in any way. Opinions constitute our judgement at the time of issue and are subject to change. Neither we nor our employees give any warranty of accuracy, nor accept any responsibility for errors or omissions in this document. Identity McIntyre Pty Limited and Specialist Advice Pty Limited are Authorised Representative(s) of IMFG Pty Limited Limited ABN 18646084666, AFSL number 527657, an Australian Financial Services Licensee, Registered office at Level 8, 171 Clarence Street, Sydney NSW 2000.