Your Tax Questions Answered: A Q&A on Deductions, CGT, and EOFY Traps

Australian Tax Questions Answered for EOFY

Every year, the same questions land in our inbox, and a few new ones too. Rather than answer them one at a time, we've pulled together the most common questions from listeners and clients and answered them all in one place.

At Aevum Accounting, we'd rather bust a myth before it costs you money than fix it after the fact. Here's what people are actually asking us this EOFY.

Our Client's Experience: 

Ben has been my accountant for years now, and I honestly don't know what I'd do without him. I'm not the most organised person, but Ben somehow manages to make the whole process smooth, stress-free, and even kind of enjoyable. He's super friendly, incredibly patient, and always goes above and beyond to help. You can tell he genuinely cares and takes the time to get things right.

— Emily Cairns

When do I actually need an accountant instead of doing it myself?

It's never about a dollar figure. It's about complexity. If your tax profile is one standard salary and a handful of basic deductions, the ATO's myTax app does the job fine.

The moment you add a second moving part, the equation changes. The three biggest triggers we see every day are moving from a standard salary to self-employment, such as a side hustle with an ABN, buying an investment property (which brings rental income, depreciation, and negative gearing into play), and holding a share portfolio or trading crypto.

If you're on the fence, we offer a free 15-minute initial consult. Jump on a call, tell us your situation, and we'll tell you honestly whether you need us. And remember, whatever you pay an accountant this year is 100% tax deductible next year.

Should I lodge my tax return in the first week of July?

It's a terrible idea, and here's why. If you lodge that early, your data is incomplete. A lot of essential workers, including paramedics, won't have their single touch payroll finalised until around the 14th of July.

It's even worse for investors. ETF and managed fund tax statements often don't get released until September. Lodge in early July and you'll miss that income entirely, which can lead to an ATO audit later. Wait for the data to pre-fill before you lodge.

Working from home: fixed rate or actual cost method?

It's the classic trade-off between convenience and maximum dollars. The fixed rate method gives you a flat 70 cents per hour worked from home, and for most employees, it's the winner. Unless you're bringing clients into your home to run a business, you can't claim a portion of your rent or council rates anyway, so the fixed rate captures most of what you're entitled to.

The best strategy is to keep a clean logbook of your hours and don't forget the physical assets. You can still claim depreciation on headphones, laptops, and monitors on top of the 70 cent hourly rate.

How does Aevum's pricing actually work?

Nobody likes a surprise bill. If you want to do everything online, an email tax return starts at $330. We send you a secure portal, you upload your receipts, and we handle the rest. A face-to-face or video meeting starts at $440.

For more complex situations, we add flat, transparent fees: an investment property adds $100, capital gains calculations add $100, and a sole trader business adds $100. If you bring us a shoebox full of crypto trades, we'll tell you upfront what it'll cost to untangle before we start.

What documents do I need for shares and dividend reinvestment plans?

If you've got a mountain of paperwork from broker statements and dividend reinvestment plans (DRPs), here's the checklist of what actually matters: your buy and sell contract notes from your broker to establish your cost base, and your dividend statements, including every single DRP statement.

DRPs are a headache because every time a company automatically rolls your dividend into buying more shares, the ATO treats it as a brand new tiny purchase at that day's market price. Miss tracking even one of those micro transactions and your capital gains calculations can end up significantly overstated when you eventually sell. If you bring us your registry logins, we can reconstruct that full history for you.

I'm over the Division 293 threshold. Is salary sacrificing into super still worth it?

Division 293 kicks in when your combined income plus super contributions cross $250,000. At that point, the ATO adds an extra 15% tax on your contributions inside super, bringing your total super tax to 30%.

That sounds rough, but compare it to the alternative. Even at 30% inside super, that's still well below the top personal marginal rate of 47%. The concession shrinks, but it doesn't disappear, and you're still ahead.

Worth noting: from 1 July, the concessional contribution cap is increasing to $32,500, giving high earners even more room to use this strategy.

Is the new $1,000 instant deduction automatic?

This one needs busting before people stop tracking receipts. First, it's not in play for the current tax return. It's proposed to start from 1 July 2026. Second, it's not a $1,000 cash bonus. It's a standard deduction, which only reduces your tax bill by a few hundred dollars depending on your tax rate. Third, it's completely optional. If your real, documented work expenses add up to more than $1,000, you're better off claiming the actual receipts.

What happens to a capital loss if I don't have a gain to offset it against?

If you sell a share or property at a loss, you have to report it in that financial year, even if there's nothing to offset it against right now. The ATO automatically rolls the loss forward indefinitely. It sits on your record, ready to offset future gains, for as long as it takes. The one thing it can never do is reduce tax on your salary.

I've got a big CGT bill coming from selling investment properties. How do I reduce it?

Start with the obvious levers: hold the asset for over 12 months to access the 50% CGT discount, offset the gain with any realised capital losses, and build a complete cost base, including stamp duty, legal fees, buying agent commissions, and capital improvements.

Then there's the secret weapon: timing. Capital gains events trigger on the contract date, not the settlement date. A contract signed on 29 June versus 2 July can shift the entire tax bill into a different financial year. If you know you're dropping a tax bracket next year, pushing the contract signing to July can save you thousands.

I'm electrifying my investment property. Can I claim the new electric oven as a repair?

Almost certainly not. Swapping a gas cooktop for a new electric oven is an upgrade, not a repair, so it needs to be depreciated over its effective life. And don't ask your electrician to split the invoice to bury the cost of the oven in the installation labour. The ATO sees through it, and the saving isn't worth the risk.

How serious do I need to be about receipts if I'm just starting out?

You don't need to hoard every grocery receipt, but anything work-related needs a record. The simplest system: create a folder in your Google Drive or Dropbox called "tax." The moment you buy a work phone case or pay a union fee, snap a photo and drop it in. Come July, hand us the folder and your part is done.

The June 30 traps to avoid

A few things catch people out every single year:

• The laptop trap: buying a $2,000 laptop on 29 June only gets you two days' worth of depreciation for that financial year, not the full cost

• Super contribution timing: a $10,000 super contribution made on 30 June that doesn't clear until 2 July misses the deduction entirely. Make contributions by 15 June to be safe

• Buying things just for the deduction: if your tax rate is 30% and you spend $1,000 on tools purely for the write-off, you only get $300 back. You're still $700 out of pocket. Never buy something just for the tax break

Got a Question of Your Own?

These are the ones we hear most, but every situation has its own wrinkles. If something here applies to you, or raised a question we haven't covered, the team at Aevum Accounting is happy to talk it through.

Click here to book a free 15-minute consult or lock in your tax planning session.

Still have questions about your own return? Our Perth tax accountants can answer them, with fixed fees quoted up front.

Disclaimer: The information and strategies shared in this article are for general informational purposes only and do not constitute specific tax or financial advice. Everyone's situation is unique, and tax laws are complex and constantly evolving. For personalised advice tailored to your specific individual or business needs, we always recommend consulting with a qualified professional at Aevum Accounting.