Borrowing around EOFY: a month-by-month plan for business owners

An EOFY borrowing plan is a timetable for the finance decisions that cluster around 30 June: buying assets in time for the tax year, funding the July BAS, managing payroll and super, and applying for credit while your paperwork is at its most convincing. Most owners make these calls in the last fortnight of June. The ones who make them in April usually pay less and wait less.

The 2026–27 year is the first full cycle under two changes that reshape the calendar: the $20,000 instant asset write-off is now permanent, and super is paid with every pay run under Payday Super. Here is how to sequence the year.

What’s different about EOFY borrowing from 2026–27?

Three rules now sit underneath every EOFY decision:

• The $20,000 instant asset write-off is permanent. The ATO confirms that from 1 July 2026, businesses with aggregated turnover under $10 million can immediately deduct eligible assets costing less than $20,000, on a per-asset basis. Dearer assets go into the small business pool, and a pool balance under $20,000 at year end can also be written off.
• Super is paid each payday. Payday Super started on 1 July 2026. The ATO says contributions must reach employees’ funds within seven business days of paying them. The last old-style quarterly payment, for April–June 2026, was due on 28 July 2026.
• ATO interest costs more after tax. GIC incurred from 1 July 2025 is no longer deductible, so running late on the July BAS has a higher real cost than it did. Our guide to ATO interest after 1 July 2025 covers the detail.

Together these change the shape of the year. The write-off rewards planning purchases earlier; Payday Super spreads a cost that used to arrive in four lumps; and the dearer GIC makes the late-July BAS worth funding properly.

When should you start arranging EOFY finance?

In April. Work backwards from what must be true by 30 June:

When	What to do	Why it matters
April	Decide which purchases are genuinely needed this year; get quotes	Supplier lead times and finance approvals both take weeks
May	Apply for equipment or vehicle finance; review cash for the July BAS	Your current-year figures still look recent to a lender
Early June	Settle finance; arrange delivery and installation	The asset must be first used or installed ready for use by 30 June
By 30 June	Stocktake, write off bad debts, confirm assets in use	business.gov.au lists stocktake and bad-debt write-offs as pre-30 June tasks
1–14 July	Finalise payroll through Single Touch Payroll	The ATO asks employers to finalise STP data by 14 July
By 28 July	Lodge and pay the April–June BAS	ATO due date for quarterly lodgers lodging themselves
August–October	Prepare financial statements and returns	Many lenders will want these for applications assessed on full financials

How does finance fit with the instant asset write-off?

The write-off decides when you can deduct the cost; finance decides how you pay for it. Two rules from the ATO matter most for timing: the threshold applies per asset, and the asset must be first used or installed ready for use in the income year you claim it. An excavator delivered on 3 July doesn’t count for the year that ended on 30 June, however early you signed the paperwork.

How you finance the asset can also affect who claims the deduction, because ownership differs between structures such as a chattel mortgage, a hire purchase and a lease. Confirm the treatment with your accountant before you choose. Our earlier guide on financing an instant asset write-off purchase goes deeper on structures, second-hand assets and the cash-versus-finance decision.

The rule we give every client: the deduction is a reason to bring forward a purchase you were going to make anyway, never a reason to buy something you don’t need.

Planning purchases for this financial year? Get an equipment finance approval in place early — the enquiry itself doesn’t involve a credit check.

How should you plan for the July BAS?

Set the cash aside before June ends. For quarterly lodgers, the April–June activity statement is due on 28 July, and for many businesses it is one of the larger payments of the year, landing in a month when trade in several industries is quiet.

A simple approach:

1. Estimate the June quarter’s GST and PAYG withholding at the start of June using your accounting software.
2. Move that amount into a separate account as receipts come in.
3. If a shortfall is likely, decide in June whether to cover it from a business line of credit, a short-term facility or an ATO payment plan.
4. Compare costs in dollars. A plan keeps the ATO informed but accrues daily-compounding GIC that is no longer deductible.

How will Payday Super change EOFY cash flow?

It removes a familiar spike and adds a steady drain. Under the old system, employers could hold the June quarter’s super until late July. Under Payday Super, super leaves with each pay run and must reach the fund within seven business days. That means:

• No quarterly super float. The cash many businesses unknowingly used as working capital is gone.
• Smoother but more frequent outflows. Weekly or fortnightly payroll now carries its super with it.
• Tighter margins in seasonal businesses. Where wages run ahead of receipts in a peak period, the gap arrives sooner. Our page on seasonal cash flow finance covers how lenders size those facilities.

How does EOFY affect what lenders ask for?

The calendar changes the paperwork. Before 30 June, the last completed year’s financials and the current year’s BAS tell a lender a fresh story. In the months after, lenders that assess full financials often want the year just ended, and those accounts may not be ready until your accountant finishes them. That is why EOFY applications are best lodged in May.

Lenders that work from bank statements and BAS are much less affected. So are low doc lenders. If you need finance in July or August and your returns aren’t done, those routes keep you moving. Our guide on tax returns and borrowing explains lodgement timing in more detail.

Which finance suits each EOFY need?

Match the facility to the job rather than reaching for one loan to cover everything:

EOFY need	Structure that usually fits	Watch for
Vehicles, plant and equipment	Equipment finance or chattel mortgage	Delivery and installation dates
Year-end stock buy	Short-term loan or trade finance	Stock that won’t sell until spring
June quarter BAS	Line of credit or short-term facility	Fixing the GST habit, not just the bill
Payroll and super in a slow July	Line of credit or overdraft	Limits sized to your worst month
Fit-out or premises upgrade	Term loan, often property-secured	Pool depreciation rather than instant write-off

The business loans hub covers each of these structures. Separating these keeps each cost visible and stops a long-term loan quietly paying for short-term gaps.

What EOFY mistakes cost owners most?

• Buying for the deduction. A $15,000 asset you don’t need still costs $15,000 less the tax saved.
• Settling finance but missing installation. Delivery and commissioning delays push the deduction into next year.
• Spending the GST. The July BAS then arrives with nothing set aside.
• Applying in late August with no accounts. Avoidable delays for full-doc lenders.
• Ignoring super timing. Payday Super catches out businesses that relied on the quarterly lag.

An illustrative example

Illustrative only. Round numbers, no real business, not tax advice.

A café group with turnover around $3 million plans an $18,000 commercial coffee machine and a $60,000 kitchen fit-out upgrade. In April the owner gets quotes and confirms with the accountant that the machine is eligible for the write-off, while the fit-out goes through the pool. In May the business secures equipment finance for the machine and a separate fit-out facility, and both are installed by mid-June. The owner also estimates a $38,000 June-quarter BAS, banks the GST weekly, and sets up a modest line of credit as a backstop. Payday Super is built into the weekly cash flow forecast. By 28 July the BAS is paid in full, the machine is deducted in the year it was installed, and no ATO interest accrues.

Ready to get your EOFY finance sorted early?

The owners who finish June calmly are the ones who arranged their finance in May. Tell us what you’re planning to buy or fund and a lending specialist will line up the right structure before the rush. We don’t run a credit check on the first enquiry, your details go to one specialist rather than a list of lenders, and you’ll talk to a person who understands the tax-time calendar. Give accurate figures for turnover, timing and any tax owing so the match is right first time.