End of Financial Year Checklist

End of Financial Year

30 June comes around fast — and on a farm, it often collides with harvest, seeding, or a busy livestock period. Here's your complete EOFY checklist to make sure nothing gets missed.

The end of the financial year is one of the most important dates on the calendar for any farm business — and one of the easiest to underprepare for. Between what's happening on the ground and what needs to happen in the books, it can feel like a lot to manage at once.

This checklist breaks it down into sections so you and your bookkeeper can work through it methodically before 30 June, and wrap up the few remaining tasks in early July. Work through each section with your AgBooks bookkeeper to make sure your records are clean, your obligations are met, and your accountant has everything they need to finalise your return.

📅 Key dates to keep in mind 30 June 2026 — End of financial year. Super must be paid by this date to claim an income tax deduction in 2025–26.

14 July 2026 — STP finalisation deadline. All employee income must be finalised in your payroll software by this date.

28 July 2026 — Final quarterly super payment due under transitional rules (last quarter before Payday Super).

1. Review Your Farm Business Performance

Before the year closes, take stock of how the business has actually performed. This isn't just an accounting exercise — it's where good decisions for next year come from.

• Review your Profit and Loss statement — Understand what each enterprise contributed (cropping, livestock, other), where costs blew out, and where there's room to tighten up heading into the new year. If you're not sure how to read your P&L, your AgBooks bookkeeper can walk you through it.
• Check your Integrated Balance Account — Log in to the ATO Business Portal and confirm whether you owe any money to the ATO. If you do, paying before 30 June reduces your exposure to interest charges.
• Review director superannuation contributions — The concessional (before-tax) super contributions cap is $30,000 for 2025–26. If you're a director and haven't maximised your contributions, speak to your accountant now — not after 30 June.
• Review your asset register — Remove obsolete or written-off items from your asset list. Flag any equipment that has been sold, scrapped, or is no longer in use. This directly affects depreciation calculations and capital gains tax.
• Identify pre-30 June deductible purchases — Are there purchases you've been planning that could be made before year end to bring forward a deduction? This includes fuel, fertiliser, chemicals, repairs, subscriptions, and eligible equipment under the instant asset write-off. Talk to your accountant before acting — cash flow matters too.
• Back up and secure your financial data — Ensure your Xero data is current and all bank feeds are reconciled. If you store any records locally, make sure they're backed up off-site or in the cloud.

2. General Tax Checks

A few targeted actions before 30 June can make a meaningful difference to your tax position for the year.

Maximise deductions before 30 June

• Service farm vehicles and equipment — Any vehicle or machinery serviced before 30 June becomes a deductible expense in 2025–26. This is a good time to get utes, tractors, spray units, and other equipment looked at ahead of the next season.
• Pay outstanding fees, memberships, and subscriptions — AgForce, NFF, industry body memberships, Xero and other software subscriptions — paying these before 30 June brings the deduction into the current year.
• Prepay deductible bills where possible — Insurance premiums, phone accounts, and other regular business outgoings paid in advance may be deductible this year. Check with your accountant on what applies to your situation.
• Fuel tax credit claims — Make sure all eligible fuel purchases have been captured for your BAS fuel tax credit claims throughout the year. Your AgBooks bookkeeper can help confirm nothing has been missed.

Finalise last year's adjustments

• Confirm all adjustments from the prior year's tax return have been entered into Xero.
• Check that your GST private usage adjustment has been processed. If your accountant identified private use expenses in last year's return, the GST adjustment should have been applied to a subsequent BAS. Confirm this is done.
• Ensure your prior year tax return has been lodged and a copy retained.

Stock and livestock

• Complete a stock and livestock count at 30 June — An accurate count is required for your tax return. For livestock, this means a head count by class (breeders, weaners, steers, etc.) at the close of 30 June.
• Review grain and commodity inventory — If you're holding grain or other commodities at year end, confirm the quantity on hand and how it's being valued (cost, market selling value, or replacement value — your accountant will advise the appropriate method).
• Write off unsaleable or obsolete stock — If you have chemical, seed, or other stock that is no longer viable, write it off before 30 June and adjust your records accordingly.

Plant, equipment, and depreciation

• Obtain your depreciation schedule from your accountant and review it against what you actually have on the farm.
• Remove any assets that no longer exist, have been sold, or are irreparably obsolete.
• Flag any new assets purchased during 2025–26 that haven't yet been added — especially any under $20,000 that may qualify for the instant asset write-off.

3. Payroll Checks

EOFY payroll obligations have a hard deadline — 14 July for STP finalisation. Get these sorted before or immediately after 30 June.

• Check superannuation contributions are within the concessional cap — The cap for 2025–26 is $30,000 per person. If any employee or director is approaching or over the cap, notify them immediately so they can make informed decisions before the year ends.
• Pay super before 30 June to claim the deduction this year — Super guarantee is not technically due until 28 July, but to claim the income tax deduction in 2025–26, the payment must clear your bank account before 30 June. Don't leave this until the last day — allow time for processing.
• Reconcile all payroll records in Xero — Ensure every pay run for the year is reconciled, all super payments are recorded, and there are no unresolved discrepancies.
• Confirm all casual and seasonal worker records are complete — Farm businesses often have a higher volume of short-term workers. Make sure every casual employee who worked during 2025–26 is correctly recorded, including correct TFN details and super fund information.
• Complete STP finalisation by 14 July Deadline — Under Single Touch Payroll, you no longer need to produce individual payment summaries. Instead, you must submit an STP finalisation event in Xero by 14 July 2026. This makes each employee's income data available through their myGov account for lodging their tax return. Your AgBooks bookkeeper can manage this for you.
• Note: Payday Super applies from 1 July 2026 — From the first pay run of the new financial year, super must be paid alongside wages and reach the employee's fund within 7 days. Make sure your payroll setup is ready before you process your first July pay run.

4. Bookkeeping and Records

Your accountant can only do their best work if your records are complete and accurate. This is where your AgBooks bookkeeper adds the most value at EOFY.

• Reconcile all bank accounts and credit cards — Every account should be fully reconciled to 30 June, with no unmatched transactions outstanding.
• Clear outstanding debtors and creditors — Review your accounts receivable and payable. Chase up any outstanding invoices, and confirm whether any bad debts need to be written off before year end.
• Review loan accounts — Check that all loan balances are accurate and reconciled against your lender statements. This includes seasonal finance facilities, equipment loans, and any family or director loan accounts.
• Ensure all receipts and purchase records are captured — Any expense claimed needs to be supported by a record. If receipts are missing, now is the time to track them down. Xero's receipt capture tools can help you stay on top of this throughout the year.
• Confirm BAS lodgements are up to date — All BAS lodgements for 2025–26 should be submitted and any amounts owing paid or arranged. Confirm there are no outstanding BAS obligations before your accountant begins the tax return.

EOFY on a Farm Is Different

Most EOFY guides are written for generic small businesses. For farm operations, there are layers that don't apply elsewhere — livestock counts, commodity inventory, fuel tax credits, seasonal worker records, multiple enterprise tracking, and the intersection of a busy operational period with a heavy compliance period.

That's exactly why having a bookkeeper who understands agriculture makes a genuine difference at this time of year. You shouldn't have to explain what a joining rate is or why your cash flow looks the way it does in June.

At AgBooks Australia, we work alongside cropping and livestock operations all year round — so EOFY is a wrap-up, not a scramble.

Ready to Close Out the Year Cleanly?

Let's make sure your records are complete, your obligations are met, and your accountant has everything they need before the 30 June deadline.

Talk to the AgBooks Team

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