Most people assume superannuation contributions are either made by their employer or set up through salary sacrifice. But there’s a third option many Australians overlook — and it can deliver a meaningful tax saving before 30 June if you act in time.

What is a personal deductible contribution?

A personal deductible contribution is money you transfer directly from your own bank account into your super fund — not through your employer, not through salary sacrifice. You then claim it as a tax deduction in your personal return. The contribution is taxed inside the fund at 15% rather than at your marginal tax rate. For someone on a 34.5% marginal rate (including Medicare levy), that’s a saving of 19.5 cents in every dollar contributed. At the top marginal rate of 47%, the saving is 32 cents per dollar.

The Notice of Intent — a step most people miss

Here’s where many people come unstuck. It’s not enough to simply make the contribution. To claim the deduction, you must lodge a valid Notice of Intent to Claim a Deduction with your super fund — and you must do this before you lodge your tax return. Your fund must also acknowledge receipt before the deduction can be claimed. If you lodge your return first and forget the notice, you generally lose the right to claim. That’s a significant and entirely avoidable mistake. Some funds let you lodge the notice online; others require a paper form — check with your fund well before 30 June.

The 30 June deadline and the concessional cap

The contribution must be received by your super fund before 30 June for it to count in the 2025–26 financial year. Electronic transfers usually clear within one to two business days, but don’t leave it to the last moment — some funds have cut-off times, and a transfer that clears on 1 July belongs to the following year. The annual concessional contributions cap for 2025–26 is $30,000. This cap covers all concessional contributions: employer super guarantee payments, salary sacrifice, and personal deductible contributions combined. Check what your employer has already contributed before topping up, to avoid accidentally exceeding the cap.

Who benefits most?

Personal deductible contributions work particularly well for the self-employed, who don’t receive compulsory employer super and may be behind on retirement savings. They also suit employees with spare cash at year-end or those wanting to reduce taxable income below a particular threshold. If you haven’t used your full concessional cap in recent years and your total super balance was below $500,000 on 30 June last year, you may also be able to access carry-forward contributions to make additional catch-up payments above the standard cap. The 30 June deadline is real and unforgiving — the money must be inside your fund by the end of the financial year, so start the process now.

If you’d like to know whether a personal deductible contribution makes sense for your situation this year — including how much you can contribute within the cap — please contact us before 30 June. We can run the numbers and make sure the right steps are taken in the right order.

With the end of the financial year just weeks away, most business owners are heads-down managing day-to-day operations. But this is precisely the time to pause and take stock of how your business is actually performing — not just how it feels. A structured review of your key financial metrics now gives you the chance to fix problems, capture opportunities, and walk into the new financial year with a clear picture.

Gross profit margin

Start with your gross profit margin — the percentage of revenue left after you subtract the direct cost of delivering your product or service. If your margin is tracking below budget or below where it was at this point last year, something has changed. Either your prices haven’t kept up with rising input costs, your cost of goods has crept up without you noticing, or your sales mix has shifted toward lower-margin work. Any of these is worth investigating before they become a bigger problem in the new financial year.

Debtor days and cash flow

How long are your customers actually taking to pay you? Debtor days — the average number of days between issuing an invoice and receiving payment — is one of the clearest signals of cash flow health. If your debtor days have stretched out compared to the same period last year, you may have a growing pile of unpaid invoices quietly eroding your working capital. Now is a good time to identify your slow payers, review your payment terms, and consider whether your invoicing and follow-up process needs tightening. On the other side, check your creditor days too — are you paying your suppliers on time, or are there outstanding bills building up?

Revenue vs forecast and cash in the bank

Pull your year-to-date revenue and compare it directly against what you planned at the start of the year. If you’re tracking behind, ask why — is it a market issue, a pricing issue, or a specific client or product line underperforming? If you’re tracking ahead, consider whether your cost base has scaled appropriately, or whether there’s an opportunity to invest before 30 June. Then look at your bank balance right now compared to this time last year. Cash is the ultimate reality check — it doesn’t lie the way profit figures sometimes can.

End-of-year tax planning and write-offs

Before 30 June, this is also the window to consider whether there are any write-offs you should be taking — bad debts you’ve been holding onto, obsolete stock, or assets that are no longer in use. It’s also worth reviewing whether there are any asset purchases or prepayments that make sense to bring forward into this financial year. These decisions are worth running past your accountant rather than making on the fly — the tax implications vary depending on your business structure and current-year income.

The difference between planning and reacting

Businesses that review their numbers regularly — not just at tax time — consistently make better decisions. The metrics above aren’t just housekeeping; they’re the early warning system that tells you whether your business is on track or quietly drifting off course. Taking an hour now to work through these figures is one of the most valuable things you can do before the new financial year begins.