Financial Year
Australia's financial year runs 1 July to 30 June. FY 2025-26 = 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026. Tax returns lodge after year-end via ATO myTax or tax agent.
The Australian financial year (also called the income year or fiscal year) runs from 1 July to 30 June. For example, the 2025-26 financial year starts on 1 July 2025 and ends on 30 June 2026. All income, deductions, and tax obligations are calculated on this annual cycle, and tax returns are lodged after the financial year ends.
This differs from many other countries that use the calendar year (January to December) as their tax year. The financial year cycle affects the timing of PAYG withholding, quarterly BAS lodgements, superannuation guarantee payments, and estimated tax instalments. Many businesses also align their accounting periods with the financial year.
Key dates to remember: since 1 July 2026, employers must pay SG contributions within 7 business days of each payday under Payday Super (replacing the old 28-days-after-quarter-end system). Individual tax returns are due 31 October (or later through a tax agent). The ATO opens myTax for lodgement from 1 July each year.
How it works
Australia's financial year, also called the income year, runs from 1 July to 30 June, so the 2025-26 financial year covers 1 July 2025 through 30 June 2026. Every income tax calculation, deduction, and offset is worked out on this twelve-month cycle rather than the calendar year that many other countries use, and a tax return can only be lodged once the financial year it covers has ended. Businesses generally align their own accounting periods with the same cycle.
In everyday terms, the financial year sets the rhythm for a lot of routine tax admin: PAYG withholding runs continuously through it, quarterly BAS lodgements are timed against it, and superannuation guarantee obligations are measured against it too — since 1 July 2026, employers must pay SG contributions within 7 business days of each payday under Payday Super, rather than the old system of paying within 28 days of quarter-end. Individual tax returns for the year just finished are then due by 31 October.
The main trap is assuming 'this year's tax rules' means the calendar year you're currently in — a change announced mid-2026, for instance, might apply from 1 July 2026, partway through the calendar year, rather than from 1 January. Straddling a financial year boundary also matters for timing decisions like prepaying a deductible expense or realising a capital gain, since which side of 30 June a transaction falls on can shift it into a different year's tax outcome entirely.
Example: SG timing under Payday Super
An employee is paid on Wednesday 15 July 2026, which falls within the 2026-27 financial year. Under Payday Super, which applies from 1 July 2026, the employer must pay the superannuation guarantee contribution for that pay within 7 business days of the payday.
Counting 7 business days from 15 July, skipping the weekend of 18-19 July, lands the deadline on roughly 24 July 2026. That's a much tighter window than the old system, under which the employer could have waited until 28 days after the end of the whole quarter to pay the same contribution.
Related Terms
Tax Return
An annual form lodged with the ATO reporting your income, deductions, and tax payable or refundable for the financial year.
ATO (Australian Taxation Office)
The government agency responsible for administering Australia's tax and superannuation systems.
PAYG Withholding
The system where employers withhold income tax from employees' wages and remit it to the ATO throughout the year.
Business Activity Statement (BAS)
A form lodged with the ATO to report and pay GST, PAYG withholding, PAYG instalments, and other business tax obligations.