Our November 2025 newsletter highlights some key tax changes and developments that may affect you or your business.
What’s new?
Small business instant asset write-off
A Bill before Parliament will extend the $20,000 instant asset write-off for another year until 30 June 2026. The instant asset write-off is available to a small business (annual aggregated turnover under $10 million) that uses the simplified depreciation rules.
This means that if your business qualifies for the instant asset write-off, it can deduct in the current income year (2025-26) the full cost of an eligible depreciating asset costing less than $20,000 if it is first used, or installed ready for use, before 1 July 2026. This also applies to additional expenditure under $20,000 (incurred before 1 July 2026) on an existing depreciating asset.
Other consequences of this measure are:
- The low value pool threshold is extended for a further 12 months until 30 June 2026 – this means that if the value of the general small business pool (at the end of the 2025-26 income year) is less than $20,000, it can be written off in full; and
- The “lock-out” rule is suspended for a further 12 months until 30 June 2026 – this rule prevents a small business that stops using the simplified depreciating rules from using those rules again for 5 years.
Payday super
From 1 July 2026, employers will be required to pay their employees’ Superannuation Guarantee (SG) at the same time as their salary and wages. This is called “Payday super”. Legislation to implement the “Payday super” regime was recently introduced into the Parliament.
The key reforms are:
- Employers must pay SG at the same time as salary and wages;
- SG contributions will generally need to reach employees’ super funds within 7 business days;
- A new concept called “qualifying earnings” (QE) will be used to calculate both SG contributions and the SG charge;
- The deadline for super funds to allocate or return contributions that cannot be allocated will be reduced to 3 business days, down from 20;
- ATO systems will be improved to include faster payments and new services, like the Member Verification Request, that will help reduce the likelihood of rejected contributions;
- The Small Business Superannuation Clearing House (SBSCH) will be closed to new registrants from 1 October 2025, and all users from 1 July 2026; and
- Employers will need to report both QE and Super Liability via Single Touch Payroll (STP).
The ATO has published draft guidance on its compliance approach for employers for the first year of Payday super. The draft guidelines set out the factors the ATO will consider when deciding how to apply compliance resources to investigate employers in relation to the first year of Payday Super.
The proposed compliance approach will recognise that employers who try to do the right thing from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027, and resolve any issues quickly, should not be the focus of ATO compliance action.
Public register for unlisted companies
The Government has announced that it will develop a public, Commonwealth-operated register of beneficial ownership information for unlisted companies.
The intention is to improve awareness of who ultimately owns, controls or receives profits from a company or legal vehicle operating in Australia. The Government will seek to develop the public ownership register in conjunction with ASIC’s current work on its own companies register, the capacity of which is being increased.
The media release (from the Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury) states that the Government will engage with stakeholders to further progress detailed policy development work on the beneficial ownership register from early 2027, with public consultation expected thereafter.
Note that there is legislation currently before Parliament which will enhance the beneficial ownership disclosure obligations that currently apply to listed entities.
Super reforms
You may have been aware that the Government had proposed a 15% tax rate on earnings attributable to the part of an individual’s Total Superannuation Balance (TSB) that exceeds, as at the end of a financial year, $3 million. The 15% rate (called Div 296 tax) would be in addition to the existing 15% tax rate. The reforms were proposed to start from 1 July this year.
The Government has decided to make changes to the proposed Div 296 tax. The key changes are:
- The $3 million threshold will be indexed to the Consumer Price Index (in $150,000 increments);
- Div 296 tax will not apply to unrealised gains;
- An additional tax rate of 10% (ie in addition to the 30% rate) will apply to TSBs that exceed $10 million; and
- The start date will be 1 July 2026.
Small business benchmarks
The ATO publishes small business benchmarks that help you compare your business’ performance against similar businesses in the same industry.
Performance benchmarks are financial ranges for your industry. They help you work out how your business compares to other businesses and decide if you need to make any changes. Performance benchmarks apply to 100 industries.
Performance benchmarks include tax return benchmark ranges from information provided by businesses on their tax returns. These include:
- Cost of sales to turnover (excluding labour);
- Total expenses to turnover;
- Labour to turnover;
- Rent to turnover; and
- Motor vehicle expenses to turnover.
The ATO uses benchmarks and other risk indicators to identify businesses that may be avoiding their tax obligations by not reporting some of their income or overclaiming deductions.
The ATO compares information reported in business tax returns with the key performance benchmark for their industry. Their industry is based on:
- Business industry codes;
- The description of the main business activity on their tax return; and
- The business’ trading name.
When the ATO chooses to investigate a business’ tax records, it uses a wide range of factors. The ATO says that it never uses the benchmarks in isolation when deciding to review a business or when looking at the business’ records.
Published 27 November, 2025