The Australian financial year, and why 1 July matters
Why the income year runs from 1 July to 30 June, which year a date belongs to, and what actually changes at EOFY besides a new tax scale.
Last reviewed 7 September 2026 · about 7 minutes to read · written and checked by the OzCalc editorial team
The year is labelled by the two calendar years it touches
Australians talk about “the 2026–27 year” because the income year starts in one calendar year and finishes in the next. The label is the start year, an en dash, and the last two digits of the end year. Nothing in that label is a tax rate. It is only a name for the 365 or 366 days that run from 1 July through 30 June inclusive.
If the month is July–December, the FY starts this calendar year. If the month is January–June, the FY started on 1 July last year. 19 August 2026 → 2026–27 (1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027) 19 June 2026 → 2025–26 (1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026)
The trap is 30 June. It feels like the start of something, but it is the last day of the old year. A bonus paid on 30 June 2026 is 2025–26 income. The same bonus paid on 1 July is 2026–27 income, and it is assessed under a different set of brackets.
What actually changes on 1 July
A surprising number of everyday figures are attached to the income year rather than to the calendar. Using a January rate on a June payslip, or last year’s HELP threshold on this year’s salary, is how people talk themselves into the wrong answer.
| What changes on 1 July | Who sets it | 2026–27 figure |
|---|---|---|
| Resident tax brackets | ATO / Parliament | $18,200 / $45,000 / $135,000 / $190,000 |
| Medicare levy shade-in (single) | ATO | $28,011 to $35,013 |
| HELP repayment threshold | ATO | $69,528 before any repayment |
| Superannuation guarantee | ATO | 12% of ordinary time earnings |
| SG maximum contribution base | ATO | Capped quarterly; see the super guide |
These are income-year figures. A calendar-year tool imported from overseas will apply the wrong ones for half the year.
The resident brackets themselves are walked through in Australian income tax brackets for 2026–27. The superannuation guarantee — including what “ordinary time earnings” means and where the maximum contribution base cuts in — is in the superannuation guarantee, explained.
A worked walk through late June and early July
Which year is this pay in?
Sam is paid $3,653.85 every fortnight. One payday falls on 30 June 2026, the next on 14 July 2026.
- 30 June 2026 pay
- Belongs to 2025–26, assessed at 2025–26 rates
- 14 July 2026 pay
- Belongs to 2026–27, withheld using 2026–27 Scale 2
- PAYG on each pay
- Uses the scale in force on the payment date
- The tax return
- Two separate returns, two sets of brackets, two HELP thresholds
The two pays look identical on the bank statement and are not identical for tax. If Sam also gets a bonus in that fortnight, the payment date — not the period the bonus was earned in — is what usually decides the year, unless a specific ATO rule says otherwise.
EOFY is a deadline, not a sale
End of financial year is when three clocks run out at once. Deductible expenses you want in this year’s return have to be incurred by 30 June. Employers have to finalise PAYG reporting. And the ATO’s self-lodgement window for the year that has just closed ordinarily runs to 31 October.
What EOFY is not
- It is not the day tax rates reset for a calendar-year calculator. Those rates reset on 1 July.
- It is not when HELP indexation is applied. Study-loan indexation has its own date, covered in the HELP guide.
- It is not a reason to take a deduction you did not incur. Bringing forward a genuine expense is ordinary planning; inventing one is not.
The financial year calculator names the year a date belongs to and how many days remain in it. For the assessment itself, use income tax. For the withholding already taken out of a pay, use PAYG or read how PAYG withholding is calculated.
Common questions
When does the 2026–27 financial year start and end?
It starts on 1 July 2026 and ends on 30 June 2027. Income earned on 30 June 2026 still belongs to 2025–26; income earned on 1 July 2026 belongs to 2026–27.
Why doesn’t Australia use the calendar year for tax?
The 1 July year predates Federation in colonial bookkeeping and was kept when federal income tax arrived. It also sits after the 30 June reporting date used by many companies and government agencies, so the individual return season starts once those books are closed.
Is the financial year the same as the income year?
For most individuals, yes. The ATO calls it the income year; everyday speech says financial year or FY. Both mean 1 July to 30 June. Some companies are allowed a substituted accounting period, which this guide does not cover.
When do I have to lodge my return?
If you lodge yourself, the ATO’s ordinary due date is 31 October after the year ends. Registered agents can lodge later under a lodgement program. This site names the year a date belongs to; it does not track your personal due date.
Do tax rates change on 1 July or on 1 January?
Individual rates, the Medicare levy thresholds, HELP repayment thresholds and the superannuation guarantee are all set for an income year, so they change on 1 July. A pay rise in March is still taxed under the year that started the previous July.
What is EOFY?
End of financial year: the weeks around 30 June. Retailers use it for sales. Employers use it to finalise PAYG. Individuals use it as the last chance to bring forward a deductible expense into the year that is closing.
Which year do OzCalc’s tax calculators use?
The default is 2026–27. Where a second year is available you can switch, and every page shows the ATO source and the date the figures were last reviewed.
Try it with a calculator
- Financial yearSee which financial year a date falls in, and how many days remain in the current year.
- Income taxEstimate income tax, LITO, Medicare and optional HELP from taxable income for 2026–27, including foreign resident rates.
- Tax comparisonCompare tax, Medicare and take-home on two resident salaries for 2026–27.
- SalaryEstimate weekly, fortnightly, monthly and annual take-home pay from an Australian resident salary, using ATO PAYG withholding for each pay and year-end tax for the annual figure.
Keep reading
- Australian income tax brackets for 2026–27The resident rates, what a marginal rate does and does not mean, and why moving into a higher bracket never reduces your take-home pay.
- How GST works in AustraliaAdding GST is ten per cent; removing it is one eleventh. Why the two are different, plus GST-free items, invoices and rounding.
- The Medicare levy and the Medicare levy surchargeTwo separate charges that are often confused. Who pays the 2% levy, who pays the surcharge on top, and when private hospital cover costs less than the surcharge.
Sources
Australian Taxation Office
1 July to 30 June · Last reviewed 2026-09-07
Australian Taxation Office
Income year 1 July to 30 June · Last reviewed 2026-09-07
Australian Taxation Office
Tax rates — Australian residents
2026–27 income year · Last reviewed 2026-09-07
Australian Taxation Office
Super guarantee rate and maximum contribution base
2026–27 income year · Last reviewed 2026-09-07
Estimates only. Not tax, legal or financial advice. Check official sources before relying on a figure.
Rules change and mistakes happen. If a figure on this page looks wrong, tell us and we will check it against the source.