Every dollar saved is a dollar earned. Small business owners wear many hats, and tax planning often slips to the bottom of the list, which is how good deductions go unclaimed year after year. These are the five we most often find sitting on the table when a new client brings us their previous returns.
1. Home office expenses
If part of your home genuinely functions as your workplace, a corresponding share of the running costs is claimable, yet this is routinely underestimated or skipped entirely.
- A portion of rent or mortgage interest (depending on circumstances)
- Electricity, internet and phone
- Depreciation on office furniture and equipment
2. Prepaid expenses
Small businesses can prepay up to 12 months of expenses like insurance, rent, subscriptions or training, and deduct the lot in the year of payment. Paying before June 30 pulls next year’s deduction into this year’s return. Simple, legal, and widely unused.
3. Instant asset write-off
Eligible businesses can immediately deduct the full cost of assets under the current threshold instead of depreciating them over years: laptops, tools, desks, vehicles, software. Buy a $3,000 laptop for the business and the whole amount can come off this year’s income.
4. Motor vehicle expenses
Using your car for work? Inconsistent record-keeping makes this the most under-claimed deduction we see. A logbook or tracking app that cleanly separates business from personal use protects the claim.
- Fuel and maintenance
- Lease or loan interest
- Registration and insurance
- Depreciation
5. Self-education and training
Courses, seminars, professional subscriptions and industry materials are deductible when directly relevant to how you earn, and most business owners never claim them. Upskilling is good for the business twice over.
Don’t let deductions slip away
Minimise tax, maximise opportunity. None of these require aggressive positions, just knowing they exist and keeping the records to support them. A proactive accountant checks all five (and the rest) as a matter of routine.