Source : the age
This new financial year – more so than for a long time – requires a whole new financial strategy. If you’ve heard the internet, Instagram and TikTok lingo, you need to get ‘moneymaxxing’ – or you’ll find it a lot more taxing.
Here are the steps I am taking.
Step 1: I’m not falling for the automatic $1000 deduction. Bundled into the mega-bill that included the changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax (we’ll come back to that) was a gifted $1000 tax deduction for every Aussie, every year from now.
But the thing is: that might end up costing you money. I started carefully keeping all receipts for employment/business spend and anything deductible from July 1, so I know if works out better to simply claim it.
Step 2: I’m revising my bill-smoothing and bill-moving. Each year I add up all big, infrequent bills that don’t come out via direct debit (I never pay periodically if there’s a loading or penalty for doing so) and establish a new required savings figure from each pay.
This is called bill smoothing. But to make it work properly – it’s still possible to face a big cost when there’s not enough in the coffers – you might need to get bill moving.
There are two super giveaways and freebies of which everyone eligible should be availing themselves, every year.
The bills you can shift to a less expensive time of year by paying, say, six months instead of 12, include registration and insurances. And note that rates can mostly be by monthly instalment without penalty. And while we’re talking direct debits …
Step 3: I’m automating my “affluence”. Daily life gets in the way of good long-term intention. So take away the temptation.
Every new financial year I think about how much I can feasibly afford to whiz out of each pay for financial comfort, whether for my next holiday or something bigger-picture like early retirement.
This is the really good stuff – not the fleeting day-to-day frittering – so I prioritise it. It’s easy to stick to the schedule and make it actually happen by setting up an automatic deduction/s of your decided amount for immediately after you are paid.
If you have a mortgage, this should be housed in an offset account alongside of it, so it will save you lashings of loan interest.
If you don’t, for money you won’t need in the short term, consider investing it in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for the possibility of higher returns than from an online savings account – but realise these carry the risk of losing money too.
Step 4: I’m sanity-checking my super. First, know that it’s now law that you’re paid your super at the same time as your salary. Second, there are two giveaways and freebies of which everyone eligible should be availing themselves, every year.
If you are employed and earn less than $64,293 this tax year, there is a bonus $500 into super on offer if you pay in $1000 after tax yourself. That’s only about $20 a week.
And there is a massive opportunity for couples/families here where one person earns less than $40,000. If the higher earner contributes $3000 into the other’s super, they will get a tax offset of up to $540.
For this one, the receiving spouse also doesn’t have to be working, so it’s great to help balance super where couples are raising kids, and it still only requires you to put away $60 a week.
Of course, this is prime time to check your super will swell to the most possible. Despite the war and massive market swings, your benchmark for a decent fund will probably be an annual return of about 8 per cent for the financial year (final figures aren’t available yet).
In calendar year 2025, SuperRatings reported the median fund balanced fund made 8.8 per cent. The YourSuper tool on myGov lets you compare – and maybe contrast – the top funds with your own.
Step 5: I’m keeping my private health. I’m keeping mine, and you should also keep or get private hospital cover if you will earn $105,000 as a single or $210,000 as a couple this tax year.
It is at those thresholds that the Medicare Levy Surcharge kicks in if you don’t have it. This is a penalty of up to 1.5 per cent of your assessable income, including any reportable super contributions and fringe benefits.
At a potential cost of $3075 for a couple on $246,001 of income (the salary at which the rate jumps up to 1.25 per cent this tax year), you may as well safely get covered.
You can find the best value policies on the independent privatehealth.gov.au. And know that you can cut the cost by opting for an excess as high as $750 for a single or $1500 for a couple.
Step 6: I’m refinancing my new home loan. If you do just one thing this financial year, make it this. There is huge variation in mortgage interest rates which make a huge difference to how much you pay.
Even though my home loan is quite new, and was the best in market when I took it out, I’m about to ditch and switch to a now-better lender.
Say you move a pretty typical $700,000 loan – yes, the average has now pushed above that – from an uncompetitive 7 per cent to a far sharper 6 per cent (there are even some loans charging a little below 6 per cent). You will slash your monthly repayments by $437 – which more than cancels last year’s rate rises.
What about savvy property investment strategy under the new tax system? Remember, if you build or buy new, all the old negative gearing and capital gains tax perks are still available.
This includes knocking down your home and building, say, a duplex in its place. Anything that adds to housing supply counts. And if you hold an existing property investment, you’ll get to keep your negative gearing too.
It’s all food for financial thought for the new, very different financial year.
Nicole Pedersen-McKinnon is author of How to Get Mortgage-Free Like Me, available at nicolessmartmoney.com. Follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.
- Advice given in this article is general in nature and is not intended to influence readers’ decisions about investing or financial products. They should always seek their own professional advice that takes into account their own personal circumstances before making any financial decisions.
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