Tax Policy by U-Turn

Australian tax planning requires two calendars: the financial year and the government’s latest position. The 2026–27 Budget contains immediate measures, staged measures and reforms requiring legislation. Treating all three as law is how a spreadsheet becomes historical fiction.

The headline measures

The Budget announced a reduction of the 16% personal income-tax rate to 15% from 1 July 2026 and 14% from 1 July 2027. It also proposed a $1,000 instant deduction for work-related expenses from 2026–27, while allowing taxpayers with larger substantiated deductions to continue claiming under ordinary rules.

Business measures

The Budget’s business package includes making the $20,000 instant asset write-off permanent from 1 July 2026, an option for eligible small businesses to move to monthly PAYG instalments from 1 July 2027, and work with States and Territories on payroll-tax administration. Details and eligibility still need to be checked against the final legislation.

The flip-flop problem

Superannuation concessions, individual rates, property settings and small-business write-offs have all travelled through announcement, redesign, delay and revival. Sometimes that reflects consultation or parliamentary arithmetic. For a transaction, the reason matters less than the legal status on the day it is implemented.

Plan with gates, not guesses

For each measure, record whether it is announced, exposed for consultation, introduced, passed, assented to and commenced. Build alternatives where a proposal materially affects timing. A board paper should not say ‘the Budget changed the law’ unless Parliament has had its turn.