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Start the New Financial Year Strong: Key Tax Conversations Darwin Business Owners Should Have Before & After EOFY

Start the New Financial Year Strong: Key Tax Conversations Darwin Business Owners Should Have Before & After EOFY

by | Jul 1, 2025 | Bookkeeping, Business, Local government, Superanuation, Taxation, Wealth Management

As the financial year comes to a close, business owners across Darwin and the Northern Territory should be shifting focus from compliance to strategy. The end of financial year (EOFY) isn’t just about wrapping up accounts — it’s a valuable opportunity to sit down with your accountant and position your business for a stronger year ahead.

At Lowrys, we’re proud to be Darwin’s local accounting experts, helping Territory businesses navigate the nuances of tax planning, cash flow, and long-term growth. Here’s what we recommend discussing with your accountant as we move from EOFY to the new financial year (FY).

1. Review the Past Year’s Financials

Start by reflecting on your performance over the past 12 months.

Ask your accountant:

  • Did we meet our financial goals?
  • Were there any surprises in our tax liabilities?
  • What did our profit and loss statement reveal about spending trends?

Understanding your financial story helps identify areas for improvement and opportunities for better financial control going forward.

2. Maximise Deductions Before June 30

Darwin businesses — especially tradies, sole traders, and small operators — often miss out on valuable deductions. Before June 30, consider:

  • Prepaying expenses (e.g. rent, insurance)
  • Writing off obsolete inventory
  • Claiming depreciation on eligible assets
  • Making super contributions for staff and owners

Tip: The NT’s unique economic activity and seasonal cash flows may impact when it makes most sense to time certain expenses. A local accountant like Lowrys understands this context better than most.

3. Get Clear on Tax Obligations for the Year Ahead

Now’s the time to plan for future obligations like:

  • PAYG instalments
  • Superannuation guarantee increases
  • Fringe benefits tax (FBT) impacts
  • Upcoming ATO changes (e.g. payday super)

Staying ahead helps smooth out cash flow and avoid nasty surprises.

4. Update Your Business Structure or Strategy

Has your business grown? Are you expanding into remote NT locations? Opening a new service in Palmerston or Katherine?

It may be time to:

  • Consider switching from sole trader to a company or trust
  • Reassess your ABN and GST obligations
  • Revisit how profits are distributed
  • Review how your business aligns with your personal wealth goals

5. Set Clear Financial Goals for the New FY

EOFY is the perfect chance to set strategic goals for the year ahead — not just for survival, but for growth.

You might want to discuss:

  • Budgeting and forecasting for the wet and dry seasons
  • Setting revenue and profit benchmarks
  • Reviewing your pricing model
  • Planning for upcoming capital investments

Having a roadmap with checkpoints and tax implications in mind helps keep your business on track — and accountable.

6. Leverage Government Incentives & NT Grants

Northern Territory businesses have access to several unique grants and government incentives that many other states don’t offer. Make sure you ask:

  • Are there any NT-specific grants or rebates we can apply for?
  • Can we take advantage of federal programs like the Instant Asset Write-Off?

A knowledgeable Darwin accountant can help you navigate both the federal and NT-specific programs available.

7. Talk About Your Personal Wealth Plan

Tax planning shouldn’t just serve your business — it should serve your life goals too.

Talk to your accountant about:

  • Retirement and superannuation strategies
  • Transitioning to SMSF (if appropriate)
  • Asset protection and estate planning
  • How your business profits fit into your long-term wealth creation plan

Book Your EOFY Planning Session with Lowrys Today

Whether you’re running a small business in Darwin CBD, expanding across the Top End, or just want clarity heading into the new financial year — the team at Lowrys is here to help.

We live and work in the NT, and we understand the local business environment. Let’s sit down and map out your next steps together.

📞 Get in touch with Lowrys today to book your EOFY planning session.

Staying safe from scammers who impersonate the ATO

Staying safe from scammers who impersonate the ATO

by | Dec 8, 2023 | Business, Local government

The ATO social media pages on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are great resources for tax and super information. People from across the community go to these pages to ask tax and super questions, as you do in ATO Community.

Unfortunately, scammers on Facebook and Twitter have upped their game recently and are responding to some questions and comments on the ATO Facebook and Twitter social media posts, offering support and inviting commenters to direct-message them. These scammers often use profiles that impersonate the ATO and have their name and branding. While the social media teams are removing these posts as quickly as they can and are working with the social media platforms to have these accounts removed, new accounts continue to emerge.

The above picture is an example of an impersonator offering support in the replies of a person’s twitter post. Note they are not using the Official ATO account.

The ATO will never use their social media platforms to ask you to provide personal information or documentation or ask you to make payments. They will only ever communicate with you ‘as the ATO’ on social media with the Official ATO accounts. You can be sure you’re engaging with the ATO on Facebook when you see the blue verification tick next to their name. Similarly, the Twitter account shows a grey checkmark and the word ‘Official’ under their username. You can verify them on LinkedIn by ensuring that the account you’re engaging with:

• has the official ATO logo and organisational name next to the message. Beware of slight variations on their name, like ‘Australia’ rather than ‘Australian’ Taxation Office
• only provides you with email addresses that end with ‘.gov.au’
• doesn’t have typos or grammatical errors in its messages
• has a large number of account followers (almost 200,000 followers at the time of writing).

The ATO does not use other platforms such as Reddit, TikTok and WhatsApp to communicate with you.

ATO Community isn’t totally impervious either. Some users have been registering accounts with NameATO usernames. This makes their responses look like they are from ATO staff members, the ATO Community moderators will remove these when they see them.

If you’re approached by a social media account that is impersonating the ATO, don’t engage with it. You may wish to report posts from these accounts via the message options in each channel. The social media teams are also actively removing and reporting these messages as soon as they’re identified.

There is more information about other tax-related scams and how to report them available on the ATO Community website.
https://www.ato.gov.au/General/Online-services/Identity-security-and-scams/Verify-or-report-a-scam/