The End of Financial Year: When Is It and What You Need to Know

You’re likely already familiar with the EOFY year acronym – it’s plastered on sale signs and held as a major benchmark in businesses worldwide. But when is the end of financial year in Australia and is it something that everyone acknowledges around the world? Let’s investigate.

When is the end of financial year in Australia?

Unlike the calendar year, which starts January 1 and ends December 31, the end of the financial year occurs in the middle. The financial year ends each year on June 30 and begins again on July 1.

In Australia this year, June 30 falls on a Sunday, with the new 2024-25 financial year beginning on Monday, July 1.

What is significant about the end of financial year?

The EOFY is typically a business or financial term indicating the time that businesses are required to finalise their accounts for the previous 12-months and report their income. AKA it’s tax time.

The end of the financial year encompasses all the work and income you’ve received between the 12 month period between July 1 and June 30, which is usually accumulated into an income statement by your employer and submitted to the Australian Taxation Office so that you can process your tax return.

From July 1, Aussies are able to file their tax return for the previous 12 months and receive that, hopefully, juicy tax refund. However, there are some reasons you may want to refrain from submitting too early.

Is the end of financial year the same around the world?

The fiscal year or financial year is recognised in the majority of countries, however, the dates may vary.

For example, the United States’ financial year runs from October 1 through September 30, India’s starts on April 1 and ends on March 31, and the UK FY begins on April 6 before ending on April 5.

Australia is actually one of the few countries that marks its fiscal year at the halfway point of the calendar year, alongside New Zealand, Bangladesh, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malaysia and others.

What should you do before EOFY?

The new financial year is typically when budgets reset, so this is typically when you’ll see businesses move to spend any remaining money before it is subsumed by a new budget.

This is also the ideal time to make any purchases you plan to claim as a deduction on your tax return so that they can be counted before the FY ticks over. In an effort to cater for this, it’s also a time that you’ll see a lot of businesses run hot deals in their EOFY sales, so take advantage if you’ve been holding off on buying something.

If you’re wondering what sort of purchases might be good to make prior to June 30, here’s a list of suggestions from an accountant.

Lead Image Credit: iStock/Warner Bros.