Essential Guide to Small Business Super and Tax Tune-Ups: Maximise Your Savings

This year is shaping up as one of the biggest for tax and superannuation reform.

Several major changes begin on 1 July, so small businesses that aren’t prepared face compliance headaches, cashflow pressure and ATO scrutiny.

Here’s what you need to know.

Super must be paid every pay day

The most significant change is the introduction of Payday Superannuation. Payday Super will help employers meet their super guarantee (SG) obligations and help protect the retirement funds of millions of Australians.

From 1 July, employers must pay super at the same time as wage and salary payments.

That means Super Guarantee (SG) contributions must be in an employee’s account within seven business days of each pay day.

For new employees or those paying into a new super fund, you have 20 business days for the first payment to reach the account.

The new rules also include changes to how you calculate and report contributions.

Super will be calculated at 12% of qualified earnings (QE). These include ordinary time earnings, salary sacrifice contributions and certain payments to contractors who are treated as employees.

You must include the year-to-date (YTD) amounts of QE and super liability in each Single Touch Payroll report.

SuperStream messaging upgrades

From 1 July 2026, there are changes to the contributions messaging used in the SuperStream system, which is the electronic standardised format you must use to pay super contributions.

The messaging changes include clearer error messaging and are designed to reduce the likelihood that your employee contributions are rejected by a super fund.

What employers need to do

The ATO is urging small businesses not to leave preparations to the last minute. Payday Super will increase your administrative workload, and payroll processes will need to change.

1. Confirm employee super fund details are current and correct

2. Check your default super fund’s registration details are up to date

3. Consider paying super contributions more frequently now to identify any errors or problems with rejected contributions before the rules change

4. Review your payroll software and internal systems to make sure they’re ready to support Payday Super and the SuperStream changes

5. If you currently use the Small Business Superannuation Clearing House, be aware that it closes on 1 July 2026, and you’ll need to make new arrangements

6. Read about the changes to SuperStream and the New Payments Platform

An important note for those who currently pay superannuation quarterly, you should model the impact of the more frequent payments now to check how your cash flow will be affected after 1 July. For small businesses that have tight profit margins, you will need to plan carefully and potentially create a business forecast to manage your cash flow.

New lower tax rates

From 1 July 2026, the tax rate for individual income between $18,201 and $45,000 will fall from 16% to 15%, with a further reduction to 14% from 1 July 2027.

Make sure your payroll system is ready for the change and that the correct amounts will be withheld from employees’ wage and salary payments from the first pay run.

Also, check that the new rates do not affect other payroll calculations, such as salary packaging or super contributions.

Earnings tax on high balance super accounts

Some small businesses also need to be aware that the Better Targeted Superannuation Concessions (BTSC) measures start from 1 July 2026.

Following recent amendments, the BTSC for high balance fund members now includes a second threshold on super accounts over $10 million, with a concessional 30% tax rate applying on the proportion of earnings corresponding to total superannuation balances (TSBs) between $3 million and $10 million.

A new 40% tax rate applies to earnings from the portion of the Total Superannuation Balance TSB over $10 million. The earnings tax only applies to ‘realised’ gains on assets, such as when interest is earned, or a property is sold.

If you need help preparing for the upcoming tax and super changes, contact us today.

Important information – Oracle Advisory Group makes no representation or warranties as to the accuracy or completeness of any statement in it including, without limitation, any forecasts. The information in this document is general information only and is not based on the objectives, financial situation or needs of any particular investor. An investor should, before making any investment decisions, consider the appropriateness of the information in this document, and seek their own professional advice. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. The information provided in the document is current as the time of publication.