End of Financial Year in Australia is the only retail event of the year where the discount and the tax deduction can land in the same shopping cart. For employees buying work tools. For sole traders making a deductible business purchase. For families replacing a fridge that died at the wrong time. EOFY 2026 falls on Tuesday 30 June, and the genuine value window — when the deepest discounts overlap with deductions that actually reduce your tax — runs from roughly 1 June to 14 July. This is the long version of the playbook.
Why EOFY Discounts Run Deeper Than Black Friday on Australian-Made Stock
Black Friday is a global retail event imported from the US. EOFY is uniquely Australian. The difference matters because retailers structure their pricing strategy around different supply chains. On flagship consumer electronics — current-generation TVs, gaming consoles, premium laptops — global supply pressure tends to push the deepest discounts into November. But on whitegoods, mattresses, furniture, Australian-made fashion, workwear, and tradie equipment, EOFY consistently has the deeper cuts. The reason is simple: these categories run their stocktake clearance against the financial year, not against the global retail calendar. Inventory that hasn't moved by 30 June becomes a tax liability — so prices fall accordingly.
The $20,000 Instant Asset Write-Off: What's Actually Possible
For small businesses with aggregated turnover under $10 million, the Instant Asset Write-Off lets you immediately deduct the full cost of any business asset costing less than $20,000 (excluding GST if you're GST-registered). The threshold applies per asset — meaning a sole trader could buy a $15,000 ute fit-out and a $12,000 office equipment setup separately and write both off in full. The 2025-26 measure is now law and runs until 30 June 2026.
The catch most people miss: the asset must be "first used or installed ready for use" by 30 June 2026. Delivered-but-not-installed equipment doesn't qualify. Pre-paid orders that ship in July don't qualify. If your supplier can't get equipment to you and ready for use before 30 June, the deduction shifts to FY 2026-27. For anything that requires installation — solar systems, large machinery, medical equipment — back-calculate a buffer of at least two weeks.
The other catch: the IAWO reduces taxable income, not your purchase price. A $15,000 deduction at a 30% tax rate saves you $4,500 in tax. You still spent $15,000. Buying assets purely for the deduction is a losing trade unless you genuinely needed the asset.
Working From Home: The 70c Rate and the Documentation You Need
For 2025-26, the ATO's fixed-rate method allows employees to claim 70 cents per hour worked from home. That rate bundles electricity, gas, internet, mobile and home phone usage, stationery and computer consumables — so you can't double-claim those items separately. You can still claim depreciation on equipment like laptops, monitors and desk chairs on top of the 70c rate.
The documentation requirement has tightened significantly. The ATO no longer accepts a 4-week representative sample. To claim the fixed rate, you need a record of every hour you worked from home for the full financial year — kept contemporaneously. A spreadsheet updated weekly. A calendar with start and finish times. A timesheet. Reconstructing the year from memory in late June is the kind of thing the ATO's data-matching specifically catches.
For people with high actual costs — dedicated home offices, multiple monitors, heavy equipment, large household electricity bills — the actual-cost method often delivers a bigger deduction. It requires more documentation (every bill, work-use percentages, a 4-week diary backing up the percentages) but for someone working from home four-plus days a week with a real office setup, the difference can be hundreds of dollars.
The Sub-$300 Rule That Trips Up Most EOFY Shoppers
For employees, any work-related item costing $300 or less can be claimed as an immediate deduction in the year you buy it. Anything over $300 has to be depreciated across its effective life — meaning you can only claim a portion this year, with the rest spread over multiple years.
This matters for EOFY shopping. A $295 office chair is fully deductible immediately. A $310 office chair triggers depreciation rules. The same logic applies to monitors, headphones, and accessories. Where genuine choice exists, splitting purchases or selecting items at the right price points changes how the deduction flows through your return. (For sole traders using simplified depreciation, the threshold is $20,000 instead of $300, which is why the IAWO is such a meaningful concession.)
What the ATO Won't Let You Claim — and What They Actively Watch For
The ATO publicly publishes lists of rejected EOFY deduction attempts each year. The pattern is consistent: items with no clear connection to earning income, expenses used predominantly for personal purposes, and inflated work-use percentages on shared household bills like internet plans.
Specific traps to avoid: claiming 100% of a household internet bill when streaming, gaming and family use share the same line. Claiming a desk chair as 100% work-related when it doubles as the kitchen chair on weekends. Claiming a laptop as 100% work-related when half its use is personal. The ATO's data-matching has expanded significantly. They cross-reference industry averages, employer contributions, and bank transaction patterns. Conservative claims survive audits. Aggressive claims trigger them.
Categories Where EOFY Genuinely Wins
Whitegoods and large appliances. Fridges, washing machines, dryers, dishwashers — these consistently hit their lowest annual prices at EOFY because retailers carry significant floor stock and need to clear it before stocktake. Major retailers run aggressive doorbusters in the final week of June. Replacing a working appliance to capture the discount rarely makes financial sense, but if you've been deferring a replacement, EOFY is the right time.
Mattresses and bedding. The Australian mattress category runs its largest annual sale events at EOFY. End-of-line models, last-season covers, and showroom stock all see clearance discounts that often beat Black Friday. Free shipping, free old mattress disposal, and 100-night trials are typically bundled in.
Tradie tools and workwear. Australian tool retailers structure their EOFY campaigns specifically around the tax deduction angle. Aggressive bundle pricing on power tool kits, ute accessories, and uniforms is common. For sole-trader tradies, the IAWO transforms many of these purchases into effectively-discounted-after-tax assets.
Office equipment and furniture. Office chairs, sit-stand desks, monitors, ergonomic accessories — all see meaningful EOFY discounting because the work-from-home deduction angle drives genuine commercial demand. Pair the discount with the deduction (where eligible) and the effective cost falls considerably.
Australian-made fashion clearance. Local fashion brands run end-of-line clearance for last-season stock at EOFY because the new season ranges land in store from early July. Workwear, professional clothing, and seasonally-aged inventory typically sit at year-low prices in late June.
Categories Where EOFY Loses to Other Sales
Premium consumer electronics — flagship TVs, current-generation gaming consoles, top-tier laptops, latest-model smartphones — generally run deeper discounts at Black Friday in November than at EOFY. Global supply chains and US-driven pricing dominate these categories. Holiday-season fashion (summer wear, beachwear, holiday gifting) tends to run cheaper at Boxing Day than EOFY. Travel deals — flights, accommodation, package holidays — are largely uncoupled from EOFY and run their own promotional cycles.