If you employ staff, one of the biggest payroll and compliance changes in years is arriving on 1 July 2026. It is called Payday Super and, while the concept sounds simple enough, the impact on small businesses is likely to be significant.
We were planning to buy an investment property, but after the Federal Budget changes to negative gearing and CGT, we are reconsidering. What other tax strategies should high-income PAYG earners be considering?
A recent client situation, combined with the proposed 2026–2027 Federal Budget tax changes, sparked a really interesting conversation among our team about investment structures, company tax rates, capital gains tax, and whether the old-school advice of “never invest through your trading company” is still as black and white as it once was.
The 2026-27 Federal Budget, delivered by Treasurer Jim Chalmers on the evening of 12 May 2026, is one of the most significant overhauls of the Australian tax system in nearly three decades. In a single budget, the Government has made changes to capital gains tax, negative gearing, trust distributions, superannuation, electric vehicles, research and development, and a range of cost-of-living measures. Almost every Freshwater client will be affected in some way.
When I started Freshwater, I wasn’t thinking about building a firm in the way I do now. There was no clear plan around systems, client selection, pricing strategy or long-term sustainability. Like most people starting out, I simply wanted to create something that worked. I wanted to generate income, have some flexibility, and build something that felt like my own.
ATO debt is something I’m having more and more conversations about at the moment, and what’s becoming really clear is that the way businesses have managed it in the past simply doesn’t stack up in today’s environment.
Capital Gains Tax (CGT) rarely enters the conversation quietly. Whenever discussion turns to reducing the 50% CGT discount, a proposal that has resurfaced time and again over the years, headlines follow. Property investors worry, share investors speculate, and confident opinions appear everywhere.
If your tax bill caught you off guard last year, you are not alone. Every year, I speak with business owners and professionals who are genuinely surprised when their assessment arrives. No one enjoys a tax shock. It can seem sudden, frustrating, and often unfair. However, in most cases, nothing has gone wrong. The outcome was simply not planned for early enough.
Super is often treated like a future problem. Not because people are dishonest, but because poor cash-flow habits make it easy to delay. The system has allowed that delay to happen for a long time. What makes this worse is that many employees don’t log into their super accounts regularly. By the time this is noticed, the amounts are large, the stress is high, and the ATO is involved.
Time is far more precious than money. You can always make more money. You can’t make more time.
Over the years, I’ve refined a set of habits, systems and boundaries that allow me to run a busy firm, be present for my girls, and still feel relatively calm most of the time. None of these are revolutionary; however, together, they make a huge difference.
Most people think tax savings happen in June. They don’t. They happen quietly during the year, in small decisions you may not even realise are saving you at the time.
Here are the 10 small habits I see that make the biggest difference every year…
Important Note: During our peak season from July to October, we prioritise maintaining our signature high-quality service. As a result, we may not always be able to take on new clients, however we’re happy to add you to our waitlist.