The $20,000 write-off is here to stay
If your business turns over less than $10 million, you can in the year you start using them. It used to be extended a year at a time. Now it’s permanent for assets first used or installed from 1 July 2026, and the limit applies to each asset rather than your total spend. Bigger items go into your small business pool as before.
Primary producers get an even better deal on some assets. , like dams, tanks and bores, and can be claimed in full straight away, whatever they cost and whatever your turnover. Fodder storage means storing livestock feed, so a silo for seed, or for grain grown for people to eat, doesn’t count. If you’re financing new machinery, it pays to line up the loan and the tax timing together.
A refund for farm companies in a tough year
Companies can now to either of the two previous years and get a refund of tax they paid then. It applies to losses from income years starting on or after 1 July 2026. The timing is good. average broadacre farm profit to fall 39% in 2026–27. A farm company that paid tax in the good years can turn this year’s loss into cash instead of waiting for future profits.
Say your company paid $37,500 in tax at the 25% rate in 2025–26, then makes a $100,000 loss in 2026–27. Carrying the loss back could get you $25,000 back. The refund can’t be more than the tax you paid or your franking account balance, and your recent returns all need to be lodged. If you farm as an individual, including as a partner or trust beneficiary, carry-back doesn’t apply, but income averaging and Farm Management Deposits can help smooth out a bad year.
Capital gains: 1 July 2027 is the date to know
The biggest change is . From 1 July 2027 the 50% CGT discount is replaced by inflation indexing and, for most individuals, a minimum 30% tax on the real gain. Anything you’ve gained before that date keeps the 50% discount, which makes a valuation at 1 July 2027 an important document to have. It matters even more for land owned since before 20 September 1985. That land has always been exempt from CGT, but .
The small business concessions, including the 15-year exemption, carry on. One of them, the 50% active asset reduction, from 2027–28. is still being worked through, so expect more detail. If you’re thinking about handing the farm over, read .
The trust tax isn’t law yet
The 30% minimum tax on discretionary trusts, announced in the May Budget, is . on 18 September 2026, the Bill hasn’t been introduced, and it wouldn’t start until 1 July 2028. Primary production income is excluded, so a trust that only earns farm income would barely notice it. The ones to watch are trusts with other income, like interest or rent. That includes rent from leasing land to a related farming business, which may not count as primary production income. The draft also offers alternatives to restructuring, and the design could still change, so there’s little to gain from moving early.
Division 296 and farmland in super
From 1 July 2026, . It’s an extra 15% on the share linked to the balance above $3 million, and a further 10% above $10 million. The good news for farming families is that it’s , so a rise in the value of farmland you haven’t sold isn’t taxed.
There’s also a one-off choice for small funds such as SMSFs. They can reset the cost base of all the fund’s assets to their 30 June 2026 value for Division 296 purposes. It’s all or nothing, it can’t be undone, and it has to be made by the fund’s 2026–27 return due date. If your SMSF holds farmland that has grown a lot, it’s worth working through soon.
What to do first
- Time asset purchases around the $20,000 write-off, and claim farm infrastructure in full.
- If you farm through a company and expect a loss, check your franking account and lodgments.
- Book a valuation for 1 July 2027, especially for pre-CGT land.
- If your SMSF holds farmland and a member has over $3 million, decide on the cost base reset.
- If you farm through a trust, work out which income is primary production and which isn’t.
Talk it through with us
Our , , and teams can work out which of these changes affect you and in what order. If a change means new equipment or a restructure, our can arrange the finance. to get started.
This is general information only and doesn’t take your circumstances into account. Speak to us before acting on any of these changes, particularly decisions about trusts, capital gains or superannuation.