The new financial year is getting close, with FY26 just three months away. There are a few things that I'm planning to do to get myself and my finances prepared.
A little bit of preparation can go a long way to optimise results when it comes to things like tax returns and financial foundations.
I'd prefer to get ahead of deadlines and potentially have time to be able to make decisions that improve my outcomes.
Let's get into what I'm thinking about.
Getting my tax information in order
As FY26 approaches, I'm going to gather all of the information I need for my deductions for my FY25 tax return.
I wouldn't want to lose/miss any of the deductions that I'm allowed to claim because that would mean my tax position wouldn't be as good.
I'll also be considering if there are any expenses I want to enact before the end of June 2025. I'd prefer to claim them in my FY25 tax return and get the deduction sooner, rather than having to wait until FY26.
Franking credits
I love franking credits, they are one of the main reasons why I gained my excitement about investing in ASX shares.
But, they are only useful if investors have claimed them on their tax return. The ATO is getting increasingly better at knowing what information needs to be included on our tax returns. However, it's still possible for something to get missed on the ATO's pre-fill report, or that the ATO hasn't received the dividend information yet from a company.
Firstly, I'm going to make sure that I know the amount of franking credits I'm expecting to report to the ATO, which could help boost my tax refund.
Investing
The third thing I'm going to do before the start of FY26 is continue investing.
While the tariff volatility isn't ideal for our existing ASX share positions, I really like buying assets when they are priced lower than they were before.
I've been buying recently and I'm planning to put more money to work before the end of the 2025 financial year. I will share which ASX shares I have bought when I can. I'm optimistic about their long-term future.
