The Federal Government announced measures that allow small business to instantly write off assets under $20,000 and that relieve energy bill pressures.
Temporary increase to the instant asset write-off
Under current law, the small business instant asset write-off threshold is (less than) $1,000 for the 2025 income year. However, the Government has announced that it will temporarily set the instant asset write-off threshold for small business entities at (less than) $20,000 for the 2025 income year.
From 1 July 2025, the instant asset write-off threshold will revert back to (less than) $1,000.
Relieving energy bill pressures
The Government is providing certain direct energy bill relief for small businesses. Of note, the Energy Bill Relief Fund is providing energy rebates to each of the approximately one million businesses on small customer electricity plans to help cover their electricity bills. This Budget will provide additional energy bill relief of $325 to eligible small businesses.
Retaining Business Activity Statement (‘BAS’) refunds
The Government will strengthen the ATO’s ability to combat fraud by extending the time the ATO has to notify a taxpayer if it intends to retain a BAS refund for further investigation. The ATO’s mandatory notification period for BAS refund retention will be increased from 14 days to 30 days to align with time limits for non-BAS refunds.