The 2026-27 Federal Budget, Part 3: The Action Plan

In Part 1 of this series, I covered the genuine growth opportunities the 2026 Budget delivered. In Part 2, I walked through the harder news on property, CGT and discretionary trusts, and made the case that you have time, and that the underlying strategy still works.

This article is the practical one.

What do you actually do?

I’m not going to give you a generic “have a conversation with your accountant” answer.

Below are the key planning areas we are reviewing with BWC clients right now, with examples showing how the numbers may work in practice depending on the client’s circumstances.

Some of these are straightforward. Others, particularly more advanced structure work, need specialist advice. But the playbook is clear.

If you want help identifying which of these areas may need attention before EOFY, The Business & Wealth Collective’s EOFY Strategy Session is designed to review your current position, identify key planning opportunities and clarify your next steps before the financial year ends.

Reserve Your EOFY Strategy Session

A note on the figures below: the 2026-27 Federal Budget was handed down on 12 May 2026 and many of the measures discussed still require enabling legislation to take effect. Where Treasury has published a confirmed figure, I’ve used it. Where the precise mechanics have not yet been confirmed, I’ve worked from the government’s announced direction and flagged the assumption inline. Detail and effective dates may shift throughout the legislative process.

---

Play 1: Use Your Super Carry-Forward Cap Before You Lose It

For eligible people, unused concessional contribution caps can be one of the more important EOFY planning areas to review. Whether it is appropriate depends on your income, cash flow, total super balance, contribution history, retirement strategy and access-to-cash needs.

The concessional super contribution cap for FY26 is $30,000 per person. From 1 July 2026, the general concessional contributions cap increases to $32,500. If your total super balance was under $500,000 at the prior 30 June, you may also be able to use any unused cap from the previous five years on a rolling basis.

Most of my clients have been telling themselves they’ll “catch up on super contributions when they have a good year.”

A lot of them have $50,000 to $150,000 of unused cap sitting available, accumulated over multiple years where they did not max out their concessional contributions.

The carry-forward expires on a rolling five-year basis, meaning unused cap from FY21 expires at the end of FY26.

Use it or lose it.

The Maths: What Actually Happens When You Contribute

Let me show you what the play looks like in practice.

Take someone at the top marginal rate of 47% with $90,000 of unused carry-forward cap available. For an FY26 example, they contribute $120,000, made up of the $30,000 current year cap plus $90,000 of carry-forward cap.

The honest way to think about this is simple: the $120,000 leaves your personal cash account and goes into super.

You are not creating cash. You are moving cash from one place, your bank account, where it would be taxed at 47% on the income that fed it, into another, super, where it is taxed at 15% on the way in and grows tax-effectively from there.

Here is the comparison.

Option A: Do Not Contribute

Keep the $120,000 in personal income.

Step	Calculation	Result
$120,000 stays in your personal income		$120,000
Personal tax at 47% top marginal rate	$120,000 × 47%	($56,400)
In your bank account		$63,600

Option B: Contribute the Full $120,000 Into Super

Step	Calculation	Result
$120,000 leaves personal cash and goes into super		($120,000)
Super fund pays 15% contributions tax	$120,000 × 15%	($18,000)
Net inside super		$102,000
Personal tax not paid because of the deduction	$120,000 × 47%	$56,400
Net economic gain over Option A	$56,400 - $18,000	$38,400

The bottom line: by contributing, you have moved $102,000 of wealth into the most tax-effective wrapper in Australia, super, at a net economic advantage of $38,400 compared with keeping the cash in your personal name.

You do not end up with $38,400 in your pocket and $102,000 in super. The $38,400 is the value of the tax saving, captured by the fact that $102,000 sits inside super rather than $63,600 sitting in your bank account.

This is the play I’m pushing hardest on right now because the deadline is real and the benefit is significant.

If you have had a strong year, a business sale, an inheritance, or any meaningful one-off income, this may be an area worth modelling with your adviser before EOFY.

Watch the $3 million Total Super Balance threshold. Division 296 is expected to apply from 1 July 2026, subject to the final legislative position. Large contributions need to be modelled against your existing balance to make sure you are not pushing into territory where an additional tax on earnings above $3 million may apply.

For couples splitting balances across two members, this is generally manageable. For high-balance individuals, more nuanced strategy is required.

Play 2: Sell Property Before the CGT Discount Disappears, But Only in the Right Scenarios

The 50% CGT discount survives until 30 June 2027. After that, it is proposed to be replaced by CPI cost base indexation plus a 30% minimum tax on the real gain.

For most investors over typical five to ten-year holding periods, the new model is modestly less favourable. Treasury’s own modelling suggests the effective discount equivalent under the new rules may be 36% to 59%, compared with the current 50%.

If you have been sitting on a property or share portfolio with significant unrealised gains, and you have already been considering selling in the next few years, the FY27 financial year, from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027, may be the cleanest tax window to use the existing 50% discount on the full gain.

But this is critical: this is not a blanket “sell everything before 30 June 2027” instruction.

The maths only works in specific scenarios.

Let me walk through the actual numbers.

How Grandfathering Works for Property

For property held on Budget night, 12 May 2026, split treatment applies.

The pre-1 July 2027 portion of the gain keeps the existing 50% discount. Only the post-1 July 2027 growth is taxed under the proposed new rules.

For shares and crypto, you can use the published 30 June 2027 market prices. For property, the ATO provides two methods.

Actual valuation method

A sworn market valuation as at 30 June 2027 by a registered valuer. This is more expensive, but produces a more precise number. It may be better for properties where most of the appreciation happened before 1 July 2027.

ATO apportionment formula

A pro-rata calculation of the gain across the total holding period. This is cheaper and simpler, but may disadvantage long-held properties where most growth happened in the earlier years.

---

The examples below are simplified illustrations only. They do not account for every tax variable, levy, offset, contribution rule, cash-flow issue or personal objective that may apply. They should be used to understand the concept, not as a recommendation to contribute, sell, restructure or invest.

Worked Example: Selling in FY27 vs Holding Past 1 July 2027

An investor bought an investment property in 2010 for $400,000.

The property is worth $1 million by 30 June 2027.

The unrealised gain at that point is $600,000.

For the comparison below, we are using the actual valuation method, with $1 million as the certified valuation at 30 June 2027.

Scenario A: Sale Completed in FY27 at $1 Million

Step	Calculation	Amount
Sale proceeds		$1,000,000
Cost base		($400,000)
Gross capital gain		$600,000
50% CGT discount		($300,000)
Taxable gain		$300,000
Tax at top marginal rate of 47%	$300,000 × 47%	$141,000
Net proceeds after tax	$1,000,000 - $141,000	$859,000

Scenario B: Property Held and Sold in October 2027 at $1.1 Million

In this scenario, the property appreciates by $100,000 between 30 June 2027 and October 2027. We assume CPI between 1 July 2027 and the sale date is approximately 1%.

Step 1: Pre-1 July 2027 Portion

This portion is grandfathered and keeps the existing 50% discount.

Step	Calculation	Amount
Pre-1 July 2027 gain	$1,000,000 - $400,000	$600,000
50% discount applied	× 50%	$300,000 taxable
Tax at top marginal rate of 47%	$300,000 × 47%	$141,000

Step 2: Post-1 July 2027 Portion

This portion is taxed under the proposed CPI indexation plus 30% minimum tax rules.

Step	Calculation	Amount
Indexed cost base for new portion	$1,000,000 × 1.01	$1,010,000
Real gain, post-2027 only	$1,100,000 - $1,010,000	$90,000
Tax at top marginal rate of 47%, above the 30% floor	$90,000 × 47%	$42,300

Total Outcome

Step	Amount
Total CGT	$183,300
Net proceeds after tax	$916,700

Comparing the Two Scenarios

	Scenario A: FY27 Sale	Scenario B: October 2027 Sale
Sale price	$1,000,000	$1,100,000
Total CGT	$141,000	$183,300
Net proceeds after tax	$859,000	$916,700

The investor who held nets $57,700 more by selling later, even after the extra $42,300 of new-rules CGT.

Why?

The split treatment protected the entire historic $600,000 gain at the old 50% discount rate. The new rules only applied to the $100,000 of post-2027 growth. That growth was meaningfully larger than the extra tax it triggered.

So When Does the FY27 Sale Window Actually Win?

The FY27 window is genuinely valuable in three scenarios.

1. The asset is flat or decliningIf you expect the property to be worth the same or less in one to two years than it is in mid-2027, you do not capture any post-2027 appreciation to offset the higher tax. Selling earlier preserves the historic discount cleanly.

2. You had already decided to sell in the next one to three yearsIf the sale was happening anyway, for retirement, diversification, debt reduction or succession, pulling it forward into FY27 may produce a slightly cleaner tax outcome on the same nominal gain.

3. You are pairing the sale with the super contribution playThis is where the FY27 window has its highest leverage: capturing the existing CGT discount and rebasing the proceeds into super at the same time.

This is not a fire sale instruction.

For properties bought between Budget night and 30 June 2027, which were described as Bucket 2 in Part 2, this play applies with extra force because those properties may also lose the salary-offset negative gearing benefit from FY28.

But for appreciating assets you would otherwise hold, the split treatment does most of the work. Your historic gain is protected regardless of when you sell.

The decision becomes about your conviction on future price growth, not the tax change itself.

---

What This Means Before EOFY

The common thread across these plays is not panic.

It is timing, structure and modelling.

Some opportunities need to be acted on before a deadline. Others need to be understood properly before you make a move. The worst outcome is making a rushed decision because the tax rules are changing, or doing nothing because the rules feel too complex.

The right answer depends on your income, your entity structure, your super balance, your investment assets, your cash flow and your longer-term wealth strategy.

That is exactly why EOFY planning matters.

The Business & Wealth Collective’s EOFY Strategy Session is designed to help business owners, investors and family groups identify what may need attention before the end of financial year, what can wait, and what should be modelled properly before any decisions are made.

Reserve Your EOFY Strategy Session

---

General Information Disclaimer

This article provides general information only and does not take into account your personal circumstances, objectives, financial situation, tax position or legal structure. It is not personal tax, financial, legal or investment advice.

The Federal Budget measures discussed in this article were announced on 12 May 2026 and many require legislation, regulations, ATO guidance or further program detail before they take effect. The final rules, eligibility criteria, thresholds, timing and practical outcomes may change.

Before making decisions about tax, superannuation, property, trusts, business structures, investments, asset sales or contributions, you should obtain advice based on your specific circumstances.

The Business & Wealth Collective can help you review your position and identify which areas may require further advice before EOFY.