This month we cover several practical updates that matter as we head towards financial year-end. The ATO’s revised EV home-charging rate delivers more generous deductions for work-related car claims. The Federal Government has released targeted tax relief for businesses hit by fuel disruptions. We look at the ATO’s new ‘verify call’ feature — a simple but powerful safeguard against phone scams. And finally, we outline the upcoming increases to superannuation contribution caps from 1 July 2026.
ATO Updates EV Home Charging Rate: What It Means for You
The ATO has announced a significant update for anyone using electric vehicles (EVs) or plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) for work or fleet purposes where the vehicle is charged at home.
From 1 April 2026 (for FBT purposes) or 1 July 2026 (for income tax purposes), the ATO’s standard home-charging electricity rate increases from 4.20 cents per kilometre to 5.47 cents per kilometre.
This rate is an ATO-approved shortcut for situations where your household electricity bill doesn’t separately show EV-charging usage. Rather than tracking kilowatt hours or installing specialised metering equipment, you simply apply the cents-per-kilometre rate to the kilometres travelled by the vehicle. The update reflects rising electricity costs and gives businesses and individuals a more realistic figure for home charging.
For Employers
If you provide EVs or PHEVs to employees — through a novated lease, company vehicle, or salary packaging arrangement — the higher rate increases the electricity cost attributed to the vehicle. In practice, this can:
- Initially increase the taxable value of the benefit when using the operating cost method.
- Increase employee “recipient contributions”, which directly lowers your FBT bill.
- Impact the calculation of reportable fringe benefits amounts.
For Individuals Claiming Work-Related Car Expenses
If you use the logbook method, you can apply the new rate to the business-use portion of kilometres travelled from the start of the 2026–27 income year. Earlier years (back to 2022) continue to use the 4.20-cent rate.
Records You’ll Need
The ATO’s requirements are straightforward:
- Odometer readings — at the start and end of each FBT or income year.
- A valid logbook showing business vs private travel (if using the operating cost or logbook method).
- At least one electricity bill to demonstrate that home electricity costs are actually incurred.
- For PHEVs — keep petrol receipts and separately calculate the petrol component using the manufacturer’s hybrid-mode fuel consumption figure, applying the home-charging rate only to the electric kilometres.
Tip: Many EVs now report the exact percentage of charging done at home versus public stations. Using this data can make claims more accurate — and potentially increase your deductions.
A Practical Example
An employee uses their own EV and drives 25,000km for work in 2026–27.
Home-charging cost = 25,000 × 5.47c = $1,367.50 (up from $1,050 at the old rate).
That extra $317.50 can meaningfully reduce taxable income for the year.
What to Do Now
- Use the existing 4.20-cent rate for the FBT year ended 31 March 2026 and the income year ending 30 June 2026.
- Switch to the new 5.47-cent rate for the current FBT year and all income tax calculations from 1 July 2026 onwards.
If you operate a fleet, offer salary packaging, or claim car expenses personally, now is a good time to model the impact of the updated rate. Our team can help you run the numbers and ensure you receive every benefit you’re entitled to.
Practical Help for Businesses Impacted by Fuel Disruptions
With global fuel supply chains still under strain from conflict in the Middle East, many Australian businesses are facing higher operating costs, delayed deliveries, and pressure on cash flow. To help, Treasurer Jim Chalmers and the ATO have announced a practical support package for affected businesses — delivered directly through the ATO on a case-by-case basis.
This is not a broad stimulus program. The assistance is targeted, temporary, and available by application until 30 June 2026.
What Relief Is Available?
1. Flexible payment plans — The ATO can help spread existing tax debts over a manageable timeframe, keeping cash available for wages, stock, fleet costs, and other essential operations.
2. Remission of interest and penalties — Where payment delays are linked to fuel disruptions, the ATO can cancel general interest charges (GIC) and late-payment penalties, preventing a temporary cashflow issue from becoming a much larger debt.
3. Easier variation of PAYG instalments — If revenue has dropped due to increased fuel expenses or supply slowdowns, you can reduce your quarterly PAYG instalments to reflect your current trading reality — creating meaningful short-term cash savings.
4. Reduced compliance activity — For the most affected industries, the ATO is temporarily scaling back audits and review activity so you can focus on operations rather than responding to information requests.
5. Temporary pause on debt recovery — Where appropriate, the ATO may pause recovery action while your business stabilises.
How to Access the Relief
In many cases, a brief explanation of how fuel disruptions have affected your business — supported by basic financial information — is enough to start the process. You don’t need to deal with the ATO alone. We can assess your situation, identify which measures apply, and manage the submissions from start to finish.
For businesses in transport, logistics, manufacturing, agriculture, and retail, this relief can help maintain staffing, manage supplier payments, and take the pressure off compounding tax liabilities while conditions remain volatile. Reach out to our team as soon as possible if you’ve been feeling the strain.
For official information, see the Treasurer’s announcement and the ATO fuel response page.
New ATO ‘Verify Call’ Feature: Instant Protection Against Phone Scams
As tax time approaches, so does the annual spike in scam calls pretending to be from the ATO. These calls are becoming increasingly convincing — and increasingly costly. In July 2025 alone, the ATO received nearly 7,500 impersonation scam reports, and numbers always surge between April and July.
The ATO has now launched a practical solution: the ‘verify call’ feature in the free ATO app, rolled out in early April 2026. It allows you to confirm — instantly and in real time — whether the person calling you is genuinely from the ATO.
How It Works
If you receive a call from someone claiming to be from the ATO, you can verify it in under 30 seconds:
- Open the ATO app and log in.
- Tap ‘Verify Call’ on the main screen.
- Within moments, you’ll receive a clear notification confirming whether the call is genuine.
If you don’t receive a confirmation — hang up immediately. It’s almost certainly a scam.
Scammers don’t just waste your time. They can redirect refunds, access superannuation, or steal personal information that takes months (and sometimes thousands of dollars) to fix. The verify call tool eliminates the pressure entirely — it lets you check the caller before you share any information.
Add One More Layer: Strengthen Your myID
For maximum security, ensure your myID (digital identity) is set to the highest identity-strength level — ‘Strong’. This makes it significantly harder for anyone else to access your tax or super information online.
What to Do Now
- Download or update the ATO app (available on Apple and Android).
- Register your device within the app.
- Check your myID settings in myGov and upgrade to ‘Strong’ if you haven’t already.
- Try the verify call feature once before tax time so you’re confident using it when it counts.
These are simple steps that can prevent major financial and administrative headaches. If you ever have doubts about a call, email, or message claiming to be from the ATO, contact us first — we can quickly check its validity through official channels.
Superannuation Contribution Caps to Increase from 1 July 2026
Following the release of the December 2025 quarter average weekly ordinary times earnings (AWOTE) figures, both the concessional and non-concessional contribution caps will increase from 1 July 2026. This is a welcome opportunity to put more into super in a tax-effective way.
| Contribution Type | Current Cap (2025–26) | New Cap (2026–27) |
|---|---|---|
| Concessional (CC) | $30,000 | $32,500 |
| Non-Concessional (NCC) | $120,000 | $130,000 |
| NCC Bring-Forward (3 years) | $360,000 | $390,000 |
| Pension Transfer Balance Cap | $2,000,000 | $2,100,000 |
Note that some individuals may have higher caps due to carry-forward concessional contribution rules or the NCC bring-forward provisions. Others with higher super balances may face a reduced or nil NCC cap. These limits depend on your Total Superannuation Balance (TSB) at the prior 30 June.
Concessional Contributions
Concessional contributions are pre-tax and include compulsory Superannuation Guarantee (SG) payments, voluntary salary sacrifice contributions, and personal deductible contributions. If your SG contributions fall below your cap, you may be able to reduce your annual tax bill by making salary sacrifice or personal deductible contributions. You may also have access to unused concessional cap amounts from the prior five years if your TSB was below $500,000 at the prior 30 June.
Non-Concessional Contributions
Non-concessional contributions are made from after-tax money. While there’s typically no immediate tax saving, the superannuation accumulation tax rate of 15% is generally lower than most people’s marginal tax rate — and earnings in retirement phase can be entirely tax-free (subject to the pension transfer balance cap). The bring-forward rule allows eligible individuals to contribute up to $390,000 in a single year from 1 July 2026, effectively using three years’ worth of caps at once.
The rules are complex and depend on your TSB and prior NCC contributions over the current and preceding two financial years. There may also be NCC opportunities remaining in the current financial year if your TSB was below $2,000,000 on 30 June 2025.
If you’d like to understand how the new caps could reduce your current and future tax bill, please reach out to our team to discuss your specific situation.
The information in this newsletter is general in nature and does not constitute legal, tax or financial advice. Please contact Jewell Moore on 07 3821 4401 or [email protected] to discuss your specific circumstances.