Guides · 12 October 2026

Small business tax concessions under $10M turnover: what owners should know

If your business turns over less than $10 million a year, the tax system has a set of concessions built for you. Plenty of owners at $500k to $2M never ask about them, usually because nobody brought them up.

It starts with one number: aggregated turnover

Almost every small business concession is switched on or off by your aggregated turnover. That’s your business’s annual turnover plus the turnover of any business entities that are connected with you or are your affiliates. It catches a lot of owners out. If you run a company and a separate trust, or you and your partner each own a business, the numbers may need to be added together. The ATO explains how this works on its concessions page.

The ATO also lets you work out whether you’re a small business in a few ways: using last year’s aggregated turnover, an estimate for this year, or this year’s actual figure. Each concession has its own extra conditions too, so the ATO’s advice is to check eligibility every year rather than assuming last year’s answer still holds.

The three turnover lines worth remembering

According to the ATO, if your aggregated turnover is less than:

$10 million, you can generally access the small business income tax concessions, such as the simplified depreciation rules (including the instant asset write-off), simplified trading stock rules, immediate deductions for certain prepaid expenses and some start-up costs, and the small business restructure roll-over.
$5 million, sole traders, and individuals with a share of small business income from a partnership or trust, may get the small business income tax offset: 16% of the tax on that income, capped at $1,000 a year.
$2 million, you may be a CGT small business entity, which is one of the gateways to the small business CGT concessions when you sell an active business asset. (There’s also a separate net asset test.)

For an owner turning over somewhere between half a million and two million, that means all three lines may be in play at once. It’s one of the better positions to be in, as long as someone is actually checking.

The instant asset write-off is now permanent

The ATO confirms that from 1 July 2026 the $20,000 instant asset write-off is permanent for small businesses with aggregated turnover under $10 million. Each eligible asset that costs less than $20,000 and is first used or installed ready for use in the year can generally be deducted in full (the business-use portion). The limit is per asset, so several assets can qualify. We cover the details, and the traps, in our instant asset write-off guide.

The company tax rate isn’t the same for everyone

Companies that are base rate entities pay a lower rate. Per the ATO company tax rates, a base rate entity has aggregated turnover under $50 million and no more than 80% of its assessable income is passive (such as rent, interest or dividends). Its rate is 25%; other companies pay 30%. Most trading businesses under $2M sit in the 25% group, but a company that mostly holds investments may not.

Why owners miss out

None of this is hidden. The reasons we see concessions slip past are more ordinary:

Books aren’t current. If the numbers are only pulled together after 30 June, the chance to plan (say, timing a purchase) has gone.
Connected entities aren’t counted. Someone works out turnover for one entity and forgets the other two.
Nobody asks. The return gets lodged, but nobody has the conversation about what’s coming next year.

Questions worth taking to your accountant

What is our aggregated turnover, including connected entities and affiliates?
Which concessions are we using now, and which could we use but aren’t?
Are we planning any purchases where the timing matters for the instant asset write-off?
If we ever sell, are we set up in a way that could keep the CGT concessions on the table?
Is our structure still right for where the business is heading?

Every one of these depends on your circumstances, which is why they’re questions and not answers. A good accountant or registered tax agent will be glad you asked.

Where PRM fits

PRM Rising is for owners around $500k to $2M who want this kind of conversation every year, not just a return at the end of it. Tereza’s team prepares the business return, lodged through our registered tax agent, and Shay oversees things as your corporate fractional CFO. If you already have an accountant you like, use this list with them. That’s a good outcome too.

Where does your business sit?

Take the free 2-minute business tax health check, then join the PRM Rising waitlist or book a call with Shay.

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Sources

General information only. This doesn’t take your circumstances into account and isn’t tax, financial or legal advice. Talk to your accountant or registered tax agent before acting. PRM is not a registered tax agent; tax agent services are provided by Australian Tax & Super Pty Ltd (TPB 25291395).