Law, draft or promise. What is actually settled before you sell
Six of this year's changes are settled, two are drafts and one is an election pledge. A plain ledger of what an owner can plan a sale around in October 2026, and what could still move.
General information only, not financial, legal or taxation advice. Tony Pope holds Queensland Office of Fair Trading licence 4963575.
The short version
- Four changes are in force now: Payday Super, the permanent $20,000 write-off, loss carry back for companies, and the card surcharge ban.
- Two are decided with a start date ahead: the ATO stops taking credit cards after 30 November 2026, and the capital gains tax changes apply from 1 July 2027.
- Two are drafts: the non-compete bill and the 30 per cent minimum tax on discretionary trusts. Neither is law.
- One is a promise: the Coalition's pledge to repeal the capital gains tax changes. Plan on what is law, prepare for what is drafted, and do not time a sale on a promise from either side.
Owners are reading about tax and workplace changes as though every one of them had the same standing. They do not. Some are law, some are drafts out for comment, and one is a promise made by a party that is not in government.
That difference decides what you can plan a sale around. Here is the ledger as it stood in the first week of October 2026.
In force now
Payday Super, from 1 July 2026. Super reaches the fund within seven business days of payday. What it shows a buyer.
The $20,000 instant asset write-off, permanent from 1 July 2026. For businesses with aggregated turnover under $10 million, per asset. What it does to your add backs.
Loss carry back, for tax losses from 1 July 2026. A company with global income under $1 billion can carry a revenue loss back against tax it paid up to two years earlier and receive a refundable offset, limited by its franking account. The Treasurer expects up to 85,000 companies a year to use it. It is for companies and the few other entities taxed as companies. A business run through a family trust, an ordinary partnership or as a sole trader does not get it.
The card surcharge ban, from 1 October 2026. A Reserve Bank decision, not an Act. Where the cost went.
Decided, with a start date ahead
The ATO stops taking credit cards after 30 November 2026. This is an administrative decision by the ATO, not legislation. Business groups and the Opposition have asked for it to be reversed, and the ATO has not moved. Treat the date as real. What it does to your cash.
The capital gains tax changes, from 1 July 2027. Passed by Parliament on 25 June 2026 and assented to the next day. The 50 per cent discount gives way to indexation and a 30 per cent minimum tax on gains from that date, the four small business concessions stay, and each asset is given a market value at the changeover. What that date means for an owner.
Drafts, not law
The non-compete bill. Draft legislation released 7 September 2026, consultation closed 2 October, not yet introduced. The Government is aiming for 2027. The clause to watch.
The 30 per cent minimum tax on discretionary trusts. Proposed from 1 July 2028. Treasury consulted on draft legislation in September 2026, and no bill has been introduced. What is proposed, and what it is not.
A promise
Repeal of the capital gains tax changes. The Shadow Treasurer said in May 2026 that the Coalition would oppose the changes and repeal them. That is one side's commitment. The Government's is that the changes stay. A repeal needs an election to be won and a bill to pass both houses, and the changes start on 1 July 2027 in the meantime.
How to use the ledger
Plan on what is law. Your accountant can model a sale under the rules as they stand. That is a calculation, not a forecast.
Prepare for what is drafted. You do not need to act on a draft. You do need to know which of your documents it touches, so that the final version is a short job and not a surprise.
Do not time a sale on a promise. This cuts both ways. Selling early to get ahead of a tax that may be repealed, and holding on in the hope that it will be, are the same bet placed in opposite directions. Neither party can tell you how the next Parliament will vote.
What a refund is, and is not
One item on this list is worth a second look, because it will start appearing in accounts.
Loss carry back turns a loss year into a cash refund for a company that paid tax in the two years before it. That is real money and it helps a business through a bad year. It is not earnings. A buyer looking at that year sees the loss, takes the refund out as a one-off, and asks what caused it.
So the refund does not change the conversation about the loss year. What changes it is the explanation: what happened, why it will not repeat, and the months of trading since that show it. That has to come from you, with documents, before a buyer builds their own version.
The part that holds under every row
Read down the ledger again and look at what each item asks of an owner. Earnings that can be proved. Liabilities that are disclosed. Documents that are found before somebody asks for them. Customers and staff who stay because of the business and not because of a clause.
None of that depends on which party wins, or which draft survives. It is the same preparation in every case, which is the useful thing about a year in which so much else was moving. If you want to see how far along yours is, the readiness check takes about two minutes.
Common questions
Which 2026 changes for small business are actually law?
Payday Super and the permanent $20,000 instant asset write-off both apply from 1 July 2026. Loss carry back for companies applies to tax losses from the same date. The card surcharge ban took effect on 1 October 2026 as a Reserve Bank decision. The capital gains tax changes are enacted and apply from 1 July 2027.
Is the 30 per cent tax on family trusts law?
No. A minimum tax of 30 per cent on discretionary trusts is proposed from 1 July 2028. Treasury consulted on draft legislation in September 2026 and no bill has been introduced. Until a bill passes Parliament it is a proposal, and the detail can change.
Should I bring a sale forward, or hold off, because of a tax change?
Not on the tax change alone. The gain you have built up to 1 July 2027 keeps today's treatment whenever you sell, and nobody can tell you whether a later Parliament will repeal what this one passed. Timing a sale on either is a guess. Your accountant can model your position under the law as it stands, and that is the figure to decide on.
Keep reading
All notes on selling a business · All seller guides · What is my business worth?
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