Daily Australia Tax Update: 27 September 2026. Tax Reform Consultation Closes Tomorrow, Card Surcharge Ban Starts 1 October & Permanent $20,000 Write-Off Explained

TITLE: Australia’s Compliance Calendar: Tax Reform Consultation, Card Surcharge Ban and Asset Write-Off Updates

Australia’s compliance calendar is moving quickly. This week, you should prioritise the Treasury consultation deadline, payment system changes, asset records and 2025–26 return preparation.

The following updates apply as at Sunday, 27 September 2026.

Submit feedback on the tax reform exposure draft by tomorrow

Treasury’s consultation on exposure draft legislation for several 2026–27 Budget tax reform measures closes on Monday, 28 September 2026.

The package is included in the proposed Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 5) Bill 2026. It covers three areas that may affect innovative businesses, investors and companies claiming research and development support:

1. Innovative business CGT concession

The proposed concession would give early investors in eligible innovative Australian start-ups access to a 50% capital gains tax discount.

The exposure draft includes eligibility conditions around the business, the investment and the period during which the investor holds the relevant interest. The concession is intended to support investment in qualifying innovative companies and may be relevant to founders, early investors and businesses raising capital.

Read the Treasury consultation and exposure draft materials before the deadline. KPMG’s 14 September 2026 TaxNewsFlash also summarises the proposed measures.

2. Changes to the R&D Tax Incentive

The proposed reforms would better target the R&D Tax Incentive by:

• Removing eligibility for certain “supporting” R&D activities.
• Increasing the minimum eligible R&D expenditure threshold.
• Increasing the maximum expenditure threshold.
• Changing the offset rates.
• Changing the turnover threshold for the refundable offset.
• Restricting access to the refundable offset for entities within their first 10 years of carrying on an enterprise, or from their first R&D registration.
• Extending the relevant period to 15 years for entities conducting R&D connected with therapeutic goods.

If your digital business, software company or growing SME relies on the R&D Tax Incentive, maintain clear project records now. Separate eligible activities, supporting activities, employee costs, contractor costs and development evidence. This will make future claims easier to review and reduce the risk of unsupported expenditure being included.

3. Expanded venture capital tax incentives

The proposal would expand the scope of entities that can receive funding through Venture Capital Limited Partnership (VCLP) and Early Stage Venture Capital Limited Partnership (ESVCLP) investment structures.

This may improve access to venture capital for larger or later-stage innovative businesses. However, the rules remain subject to the final legislation. Do not treat the exposure draft as enacted law.

Action today: If the proposed measures affect your company, investors or funding structure, submit any relevant comments to Treasury by 28 September 2026. Keep a copy of your submission and the version of the exposure draft reviewed.

Remove card surcharges before 1 October

From 1 October 2026, businesses will no longer be able to apply surcharges to covered card payments on:

• Visa credit, debit and prepaid cards.
• Mastercard credit, debit and prepaid cards.
• eftpos debit and prepaid cards.
• American Express credit cards.

The Reserve Bank of Australia explains that the change is implemented through card network “no-surcharge” rules. Businesses usually deal with an acquiring bank or payment service provider, while card networks set rules for those participants. The ACCC provides business guidance, but the rules are enforced through card network and payment provider arrangements rather than directly by the ACCC.

Read the ACCC guidance on card surcharges, the business.gov.au update and the RBA’s frequently asked questions.

The ban applies to fees added because a customer chooses to pay by card. It does not remove unrelated charges such as:

• Weekend surcharges.
• Public holiday surcharges.
• Booking fees.
• Delivery fees.
• Service or handling fees.

Those charges must still be clearly disclosed and must not be presented as a card payment surcharge.

Complete your payment systems review this week

Contact your payment provider before 1 October and confirm how the change will be applied to:

1. Physical payment terminals.
2. Online checkout pages.
3. Payment links.
4. Subscription billing.
5. Customer invoices.
6. Marketplace payment settings.
7. Point-of-sale integrations.
8. Accounting software and transaction rules.

Do not assume that a provider’s terminal update will correct your ecommerce checkout or invoicing system automatically.

If you previously passed card costs to customers, review the effect on your margins and cash flow. You may need to update prices so payment processing costs are reflected in the general price rather than added as a separate surcharge.

Also review the bookkeeping and GST coding for merchant fees. Reconcile gross sales, payment processor deductions, refunds and fees separately. Accurate records will help you report sales correctly and identify whether your accounting system is treating merchant fees consistently.

Use the permanent $20,000 instant asset write-off correctly

The ATO confirms that the $20,000 instant asset write-off is permanent from 1 July 2026 for small businesses with aggregated annual turnover under $10 million that use the simplified depreciation rules.

You may claim an immediate deduction for the business portion of an eligible depreciating asset that:

• Costs less than $20,000.
• Is first used, or installed ready for use, during the relevant income year.
• Is used for business purposes.

The threshold applies on a per-asset basis. Therefore, several eligible assets may qualify if each asset costs less than $20,000.

Assets costing $20,000 or more generally enter the small business depreciation pool instead. The ATO’s small business newsroom update also confirms that the low-value pool threshold increases to $20,000.

The five-year lock-out period for re-entering the simplified depreciation regime remains suspended until 30 June 2027.

Keep the evidence needed for each claim

For every asset, retain:

• The tax invoice.
• Purchase date.
• Payment evidence.
• Date first used or installed ready for use.
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