Doctors are among Australia’s highest income earners. The right tax planning strategies can make a significant difference to your wealth — both now and long term. Here is what you need to know before 30 June.
Impact TFS | 19 June 2026 | Medical Professionals Tax Planning
Paying tax is a natural consequence of earning a good income. But careful planning helps ensure you are not paying more than legally required. For doctors operating at marginal tax rates of up to 47%, even small adjustments to strategy can produce significant long-term savings.
1. Maximise Superannuation Contributions
Superannuation remains one of the most effective tax planning tools available to high-income earners. Concessional contributions are generally taxed at only 15% within the super fund — a significant saving compared to marginal rates of up to 47%.
Potential strategies to consider include:
- Salary sacrifice arrangements
- Personal deductible contributions
- Carry-forward concessional contributions from prior years (if your super balance is below $500,000)
- Spouse contribution strategies
Important: Care should be taken to ensure contribution caps are not exceeded. Breaching the concessional contributions cap triggers additional tax on the excess amount. Speak to a specialist before making significant contributions.
2. Review Your Business Structure
Many doctors operate through structures that provide both tax planning flexibility and asset protection. The right structure depends on your individual circumstances, but commonly includes service trusts, family trusts, companies, and corporate trustee arrangements.
Factors to consider when reviewing your structure include asset protection requirements, family circumstances, future growth plans, succession planning, and income distribution flexibility.
Office Meals and Refreshments
For doctors operating through a company, certain office meals and refreshments provided to employees can be tax deductible and may attract favourable FBT treatment. This can include tea, coffee, and snacks provided in the workplace; light meals consumed during meetings; and staff refreshments provided on business premises.
Minor Benefits Exemption
The Minor Benefits Exemption is a particularly useful tool for doctors operating through a company structure. Benefits may be exempt from FBT where they cost less than $300 per benefit (GST inclusive), are provided infrequently and irregularly, and are not part of a salary packaging arrangement. Eligible examples include restaurant meals, entertainment activities, family outings, gift vouchers, and tickets to sporting or entertainment events.
3. Employ Family Members
Employing family members can provide both operational support and genuine tax planning benefits — provided the work is real and the wages reflect commercial market rates. Functions that family members might genuinely perform in a medical practice include reception duties, administration support, social media management, bookkeeping assistance, cleaning and maintenance, and practice support functions.
Compliance Requirements: Any wages paid to family members must reflect commercial market rates, be supported by timesheets and proper records, and be paid for genuine work actually performed. The ATO closely scrutinises arrangements that do not satisfy these conditions.
4. Claim Home Office Expenses
If you undertake administration, telehealth consultations, study, research, or practice management activities from home, you may be entitled to claim home office deductions. Depending on your circumstances, this may include running expenses, electricity, internet, phone expenses, and depreciation of office equipment. Maintaining appropriate records throughout the year is essential — this is an area the ATO reviews closely.
5. Review Motor Vehicle Claims
Doctors commonly use vehicles for travel between clinics, hospital visits, business meetings, and continuing professional development activities. Different methods may be available to maximise deductions: the logbook method generally produces the highest deduction for frequent business use; the cents per kilometre method is simpler but capped at 5,000 km per year; and company-owned vehicle arrangements may offer additional FBT planning opportunities.
6. Consider Timing of Income and Expenses
Where appropriate, doctors operating through a business structure may be able to manage the timing of deductible expenditure to improve current-year tax outcomes. Examples include equipment purchases, professional subscriptions, insurance premiums, training expenses, software and tech costs, and other deductible costs. Bringing forward legitimate deductions before 30 June can be a straightforward way to reduce this year’s tax bill.
7. Manage Capital Gains Tax
Doctors often accumulate significant wealth through investment properties, share portfolios, and business interests. Before selling any major asset, it is important to consider the capital gains tax consequences carefully — including the timing of the sale (holding an asset for more than 12 months typically attracts a 50% CGT discount), available capital losses, ownership structures, and small business CGT concessions where applicable.
8. Review Asset Protection Strategies
While not strictly a tax strategy, asset protection is particularly important for medical professionals due to their higher litigation exposure. Tax planning and asset protection work best when considered together, not in isolation. Key areas to review include ownership structures, trust arrangements, corporate structures, investment ownership, and insurance coverage.
9. Conduct an Annual Tax Planning Review
Many doctors only focus on tax after the financial year has ended. By that point, most opportunities have already passed. An annual tax planning review before 30 June allows you to identify tax-saving opportunities, review cash flow requirements, assess superannuation strategies, evaluate business structures, review FBT opportunities, and plan major transactions before they occur.
Every Doctor’s Situation Is Different
Our CPA accountants in Bankstown and Wollongong specialise in advanced tax planning for medical professionals. Book a free 30-minute consultation and find out exactly where you stand.
General Advice Disclaimer: This article is intended as general information only and does not constitute personal tax advice. It does not take into account your individual financial circumstances, needs, or objectives. Before acting on anything in this article, you should seek specific advice from a registered tax agent or CPA who can assess your situation. Tax laws and ATO interpretations are subject to change. Impact Taxation and Financial Services Pty Ltd is a CPA Practice. Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation.
