The practice is busy, the BAS is due again, and the money from patients, clients and insurers hasn't all landed yet. For a lot of owners, the credit card has been the quiet shock absorber: pay the ATO on the card, let receipts catch up, clear the balance next month.

That shock absorber now has an end date. As at 6 October 2026, the ATO has announced it will stop accepting credit card payments after 30 November 2026. That's the headline this month, but it isn't the only change worth knowing about.

Here's what moved between mid-September and early October, what it means for a growing practice, and what's worth a look before the year closes out.

Paying the ATO by credit card ends after 30 November 2026

The ATO says that, following the Reserve Bank's review of merchant card costs and surcharging, it doesn't think it's appropriate to pass credit card merchant fees on to the community. Debit cards, BPAY, direct debit from a bank account, EFT and the other options on the ATO's how-to-pay page remain available. If you have a payment plan running off a credit card, the ATO is writing to you, and the payment method needs to change before your first instalment due after 30 November 2026.

The payment method is the easy part. The harder question is what the card was doing for your cash flow. If it bridged the gap between a large BAS or tax payment and the money coming in, that gap doesn't disappear on 1 December. It just needs a different plan.

A few questions worth asking yourself:

• How often have I used the card for ATO payments over the past year?
• Was that for convenience, or because the cash wasn't there on the due date?
• What would setting money aside for tax through the quarter look like for my practice?

Money out of the company: a Division 7A reminder

Plenty of practice owners run their practice through a company, and during the year money moves between the company and the people behind it. Division 7A is the part of the tax law that can treat some of those amounts as dividends.

A recent Administrative Review Tribunal decision, Traynor and FCT (2026), is a good example. Loans from a group trading company to the person who controlled it were made without written loan agreements and weren't repaid or put on complying terms by the company's lodgment day. The Tribunal agreed they should be treated as unfranked deemed dividends under Division 7A for the 2017 to 2020 years. It also upheld 25% administrative penalties for not taking reasonable care. The bank statements and accounting ledgers showed money moving, but not where it came from or what it was for. The Tribunal's point: mixing funds isn't wrong in itself, but your records have to let someone unpick it.

The amounts in that case were large. The pattern isn't unusual: money moving over several years, and not enough evidence to show it fell outside the rules. The onus sat with the taxpayers.

So the takeaway is less about the amount and more about the records. If money moves between you and your practice company, how it's documented matters as much as the money itself.

Payday Super: clean data and late contributions

If you employ a team, Payday Super is now part of running payroll. Two updates this period are worth knowing about.

• Data quality. The ATO is asking employers to keep employee records, TFNs and super account details up to date, to minimise errors and processing delays.
• Late contributions. The ATO has finalised Practice Statement PS LA 2026/2 (issued 1 October 2026). It sets out when the Commissioner may make an exceptional circumstances determination under s 18C(4) of the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992. A determination gives a whole class of employers extra time (generally 20 business days) to make contributions after a natural disaster or a widespread technology outage. It can't be made for a single employer, and cash flow difficulty alone doesn't count. Employers who rely on a determination need records showing they fall within it.

For a dental or medical practice with a rotating roster, or a law firm with people coming and going, the data point is the practical one. New starters, changed bank details and switched super funds are exactly where small errors creep in. The exceptional circumstances guidance is useful to know about, but it isn't a substitute for getting contributions right the first time.

Family trusts: TFN reporting has moved

If your practice profits flow through a family trust, there's an admin change. The ATO has reminded trustees of closely held trusts that quarterly TFN reports are no longer required for periods after 30 June 2026. Instead, beneficiary TFNs are reported in the statement of distribution on the trust tax return, starting with the 2027 return. The last quarterly report (April–June 2026) was due 31 July 2026. The withholding rules for beneficiaries who haven't quoted a TFN haven't changed. Lodging TFN reports through standard business reporting software ended on 1 October 2026.

That's less paperwork during the year. It also means beneficiary details need to be right when the trust return is prepared.

Proposed changes worth watching

The Government has released exposure draft legislation for several 2026–27 Budget measures, with public consultation that closed on 28 September 2026. These are proposed changes, not law, and the detail could shift before anything is passed. Two stand out for practice owners:

• Monthly PAYG instalments (proposed). The draft would let businesses choose to report and pay PAYG instalments monthly from 1 July 2027, even if they're below the current $20 million income threshold. It would also give the Commissioner power to require monthly instalments from taxpayers with a history of non-compliance.
• FBT on electric cars (proposed). Under the draft, electric cars provided under commitments made before 1 April 2027 keep the current exemption. For commitments made from 1 April 2027 to 31 March 2029, cars with a base value of $75,000 or less would keep a full (100%) FBT discount. Cars above $75,000 but within the luxury car tax threshold for fuel-efficient cars would get a 25% discount. From 1 April 2029, all eligible electric cars would get the 25% discount. Until it's passed, the current exemption is the law.

If a practice car is on the list for the next year or two, the FBT proposal is one to keep in view. I'll come back to both once there's more certainty.

Quick hit

• Phone and data claims. The ATO has updated PS LA 2001/6 on how it verifies phone and data expenses, clarifying written evidence rules and removing the old $50 incidental-use method, which the ATO says the standard deduction in s 25-130 of the ITAA 1997 makes unnecessary (updated 24 September 2026).

What to do next

• Look back at how you've paid the ATO over the past year, and whether the card was covering a cash flow gap.
• If you draw money from your practice company, check the records behind those amounts are in order.
• Ask whoever runs payroll to confirm employee TFNs and super fund details are current.
• If you have a family trust, have beneficiary details ready for the trust return.
• Keep the proposed PAYG instalment and electric car FBT changes on your radar, knowing they may change.

This is general information only and doesn't take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on it, consider whether it's appropriate for you — or talk to me about your situation.

If any of this lands close to home for your practice, I'm happy to talk it through. Start a conversation with me here.

Figures and dates are as at 6 October 2026. Prepared by Jude Briggs, Full Cycle Accounting. Sources: ATO, Treasury and Administrative Review Tribunal decisions.