EOFY 2026 Tax Return Spending Guide: Where to Put Your Refund in Australia

The ATO processes most electronically lodged returns within two weeks. If your lodgement went in early July with clean prefill data, the refund is probably already in your account. This piece is my cross-category shortlist for putting it to work: the tech, wardrobe, health, kitchen, and travel calls that show up on our editors' desks year after year, all with cashback tracked.

Start at JB Hi-Fi via ShopBack if this is a tech-refresh year, or at Chemist Warehouse via ShopBack if this is a health-restock year. Cashback tracks the same either way.

What ShopBack does here

ShopBack is a cashback and rewards platform used by more than 20 million members. When you tap through to any partnered Australian retailer from a ShopBack link and complete a purchase, a percentage of eligible spend comes back to you. One-tap sign-up at shopback.com.au/signup, then everything below tracks cashback the same way it would if you were on the retailer directly.

Frame the refund as delayed salary, not a bonus

The single biggest mistake is treating an ATO refund as found money. It isn't. It's PAYG tax that was over-withheld from every fortnight of your pay across the year. Reframing it as delayed salary quietly shifts spending from "let's celebrate" to "let's finally cover the thing I've been putting off".

A common starting split is 50 percent to savings or debt, 30 percent to a planned purchase, 20 percent to a treat. Adjust based on your emergency fund; if you don't have three months of expenses set aside, weight savings higher. The category picks below assume the planned-purchase third.

Category 1: work-from-home tech

If you work from home more than one day a week, the productivity ROI on a proper setup is real. Categories to consider:

• Monitor: a 27-inch 1440p or 32-inch 1440p is the sweet spot for most desk work.
• Chair: an office-grade chair with lumbar support outlasts three IKEA ones and is claimable as a WFH expense.
• Laptop refresh: only if the current one is causing genuine productivity loss.
• Headset with microphone: for meetings that don't need to sound like a cafe.
• Second-generation Dyson cool tower: for the WFH office that gets afternoon sun.

Compare laptops, monitors, and audio at JB Hi-Fi via ShopBack. Direct-from-Apple stock lives at Apple via ShopBack. Samsung's Australian storefront is Samsung via ShopBack. Air treatment and vacuums at Dyson via ShopBack.

Keep every receipt. Deductibility depends on business use percentage and the ATO's current-year WFH claim method; a good accountant will save you the equivalent of the receipt in one meeting.

Category 2: professional wardrobe refresh

If you started a new role in the last six months or your suit is showing wear, the refund is the natural moment. Focus on pieces with three-year lifespans:

• One neutral blazer (navy or charcoal) that works with everything.
• Two pairs of dress shoes in different colours to rotate wear.
• Five business shirts or blouses in wardrobe basics.
• One overcoat if you commute in winter.

Browse Myer for suit separates at Myer via ShopBack across Country Road, Sportscraft, and MJ Bale. Or step up to David Jones via ShopBack for the premium end. Refresh The Iconic wardrobe basics at The Iconic via ShopBack for same-day delivery in metro capitals.

Category 3: health and skincare restock

The refund is a good forcing function for the health checkups you've been postponing. Book a GP annual physical, a dental clean, an optometrist appointment, and a skin check now while the money is set aside. That's the Medicare-covered part.

The restockable part lives at pharmacy chains:

• Chemist Warehouse for the cheapest baseline on vitamins, supplements, and generic pharmacy.
• Priceline Pharmacy for beauty and cosmetics alongside pharmacy staples.
• Adore Beauty for the premium end (SkinCeuticals, Medik8, Drunk Elephant).

Restock the pharmacy shelf at Chemist Warehouse via ShopBack and refresh the skincare cabinet at Priceline Pharmacy via ShopBack or Adore Beauty via ShopBack.

Category 4: kitchen and home essentials

The refund is not a kitchen renovation. It is one appliance you'll use every day for the next five years. Candidates:

• Espresso machine if you buy more than one cafe coffee a day (payback in six to nine months).
• Air fryer or countertop oven for the household that eats dinner at home.
• Robot vacuum for the household with pets and hard floors.
• Dyson stick vacuum for the household without a dedicated cleaning day.

Compare Dyson vacuums and air treatment at Dyson via ShopBack. For everything else, cross-shop Amazon Australia via ShopBack against JB Hi-Fi small appliances.

Category 5: travel deposit for spring or summer

Locking in a Sep or Oct short-haul trip with the refund does two things at once: it makes the money feel spent (so you stop touching it) and it captures airfares while spring school-holiday inventory still has availability.

For domestic flights, Virgin Australia and Jetstar are the two main direct-flight options. For long-haul, an early deposit on flexibly cancellable accommodation preserves optionality.

Set the target at 50 to 70 percent of refund to trip cost, keep the rest in savings, and defer the rest of the payment to the standard credit-card cycle.

Category 6: kids and household basics

If it's a school year with a jump in uniform sizes or a household with a new baby, the refund becomes the wardrobe reset. Shop kids and household basics at Target Australia via ShopBack for the mainstream range, plus training shoes for growing feet at Nike via ShopBack or Adidas via ShopBack.

The order of operations

1. Move 50 percent to savings the day the refund lands. Automated transfer, not "I'll do it later".
2. Book the health appointments this week. Momentum matters.
3. Buy the tech piece you researched in June. Not "let me look around".
4. Refresh one wardrobe pillar, not five. The blazer or the coat.
5. Deposit the trip if you're going. Or move the money to savings if you're not.
6. Keep 10 to 20 percent as treat cash. Guilt-free, capped.

Every leg above tracks cashback through the linked ShopBack pages.

What to skip

• Impulse purchases you were not researching before the refund landed. They underperform researched purchases on any measure.
• Depreciating luxury on credit. If you can't buy it outright with the refund, defer it.
• Multi-thousand-dollar phone upgrades from a phone that still works. Wait for Black Friday.
• "Investment" purchases you don't have a use case for. A $600 tablet you'll use twice a month costs more than the sticker price.

Frequently asked questions

When will I get my 2026 tax refund from the ATO? The ATO processes most electronically lodged returns within two weeks. Paper returns and returns flagged for review take longer. Lodgements from early July generally clear before the end of the month if your prefill data is complete and no additional review is triggered.

What should I spend my tax return on in Australia? Prioritise categories that either save you money over the next 12 months (work-from-home tech, health checkups, energy-efficient appliances) or that you would have bought anyway in the next quarter (professional wardrobe refresh, travel deposit). Deferring one-off purchases to align with the refund reduces credit-card interest exposure.

Is a tax refund actually free money? No. A refund is your own money returned after too much PAYG tax was withheld through the year. Treat it as delayed salary, not a windfall. That framing usually shifts spending toward higher-value categories.

How much of my refund should I save vs spend? A common rule is 50 percent to emergency savings or a high-interest account, 30 percent to a planned purchase (tech, travel, health), and 20 percent to a discretionary treat. Adjust based on your emergency-fund status; if you have less than three months of expenses saved, weight savings higher.

Can I stack cashback on tax-refund spending? Yes. Cashback is available across major Australian retailers including Amazon Australia, JB Hi-Fi, Priceline Pharmacy, Chemist Warehouse, Myer, David Jones, Dyson, Samsung, Apple, The Iconic, Adore Beauty, Nike, Adidas, and Target Australia through ShopBack Australia. Tap through from each merchant page before checkout.

What work-from-home purchases can I claim next year? Items used to produce assessable income are usually deductible: a portion of your monitor, chair, headset, laptop, and internet costs if you work from home. Claim methods and thresholds change year to year, so check the ATO current-year guidance. Keep receipts either way.

Should I use my refund on private health insurance? If you earn above the Medicare Levy Surcharge income threshold and don't have hospital cover, taking out basic private hospital cover before June 30 next year removes the surcharge. That's a defensive spend that often pays for itself in tax alone.

Is it worth spending my refund on a laptop or phone upgrade? If your current device is causing genuine productivity loss (constant crashes, camera or battery failure) and the new one will be used for work, yes; keep the receipt for depreciation. If it's a lateral upgrade for the same functionality, defer until Black Friday or Boxing Day.

Where should I book travel with my tax refund? For domestic and international flights, put a deposit on holiday-season travel while there's still Sep and Oct availability. Virgin Australia has direct flights via ShopBack Australia. For accommodation, book flexibly cancellable rates so you retain optionality.

What's the smartest single purchase for a tax refund? The one you were going to make anyway, timed to align with the refund and put through a cashback link. New spending because you have the money will underperform re-timed existing spending on almost any measure.

Bottom line

Automate the savings move, book the health appointments, do the one purchase you actually researched, and treat the rest as delayed salary. The refund does more work when it goes across two or three categories you were already planning to spend in than when it lands on one impulse buy. Start the run at JB Hi-Fi via ShopBack or Chemist Warehouse via ShopBack depending on which category is up first.

Cashback rates, merchant terms, and promo windows change. Verify the current rate on the relevant shopback.com.au merchant page before purchasing. ShopBack receives a commission when readers complete purchases through a cashback link. This commission does not vary by editorial coverage.