How Much Does It Cost to Lease a Copy Machine in Australia?

How the $20,000 instant asset write off applied in 2025 to 2026

The Australian Taxation Office set the instant asset write off threshold at $20,000 for assets costing less than $20,000 that were first used or installed ready for use between 1 July 2025 and 30 June 2026, for small businesses with aggregated turnover under $10 million.

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The threshold for 2026 to 2027 was announced in the May 2026 Budget and is not yet law, so confirm the current year figure at ato.gov.au or with your accountant before relying on it.

A copy machine costing more than the threshold is deducted over time rather than in the year of purchase.

Whether that runs through the small business pool or over the asset effective life depends on whether the business uses the simplified depreciation rules.

Buying under the threshold delivered the full deduction immediately, which is why the threshold often shapes copy machine buying decisions.

Why leasing is the operating expense path

A leased copy machine is funded by monthly payments classified as an operating expense in most Australian small business accounts.

Operating expenses are typically deductible in the year they are paid, so the cash benefit lands across the contract rather than at one fixed asset registration moment.

The structure removes the capital pressure of a single $20,000 plus invoice and replaces it with a budgeted monthly figure.

When buying outright still makes sense

Buying outright suits stable, high volume operations that keep equipment long term and prefer to absorb maintenance internally.

It also suits buyers with surplus capital who can use whatever instant asset write off applies in their year of purchase.

Most SMEs that want predictable monthly cost and bundled service prefer the lease path.