SMSF Investment Strategy: Considerations for Trustees
What’s the Purpose of an SMSF Investment Strategy? An investment strategy for your self-managed super fund (SMSF) is a legal requirement, designed to assist Trustees when making investment decisions for the Fund. The SMSF Investment Strategy must be clearly articulated – the ATO recommends it is written down – to keep members aligned with the […]
The Top 5 Mistakes made on an SMSF: Advice from the Australian Tax Office
The ATO published a list of the most common mistakes made in the accounting process of SMSFs around the country last year. A few of the top five mistakes relate to the SMSF Annual Return (SAR) which is required to be lodged for some SMSFs next month. With recent growth of 15% in SMSF’s for […]
ATO Updates for April
Trustee Reporting Obligations for April: Transfer Balance Account Report (TBAR) For some SMSF’s, the Transfer Balance Account Report (TBAR) is due on April 28. It’s important to note additional considerations ahead of the indexation of the transfer balance cap later in the year. You’re required to lodge a TBAR for SMSF clients where: A transfer […]
SMSF Auditor Independence Standards – The Tough Decisions for Accounting Firms
In preparation for a tougher clamp down on SMSF Audit Independence Standards as of July 1, many accounting firms face a predicament. Under the updated code, those firms that offer both non assurance and SMSF audit services to their SMSF clients to decide to offer one, or the other. The independence standard also affects those […]
Contribution and work test change for SMSF members aged 65 to 67
Recent changes to the rules around superannuation contributions including a work test change for people aged 65 and 66 have been made and come into effect from 1 July 2020. The changes enable people aged over 65 years, but under 67 years old to make voluntary concessional and non-concessional contributions to superannuation without the need […]
Code of Conduct for Commercial Tenancies including SMSFs
The National Cabinet has agreed to a mandatory code of conduct for commercial tenancies. The code will be guided by a set of principles, developed and legislated by State and Territory governments and apply to commercial landlords including SMSFs. Tenants who participate in the federal government’s JobKeeper assistance and have a turnover of less than […]
Upcoming SMSF Lodgement Dates 2020
There are a number of important SMSF lodgement dates 2020 that are upcoming across April, May and June 2020. It’s also possible that the ATO may allow a lodgement extension for 2019 SMSF annual returns to assist tax practitioner businesses impacted by COVID-19.
Vary SMSF PAYG Instalments
PAYG instalments is a system that helps taxpayers manage expected future tax liabilities on their SMSF income for the current income year by making regular payments in advance. To assist taxpayers experiencing financial difficulty as a result of COVID-19, the ATO is enabling tax payers to vary SMSF PAYG instalments without penalty for the current […]
SMSF Rent Relief for Related Party Tenants
The ATO has announced it will not be taking compliance action for the 2020 and 2021 financial years where an SMSF provide rent relief to a related party business leasing commercial property from the fund. So if your business has a lease agreement with your SMSF for it’s premises / property being forced to pay […]
FAQs SMSF Minimum Pension Reduction 2020-21
What is my new minimum pension for 2020? Can I put amounts in excess of the reduced minimum pension back into my SMSF? Can I treat payments above the reduced minimum pension amount as lump sums? There are many questions about the SMSF minimum pension reduction 2020-21 and this article answers most of the common […]