Transfer Balance Cap reporting

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has introduced new superannuation fund reporting requirements based on the Transfer Balance Cap (TBC) of $1,600,000 being the maximum allowable amount in pension phase.  Event-based reporting is the responsibility of super fund trustees and takes place via a Transfer Balance Account Report (TBAR).

The main reporting events are as follows:

1. Starting a new pension, if you are retired
2. Stopping a pension
3. Taking a lump sum from the superfund (excludes normal pension payments)
4. Turning age 65 years (if in Transition to Retirement Phase)

 

Initial reporting requirement

 

In the transitional period to 30 June 2018, there was a requirement to lodge a Transfer Balance Account Report (TBAR) for any pension amounts as at 30 June 2017.  Where relevant, we have prepared the relevant TBAR report before the 1 July 2018 deadline.

 

Are you a quarterly or annual reporter?

 

Quarterly TBAR reporting will be required if at least 1 member of your superfund had a total super balance greater than $1 million as at 30 June 2017.   As part of the transitional measures, any events occurring between 1 July 2017 to 30 June 2018 need to be reported by 28 October 2018. Thereafter, the lodgement due date will be the 28th day following the quarter.

Annual TBAR reporting will be required if no members of the fund have a total super balance greater than $1 million as at 30 June 2017.  As part of the transitional measures, any events occurring between 1 July 2017 to 30 June 2018 need to be reported at the same time as your tax lodgement date, on or before 15 May, 2019.  Thereafter, the reporting date will be annually at the same time as the tax lodgement.

 

ATO penalty regime

 

The legislation includes penalties for funds that don’t report as required for each period of 28 days (or part thereof) that the report is not provided to the ATO.  The maximum penalty is $1,050.  Other penalties for non-compliance are up to 47% tax.

We can’t stress enough the importance of keeping your super fund information up to date.  We also recommend having live bank feeds to ensure information is available to make timely and accurate decisions as well as avoiding ATO penalties for any inadvertent mistakes or non-compliance.

 

Further help:

If you are a Marsh & Partners’ SMSF client, your advisor will be in contact to let you know if you are required to comply with the quarterly reporting framework.  If you do need to report quarterly, we’ll let you know what information we require in order to prepare the TBAR.

If you have any questions regarding the TBAR reporting process, please do not hesitate to contact us on (07) 3023 4800 or at mail@marshpartners.com.au.

Share this article on LinkedIn: