Maintaining your SMSF can be as simple or as complicated as you like. It all depends on how much help you want from professionals with running your fund.
However no matter how much you outsource to professionals, as an SMSF trustee the buck stops with you.
There are some activities you need to make sure that you do every year so you comply with the superannuation law.
As an SMSF trustee you must make sure:
- You lodge the SMSF Annual Return with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). This is a combined tax and regulatory return that MUST be completed every year
- You engage an approved SMSF auditor to complete an audit of your fund
- You pay the annual SMSF supervisory levy which is included in your SMSF Annual Return
- You ensure that fund assets are valued at market value so that your SMSF financial statements and annual return are accurate
- You keep proper records as required by the superannuation and tax laws, such as trustee declarations, actuarial certificates and reporting events affecting transfer balance accounts.
- From 1 July 2018, ensure you are reporting events to the ATO that affect a member’s transfer balance.
- You notify the ATO of any significant changes to the fund, such as a new trustee or a change in contact details, within 28 days of the change
- If your SMSF is paying pensions, ensure you pay the minimum annual pension payments to keep your tax concessions on pension assets
As well as these specific activities don’t forget you need to meet the investment rules at all times.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this document is provided for educational purposes only, is general in nature and is prepared without taking into account particular objective, financial circumstances, legal and tax issues and needs. The information provided in this article is not a substitute for legal, tax and financial product advice. Before making any decision based on this information, you should assess its relevance to your individual circumstances. While SMSF Association believes that the information provided in this article is accurate, no warranty is given as to its accuracy and persons who rely on this information do so at their own risk. The information provided in this bulletin is not considered financial product advice for the purposes of the Corporations Act 2001.