News & Views

If your SMSF has a combination of pension and accumulation assets at any point during the financial year then you will require an actuarial certificate. An actuarial certificate will give you a tax exempt percentage for your Fund.  This will tell you the proportion of the Fund which was tax free. The tax exempt percentage is the total average pension assets divided by total average Fund assets.  This gives the average proportion of assets in the SMSF which were back...

Capital Gains Tax is a harsh reality for any investor. It pays to stay on top of record keeping for your capital assets, especially long-term ones. It may seem difficult to keep track of everything now but in twenty years time it will be even more difficult. Two of the most common capital assets in Australia are shares and property. Outlined below are examples of the information you may require for capital gains tax purposes. Shares: Original purchase details, incl...

If you are aged over 65 you must satisfy the "work test" before you can make a super contribution. The work test is defined as 40 hours of gainful employment in a consecutive 30-day period. The work undertaken must be for gain or reward i.e wages or salary. Because of this criteria charity and volunteer work does not meet the work test. Should you have any questions in relation to the work test or your SMSF please contact our office. ...

  Self managed superannuation funds must meet the sole purpose test under the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 (SISA). The test is based on the principle that superannuation benefits provide for the members retirement, and any investment decision must be made for the future rather than present benefit. Common breaches include: Purchasing an investment that gives benefit to a member or associate before they retire
  Providing financial ...

According to the ATO during the 2012/2013 financial year 35,000 SMSF’s were established taking the total number of SMSFs to over 500,000.The benefits from establishing a SMSF range from investment control, flexibility with contributions and pension withdrawals, outperformance of industry funds and administration cost savings. Investment control includes being able to invest directly in real estate property and unlisted share investments, options that are not available to memb...