The ATO has issued a new Taxpayer Alert around SMSFs engaging in property developments. Developments can be very lucrative given how much property prices have appreciated in Australia over the past decade or two. For background, while it is permissible for SMSFs to engage in property development, it is subject to a number of stringent...

Are you a self-funded retiree who does not qualify for the Age Pension? If you’ve answered yes, then help may be available for certain living expenses by way of the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card (CSHC). What is the CSHC? The CSHC is a concession card enabling access to  cheaper health care and some discounts if...

From 1 July 2023, trustees and directors of SMSFs must report certain events that affect their members transfer balance account quarterly. These events must be reported by lodging a ‘transfer balance account report’ (TBAR) no later than 28 days after the end of the quarter in which they occur. The purpose of this change is...

Many Australians would agree that the purpose of their superannuation is to provide income/benefits for themselves and their dependents in retirement. However, the government wants to take this one step further and legislate the objective of superannuation. What is the proposed objective? The government recently announced it plans on legislating an objective for superannuation. The...

Did you know there is around $16 billion in lost and unclaimed superannuation across Australia? The ATO recently indicated this is an increase of $2.1 billion since last financial year and is urging Australians to check their account to see if some of the money is theirs. How to find lost or unclaimed super Finding...

Individuals with large superannuation balances may soon be subject to an extra 15% tax on earnings if their balance exceeds $3m at the end of a financial year. What has been proposed? Recently, the government announced it will introduce an additional tax of 15% on earnings for individuals whose total superannuation balance (TSB) exceeds $3m...

Already rolling into March…2023 is flying by! From a superannuation standpoint, following are just some of the changes you can expect this year: Super guarantee increase Employers face an increase to their SG liability this year. The rate of SG will increase from 10.5% to 11% from 1 July 2023, before gradually hitting 12% on...

Last year 9,700 individuals applied for compassionate release of super for dental treatment expenses, and 82% were approved. Out of those approved, 9% were for a dependent child’s dental treatment, which could include braces. What is the pathway for access? While normally superannuation must be preserved for retirement, there are limited  exceptions. One of these...

It’s been a particularly difficult 12 months for investors. On the superannuation front, we now have two major reports assessing how super accounts fared in the  2022 calendar year. Super­Ratings issued its average balanced return recently and found it was minus 4.8%. Late last year, ChantWest undertook a similar exercise – reporting a figure of...

On 20 February 2023, Treasury released a consultation paper on legislating the purpose of superannuation. This is an idea that has been around since 2016 when the former Coalition government contemplated doing the same thing. The government says that legislating an objective of superannuation will provide stability and confidence to policy makers, regulators, industry, and...