Do you own a self-managed super fund (SMSF)? If yes, you are required to report certain events to the ATO in the event-based reporting framework on a must-do basis. An SMSF must report all the events that affect a member’s transfer balance account. Some of these common events include:

• details about when a member commences a retirement phase income stream, including death benefit income stream, such as:

1. type of income stream
2. the value of income stream
3. start date of income stream

• where the death benefit income stream is paid to a reversionary beneficiary. In this case, the start date will be the date the member died, and the value will be the value of the income stream on the date of death of the member. The details include:

1. the value of commutation of retirement phase income stream
2. the commutation of a pension before it is rolled over to another fund

Other events to report self-managed super funds include:

• information about payments made under limited recourse borrowing agreements (LRBAs), including the amount and date of each relevant payment, if the LRBA was signed on or after July 1, 2017
• information about payments made under limited recourse borrowing agreements (LRBAs), if an existing LRBA was refinanced on or after that date, and the payment raises the value of the member’s interest
• compliance with a commutation authority issued by the ATO
• details of personal injury (structured settlement) contributions
• If no event occurs, there is nothing to report

How often and when you need to report

A pre-existing income stream for an SMSF member is required to be disclosed to the ATO on the super transfer balance account report (TBAR) on or before July 1, 2018.

Also, from July 1, 2018, all SMSFs must notify of any occurrences that affect the transfer balances of its members. Nothing needs to be reported if no event occured.

The total superannuation balances of SMSF members will determine the timeframe for transfer balance event reporting until June 30, 2023, unless:

• the member has surpassed its personal transfer balance cap
• the member has been sent an excess transfer balance determination
• a member fund has been sent a commutation authority

All events affecting members’ transfer balances must be reported within 28 days of the end of the quarter in which they occur. This rule applies to SMSFs that have members with a total superannuation balance of $1 million or more as on June 30 of the year their first member begins the first retirement phase income stream.

For more information, schedule a consultation with one of our qualified tax accountants at KPG Taxation.