It seems few are more surprised than Scott Morrison that the Liberal / National Coalition will be forming Government after the 18 May election.

The Australian Taxation Office are concerned that a number of SMSFs paying capped defined benefit income streams haven’t met their Pay As You Go obligations and are writing to affected SMSFs.

When a superannuation interest in retirement phase is subject to a family law split, there are two ways to report the Transfer Balance Account debit “event” depending on the type of payment split.

The Government’s 1 July 2017 tax changes caused Transition to Retirement Income Streams (TRIS) to fall out of favour with many advisers and their clients.

Division 293 tax is the name given to a special extra tax (15%) paid on some or all of the concessional superannuation contributions made for high income earners.

With the Federal election looming, the Australian Labor Party’s policy to prevent many taxpayers from receiving a refund for their franking credits has certainly become a dominant issue for many retirees, particularly those with SMSFs.

And they’re off! The long-awaited election campaign is now finally in full swing and babies are being kissed, working families praised and the nightly news shows too many politicians.

While the rules surrounding excess contributions have remained relatively stable for some time now, the 1 July 2017 changes to non-concessional contribution limits for those with large superannuation balances have understandably muddied the waters.

Top of mind for many SMSF trustees – particularly retirees - is the upcoming Federal Election and the Australian Labor Party (ALP) policy on refunds of excess franking credits.

As we get closer to the end of the financial year, many SMSF members with pensions will be checking the amounts paid from their fund so far to make sure the minimum payment requirements will be met.

Lodging transfer balance account reports (TBAR) and viewing transfer balance cap (TBC) information is now easier for tax agents but only where they are the tax agent for the individual member.

The Government has announced that they will not proceed with their plan to increase the maximum number of members of SMSFs and small APRA funds from four to six.