When your client already has an established company, it is natural to ask if that company can be the Trustee of their new SMSF. We don’t recommend this approach - let’s have a look why.

Treasury Laws Amendment (2018 Superannuation Measures No. 1) Bill 2019 was passed by the Senate on Thursday 19 September. At long last, it allows certain people to opt out of receiving Superannuation Guarantee contributions.

The ATO updated its policies around the implication of late SMSF Regulatory returns on Wednesday - alerting trustees and accountants via changes to its website.

The ATO recently identified approximately 18,000 SMSFs who hold 90% or more of their assets in a single asset or a single asset class. The ATO is concerned that these funds may not have met their investment strategy requirements.

The term “as soon as practicable” appears several times in tax and superannuation law – it’s never defined and often has different meanings depending on the context.

There does not appear to be any restriction in the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act or Regulations (SIS) which would prevent a person acting under an EPOA from completing and signing a BDBN.

No, but it may still be appropriate to do so depending on the fund’s future intentions.

The 1 July 2017 changes to superannuation pensions introduced a new rule of thumb – most people can only convert $1.6m to a retirement phase pension over their lifetime.

Can an SMSF receive excess concessional contributions when a member has reached the $1.6m total super balance limit? SMSF Magazine featuring our own Meg Heffron explains the fine details.

Most practitioners would be aware that superannuation is not covered by the deceased’s will and can only be paid to a limited group of beneficiaries. The practicalities are often still quite opaque.

The Government has introduced two bills to the House of Representatives; one that had previously lapsed when the Federal Election was called, and one containing a long overdue improvement to salary sacrificing.

Approximately 10% of SMSFs own commercial property and often this commercial property is leased to a related party. There are a number of rules to follow to ensure the arrangement complies with the superannuation / tax laws.