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Used contributions reserving? New ATO materials impact you!

Used contributions reserving? New ATO materials impact you

Ever since TD 2013/22 and ATO ID 2012/16 many have considered contribution reserving to be a ‘lay down misere’.

However, there are various possible difficulties practitioners must be aware of.

The ATO has recently addressed one of these difficulties by releasing the new ATO form ‘Request to adjust concessional contributions’ (NAT 74851).

This form notifies the ATO that an SMSF member made concessional contributions in one financial year but that their SMSF did not allocate the contributions to him or her until the next financial year.

Previously, where contribution reserving was used for personal deductible contributions, a practical problem would arise. Namely, due to the way the SMSF annual return and the member’s personal income tax return provide information to the ATO, it would appear to the ATO that a member had excess contributions. Often the only way to deal with this was via an objection process, which can be costly and time consuming.

Hopefully this new form should streamline the process of alerting the ATO and do away with the need for a formal objection.

Other traps?

There are other traps to be aware of.

One such trap is that a reserving strategy is required. Many seek to implement a contribution reserving strategy without a contribution strategy, which contravenes superannuation law. A reserving strategy is different to an investment strategy.

DBA Lawyers provides the Contribution Reserving Kit. This kit contains guidance and template documentation on how to establish and maintain contribution reserves and how to deal with to any excess contributions issues that might arise from implementation of the strategy. It also outlines the benefits and risks associated with contribution reserving. For more details visit Strategy Compliance Kits.

More information?

Our August SMSF Strategy Seminars start this week. We will be discussing the impact of this new ATO material in these SMSF Strategy Seminars. To register, visit SMSF Strategy Seminars.

To see online training regarding contributions and excess contributions tax (recorded in July 2015), see Contributions And Excess Contributions Tax.

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This article is for general information only and should not be relied upon without first seeking advice from an appropriately qualified professional.

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