Most will be aware that since September 2007, it has been possible for SMSF trustees to borrow to acquire an asset, subject to certain conditions. One condition is that the asset acquired must be held on trust for the SMSF trustee. This trust is often referred to by many different names: eg, an instalment warrant [read more]

A key planning element for covering risks on death or incapacity is to have a trusted person stand in as your successor trustee/director. This requires planning in advance to ensure the smooth transition to a self managed superannuation fund. To ensure that this occurs, amongst other things, the following needs to be undertaken. Selection Select [read more]

The CGT small business concessions allow members to get an extra $1.1 million each into super. This can be a great way to boost retirement savings given the contribution limits now in place. Furthermore, these concessions can also be used in conjunction with an asset protection strategy. For example, transferring business real property (‘BRP’) to [read more]

Superannuation is a significant asset for many of our clients. Not surprisingly, they increasingly want to achieve certainty about how their benefits will be paid on death. Some may also want to plan who will be trustee of their SMSF on death. What is the best way to tie this down? There are now numerous [read more]

Bank v private funding Most of the major banks now offer SMSF loan products for ‘instalment-warrant’ style borrowings. However, we are noting more and more advisers who are attracted by the related party loan arrangements. This could be a loan from a family trust, company or even one or more SMSF members. In many cases [read more]

A recent AAT decision reminds us that there are several elements of non-arm’s length income that all practitioners must be aware of. This is especially relevant where superannuation fund trustees have invested in related unit trusts. Superannuation fund income which is non-arm’s length income is subject to income tax at 45% (not the usual 15%). [read more]

Following the introduction of more limited contribution caps from July 2007, many SMSF members are now facing hefty excess contributions tax assessments. With a further substantial reduction of the concessional contributions caps for the 2009-10 year onwards, this problem is likely to continue. Excess contributions assessments can be disastrous. Excess non-concessional contributions are taxed at [read more]

SMSF trustees with pre-1999 investments in related unit trusts should now be mindful that any further reinvestment after the deadline of 30 June 2009 will generally constitute an in-house asset. Our readers will recall our April 2009 news which discussed the deadline in detail. More recently, the ATO was asked whether it would show any [read more]

The recently released draft tax ruling TR 2009/D3 outlines the ATO’s view on a range of situations in which a ‘contribution’ is made to a super fund, including some important timing aspects. In this newsletter, we draw out some of the key points to be taken from the draft ruling. SMSF borrowing and guarantees The [read more]

The Budget provided much welcome relief for many suspecting the superannuation rules were once again going to be substantially modified. While the impact is less than many feared, several key changes impacting the superannuation industry are outlined below. Concessional contributions The Government has announced that concessional contribution caps will be lowered from 1 July 2009 [read more]