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The Superannuation community is designed for people working across the superannuation industry and has been created to encourage open and interactive conversation.
We will regularly add new topics and resources to engage with the Superannuation community online.
We encourage you to register to participate in online discussions or register your interest to follow activities specific to the Superannuation industry.
If you have a question about super, visit ATO Community to search for and ask questions.
The Superannuation community is designed for people working across the superannuation industry and has been created to encourage open and interactive conversation.
We will regularly add new topics and resources to engage with the Superannuation community online.
We encourage you to register to participate in online discussions or register your interest to follow activities specific to the Superannuation industry.
If you have a question about super, visit ATO Community to search for and ask questions.
The payer needs to withhold from a compensation, sickness or accident payment to an individual if it is both:
Withholding does not apply if the payment is made by the insurer to the owner of the policy. The owner of the policy would need to declare this income in their return.
Scenario 1: The life insured was assessed disabled and the payment was supposed to be released to him but then a court order was issued where the 30% of income protection claim was to be paid to the spouse. Question is, who is liable for tax payment spouse or the life insured and what portion.
If there is withholding it is withheld from the gross amount before the payment is distributed to the spouse. If it is paid to the policy owner then they would need to include the whole amount in their tax return.
Scenario 2: The life insured was assessed disabled and the payment was supposed to be released to him but then a court order was issued where the 30% of income protection claim was to be paid to the child support agency (on behalf of a dependent child). Question is, who is liable for tax payment the life insured and what portion. The child support agency is an entity and hence should not be withhold but is the total amount should be withhold as life insured income?
If there is withholding it is always withheld from the gross amount before the distributed to the child support agency. If it is paid to the policy owner then they would need to include the whole amount in their tax return.
Scenario 3: The life insured was assessed disabled and the payment was supposed to be released to him but he asked the life insurance company to transfer 30% of the claim amount to spouse's account. There was no court order or legal requirement. Question is, who is liable for tax payment spouse or the life insured and what portion.
If there is withholding it is always withheld from the gross amount before the distributed to the spouse. If it is paid to the policy owner then they would need to include the whole amount in their tax return.
This law lapsed due to the 2019 Federal Election as such it will need to be reintroduced to parliament, so SMSF membership limit is still four.
You are correct in noting that there has been a recent law change to the FHSS scheme which comes into effect on 1 July 2019. These changes apply retrospectively to valid FHSS release requests and contracts entered into on or after 1 July 2018.
The requirement to have applied for and received a FHSS determination from us before signing a contract for your first home has not changed. What has changed is that you are now able to sign a contract to purchase or construct your home up to 14 days before you make a valid request to release your FHSS amounts.
The LCR 2018/5 has not been updated because the requirement to have a determination before signing a contract has not changed. When a person requests a determination they are asked whether they currently hold an interest in real property.
Subsections 138‑10(2A) and (2B) of the Taxation Administration Act 1953 (TAA 1953) provides that to be eligible for the FHSS scheme you must have never held a stipulated property in Australia (unless specific financial hardship requirements are met).
Subsection 138‑10(2) of the TAA 1953 is the provision which states that a person is able to apply for a determination if they are eligible under the FHSS scheme. Once the determination has been issued by us, it follows that the release process is the next step.
When you apply for a FHSS determination online using your myGov account linked to the ATO, you will receive confirmation of the maximum releasable amount on the screen immediately after your determination request is submitted. A few days later, you will also receive your FHSS determination (advising the maximum releasable amount) either via your myGov mail box or post.
The assessable FHSS released amount shown on the FHSS payment summary is net of contributions tax. For example, if the original contribution was a concessional contribution e.g. salary sacrifice of $10,000, the assessable FHSS released amount would be $8,500 ($10,000 x 85%) plus associated earnings.
The FHSS payment summary will show the assessable FHSS release amount paid to you. The total tax withheld from these amounts will also be displayed on the payment summary.
Both these amounts must be included in your tax return for the year the FHSS release was requested (this may not be the same financial year in which the FHSS amounts are received).
You will be eligible to make a downsizer contribution to super if you can answer yes to all of the following:
The 10-year ownership test
There is no exemption to the 10-year ownership test. You or your spouse, or former spouse, must have held an ownership interest in the home, or ownership interest in the land on which the home is situated at all times during the 10 years prior to the disposal.
This is from the day the ownership interest in the home commenced to the day it ceased. In most cases, this would be from the settlement date of the original purchase to the settlement date of the sale.
You are not required to hold an ownership interest for the entire 10-year period personally, provided that, at all times during this period, an ownership interest has been held by some combination of you, your spouse, and/or your former spouse. This allows for changes in ownership between spouses to account for circumstances such as the death of a spouse and relationship breakdown.
If your spouse who held an ownership interest dies, you can count the period of ownership of your deceased spouse, including the period the dwelling is held by the trustee of the deceased estate, towards the 10-year ownership test.
If there is a period of time when land is vacant, and you hold the ownership interest in the land, this will still count towards the 10-year ownership test. This means that eligibility can be extended to circumstances such as where the dwelling has been knocked down and rebuilt or a vacant block was initially purchased and subsequently built on.
If you are going to rely on having held an ownership interest in the land to satisfy this condition, you or your spouse must generally have held the interest directly, not through another entity, such as a trust or company. In these situations we recommend you seek advice specific to your circumstances prior to making a contribution.
If you are applying to pay for medical treatment expenses you must provide two - separate reports. One must be from a registered medical specialist and the other can be from either a registered medical practitioner or a registered medical specialist or dentist, advising that you require treatment for:
The registered medical specialist must be specialised in the field of treatment.
For more information about eligible and documentation required, go to Early access to your super or you can call us on 131020.
If you are applying for compassionate release of super due to mortgage foreclosure, you will need to provide documented evidence that the bank/lender is planning to sell your home. Without this evidence, we are unable to assess an application.
However, you can submit an application with the evidence that you do have for assessment.
For more information go to Early access to your super or you can call us on 131020 to speak to one of our experience staff who will be able to assist you further.
If you are applying for compassionate release of super due to mortgage foreclosure, you will need to provide documented evidence that the bank/lender is planning to sell your home.
Without this evidence, we are unable to assess an application.
However, you can submit an application with the evidence that you do have for assessment.
For more information go to Early access to your super or you can call us on 131020 to speak to one of our experience staff who will be able to assist you further.
We are unable to use a default notice as evidence unless the notice states that the bank is going to sell your home.
For more information go to Early access to your super or you can call us on 131020 to speak to one of our experience staff who will be able to assist you.
Before you apply, check with your superannuation fund whether they allow the early release of super.
If your application has been approved, you must contact your super fund to arrange release of your money. You will need to provide the super fund with a copy of the approval letter to process your payment. Your fund can advise how long it will take for the money to be released into your bank account.
Remember, you must pay the expenses with the amount released from the fund and keep your receipts as evidence.
For more information go to Early access to your super or callus on 131020.
The definition of Ordinary Time Earnings (OTE) for Superannuation Guarantee (SG) purposes, is the remuneration paid to the employee as a reward for the employee's services.
Subsection 6(1) of the SGAA defines OTE in relation to an employee to mean:
(a) the total of:(i) earnings in respect of ordinary hours of work other than earnings consisting of a lump sum payment of any of the following kinds made to the employee on the termination of his or her employment:
(A) a payment in lieu of unused sick leave;
(B) an unused annual leave payment, or unused long service leave payment, within the meaning of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997;
(ii) earnings consisting of over-award payment, shift loading or commission; or
(b) If the total ascertained in accordance with paragraph (a) would be greater than the maximum contribution base for the quarter – the maximum contribution base.
The Commissioner’s views on OTE generally, including an employee’s ‘ordinary hours of work’ are included in Superannuation Guarantee Ruling SGR 2009/2 Superannuation guarantee: meaning of the terms 'ordinary time earnings' and 'salary or wages'.
SGR 2009/2 explains that an employee's ‘ordinary hours of work’ are the hours specified as ordinary hours of work under the relevant award or agreement that governs the employee's conditions of employment. It also highlights that any hours worked in excess of, or outside the span of those specified ordinary hours of work are not part of the employee's ‘ordinary hours of work’.
Accordingly, if the ‘sleepover shift’ hours are not paid at a higher base rate as overtime, then those hours would be considered to be ‘ordinary hours of work’.
If a ‘sleepover shift‘ allowance is paid as an unconditional extra payment, it would also be considered part of OTE for Superannuation Guarantee purposes.
However, if the ‘sleepover shift’ hours are paid at a higher base rate as overtime, then they would not count as OTE.
Question: Thank you for answering our question. Is this a general rule that applies also to Home Care/Aged Care Service Provider?
Answer: Yes. It is a general rule, and does also apply to health care/aged care providers.
There are limited circumstances when you can access your super early. These circumstances are mainly related to specific medical conditions or severe financial hardship. You will need to ensure you meet the eligibility criteria and provide the required evidence.
For severe financial hardship, you will need to apply to DHS. For more information visit Early release of superannuation at DHS.
For compassionate release of superannuation you will need to apply to the ATO. For more information go to Early access to your super or call us on 13 10 20.
You may be eligible to apply for compassionate release of superannuation to pay for mortgage arrears if your mortgage lender is threatening to repossess or sell your home. To be eligible, both the following must apply:
You will also need to provide the required evidence with your application.
You can find more information about the compassionate release of superannuation and how to apply at access on compassionate grounds or by calling 131020.You can keep track of your superannuation by logging into your myGov account and accessing the ATO Online service.
The following link will provide you with the instructions: keeping track of your super using myGov
Eligibility for the FHSS Scheme is assessed on an individual basis. This means that couples, siblings or friends can each access their own eligible FHSS contributions and associated earnings to purchase the same property. If any of the parties have previously owned a home, it will not stop those who have not previously owned property being eligible under the Scheme.
To be eligible, your spouse would need to have been making super contributions, that are voluntary concessional (before-tax) and/or non-concessional (after-tax) contributions into her super fund to save for her first home from the 1 July 2017 onwards, be 18 years old or over and also meet the below eligibility criteria:
Additionally, to be eligible to access the FHSS Scheme an individual must enter into a contract to purchase or construct a house within 12 months of the FHSS amount being released. Therefore your spouse’s name would need to be listed on the contract to purchase or construct a home, or on the property title, at the time she notifies the ATO of the purchase made. If your spouse has had FHSS money released and she is not eligible for the FHSS Scheme, penalties may apply for giving false or misleading information and/or the FHSS tax may be applied to the assessable amount released.
Please keep in mind that if you are not an Australian resident for tax purposes you will pay any income tax on the assessable income from the FHSS scheme at the non-resident tax rate (less the 30% tax offset). You should also check whether there are any other limitations to you purchasing residential property, new or established, in Australia.
An individual would not be liable for the FHSS tax after they signed a contract if they meet all of the following conditions:
If an individual signs a contract to purchase or construct their home,
before the FHSS money is released, they will not be required to pay the FHSS
tax if they recontribute the required amount to their super fund or they sign
another contract.
This question should be directed to APRA as they process applications for:
A
public offer superannuation fund is an RSE regulated by APRA and the fund’s
trustee must hold an RSE licence issued by APRA.
When your application is finalised, a message will be sent to your myGov inbox with the outcome. If your application is approved, we will also notify your super fund.
As this is a two-step process, you must contact your superfund to arrange release of your money. You will need to provide the superfund with a copy of the approval letter to process your payment.
You are able to sign a contract to purchase or construct your home after we have released the first amount of FHSS money into your bank account. If you sign a contract before your FHSS money is released, then you may be liable to pay FHSS tax.
The release date for FHSS is the date we send your FHSS money to your nominated bank account. It can take 2-3 business days, or longer (depending upon your financial institution) for your FHSS money to reach your account, but provided the money has been released to you, you can sign a contract to purchase or construct your home.
If you have requested a release of your FHSS amount from multiple super funds, it is the date the first amount of FHSS money is released to you that is important. You do not need to wait until we have released all amounts to you to sign your contract.Dear Sir/Madam,
Thank you for your email. Super Transfer balance account report instructions
Q: This is were the grey area is , under an industrial agreement i cannot directly alter the salary sacrifice payment ,and the ato states that because this is an industrial agreement it is not reportable . Could you please clarify this as mine is reported but on my gross pay , which means double taxation .what does not reportable mean? Regards rob
A: As previously mentioned, the super contributions an employer makes for an employee are not reportable employer super contributions if both of the following apply:
• the employer makes the contributions to meet the terms of an industrial agreement
• the employee did not, or could not, directly influence the terms of the agreement.
Not reportable means that the contributions should not be included on your payment summary at all.
If your employer has provided you with a payment summary that contains incorrect information, you will need to ask your employer to provide you with an amended payment summary. If you have already lodged your tax return with the incorrect information, you may need to lodge an amendment request. Please refer to Incorrect amounts at RESC - Already lodged to determine if you are required to amend your tax return.
Where an employer makes extra super contributions for an employee – for example under a salary sacrifice arrangement – the employer must report those extra contributions on the employee’s annual payment summary if:
When the ATO determines an individual is not eligible to make a Downsizer contribution we send a letter to both the fund and the individual.
In our letter to the fund we provide the member’s name, the contribution details and in some cases the reason the member is not eligible to make a downsizer contribution. We also include information on what the fund needs to do next.
In our letter to the individual we provide the name of the fund(s) who have reported downsizer contributions on their behalf, the contribution amount(s) and the reason the contribution (or any part thereof) can’t be accepted as a downsizer contribution. We also include information on what happens next.No ATO does not send partial responses. MAAS
(and MATS) are ATO services and not SuperStream interactions. The applicable
technical documents (in addition to the SPRMBR
specs) to reference are on the sbr.gov.au
website. Of note, if a batch request contains 1000 or more
messages/accounts, then there will be two responses for polling; a validation
and business response.
The Departing Australia Superannuation System displays all your super accounts that have been reported to the ATO.
Generally, if it has been six months or more since you left Australia, your visa has ceased to be in effect
and you have not claimed DASP, your super fund will transfer your super money to the ATO.
If you're not sure where your super is, you can search for it by using the DASP online application system
once you've met eligibility requirements and provided your TFN.
Periods prior to 1 July 2018 were reported via MCS, therefore an amended MCS would be required for transactions relating to that period.
Any contributions rolled over, transferred or allotted to a spouse under a contributions splitting arrangement would need to be reported for the applicable year in that years MCS. If it was on or after 1 July 2018, it would be reported via MATS.
Please see legislation quoted below – the amounts we guide providers to report at these labels are concessional contributions. A concessional contribution is defined in Section 291-25 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (ITAA 1997). In general these are the contributions which are made to a complying super plan in respect of a member and are included in the assessable income of the superannuation provider in relation to the superannuation plan.
Subdivision 295-C of the ITAA 1997 outlines which contributions are considered assessable of a superannuation provider in the following table:
Contributions and payments included in assessable income |
||
Item |
Assessable income of this entity: |
Includes: |
1 |
CSF |
Contribution to provide * superannuation benefits for someone else (except a contribution that is a * roll-over superannuation benefit) |
2 |
N-CSF that is a * foreign superannuation fund for the income year |
Contribution to provide * superannuation benefits for someone else to the extent that it relates to a period when that person was: |
(a) an Australian resident; or |
||
(b) a foreign resident who * derives * withholding payments covered by subsection 900-12(3) |
||
(except a contribution that is a * roll-over superannuation benefit) |
||
3 |
CSF |
Payment under section 65 of the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 |
4 |
CSF |
Payment under section 61 or 61A of the Small Superannuation Accounts Act 1995 |
The concessional nature of a contribution does not specifically relate to whether it was taxed at some point prior to being contributed, it relates to whether it is considered assessable income of the complying super provider as per the legislation.
Contributions made to provide a benefit for someone else are assessable contributions unless they fit a specific exception in the law – our protocols encourage you to only put the third party amounts which are not an exception in the legislation into the Other Third Party (including family and friends) field.
Question: Can you please clarify whether 15% needs to be applied and need to be classified as concessional contributions?
The eligibility provisions for the first home super saver scheme do not include any reference or requirement for the individual to be an Australian citizen, Australian resident or an Australian resident for taxation purposes.
An individual is eligible to request a FHSS determination and request a release of their FHSS amounts if they:
For voluntary employer contributions in respect of the individual or voluntary member contributions made by the individual to be eligible to be released under the FHSS scheme they must be either concessional or non-concessional contributions made within the contributions caps. The definition of concessional and non-concessional contributions includes that they are contributions made in a financial year to a complying superannuation plan. The rules regarding an individual’s eligibility to make contributions to complying superannuation plans in Australia apply equally to residents and non-residents.
Note an individual who is not an Australian resident for tax purposes would pay income tax on the assessable FHSS released amount that would be included in their assessable income under the FHSS scheme, at the non-resident tax rate, however they do not have to pay the Medicare levy.
Also, if an individual intends to apply for release under the FHSS scheme with the intention to use the released amounts to purchase a home in Australia they should also check whether there are any other limitations to them purchasing residential property, new or established in Australia. Information is available on the ato.gov.au website in relation to owning real property in Australia (search QC 33223) and residential real estate application instructions (search QC 47396).
In order for a member to lodge via the ATO online system they need to have an open and active fund. The fund needs to have lodged an MCS for that member within the last two years or they need to lodge a member account form (this will show an open fund but with 0 balance). As long as the fund details are displayed then the member will be able to lodge the CRS application.
As the ATO will be issuing correspondence directly to the funds, we need to have this link between the fund and the member.
It is the member’s responsibility to check that they have enough money in their fund before submitting an application. As long as the account is displayed and the member meets eligibility criteria we will process the application.
We are aware that there are delays in the lodgement of MCS forms, but fund should be lodging Member Account forms promptly after gaining new members.
The fund notice letter sent to the fund via BDE is not an exact replica of the member’s letter. There are a number of differences including:
From 1 July 2018 super funds could start accepting downsizer contributions. So if your super fund does accept these, they are able to receive them now.
There have been some changes to the way super funds report contribution information to us. This means that although your super fund can receive your downsizer contribution now, their reporting to us may be scheduled for a later date such as October or November.
This has no impact on your ability to make a downsizer contribution now to a fund that can accept them.
There are also circumstances where an extension of time may be required however in this situation it should not be necessary.
The ATO will be providing further information to super funds to assure them that they can accept downsizer contributions now.
Compulsory repayments against a study or training support loan (HELP loan) commence when an individual’s repayment income exceeds the minimum HELP loan repayment threshold. Compulsory repayments are made through the tax return.
If an individual has a HELP loan when they lodge their tax return and the repayment income is above the minimum repayment threshold, we will work out the compulsory repayment and include it on the income tax notice of assessment. If an individual does not pay this notice of assessment by the due date, any FHSS released amounts could be used to offset the outstanding income tax debt (which in this case would include the compulsory repayment of part of your HELP loan). Your FHSS released amount would not be offset against any portion of the loan that does not form part of an income tax assessment.When an individual provides information to the
ATO as part of their FHSS determination request, this is on the basis of
self-assessment. This means that the information provided by the individual is
initially accepted as being true and correct, however, this information may be
subject to review in the future. Where it is found that an individual has
intentionally provided incorrect information in their determination request,
they may be subject to a penalty for providing a false or misleading statement.
An individual’s FHSS determination is currently based on the information
provided by the individual, when MCS reporting is available, an individual will
have the ability to modify/supplement the data reported to the ATO by their
super fund(s).
The rules that govern the early release of super
under medical grounds have not changed following the transition of the function
from DHS to the ATO. As such, the evidence requirements and supporting
documentation remain unchanged, with all applications being assessed following
the eligibility criteria and medical evidence provided.
You do not meet the eligibility criteria for
compassionate release of superannuation. However, you may be eligible for
other support. Go to severe
financial hardship.
A person who is 65 years of age should be able to access their superannuation by contacting their fund. Further information about accessing superannuation can be found using this LINK.
A person with a HELP
debt whose taxable income is over the minimum repayment threshold is liable to
a compulsory repayment amount (equivalent to the amount of their total HELP
debt) that doesn’t exceed the HELP repayment percentage for that income year. This
debt is assessed and recovered as if it were an income tax liability and is
assessed as part of the person’s assessment of income tax. If an individual
fails to pay their taxation liability, the individual’s FHSS amount may be
offset against this amount.
The Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements and any exemption for these requirements is a matter for AUSTRAC who administer the anti-money laundering laws. ATO confirms that funds are required to respond to a FHSS release authority within 10 days from the date of issue.
You may be eligible to apply for compassionate
release of superannuation on behalf of a dependant. You will need to ensure you
meet the eligibility criteria and provide the required evidence. You can
find more information about the compassionate release of superannuation and how
to apply at Early
access to your super or by calling 131020.
The amount in the ATO approval letter (and the associated notice to funds) to be released to the individual is the NET amount.
If the approval amount is $10,000 on the letter, the member will receive $10,000 and tax is taken out of the member’s fund balance i.e. $10,000 + tax.The downsizer contribution into superannuation form
is now available at ato.gov.au. Click on the hyperlink below to download the Downsizer
contribution into superannuation form.
Downsizer contribution into superannuation form
The downsizer contribution into superannuation form
is now available at ato.gov.au. Click on the hyperlink below to download the Downsizer
contribution into superannuation form.
The downsizer contribution into superannuation form is now available at ato.gov.au. Click on the hyperlink below to download the Downsizer contribution into superannuation form.
Downsizer contribution into superannuation formOnce we notify you that a member’s downsizer contribution, or a part of a member’s downsizer contribution has been identified as ineligible you will need to assess whether the contribution can be accepted as another contribution type under 7.04(1) of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Regulations 1994 (SISR 1994) and 5.03(1) of the Retirement Savings Accounts Regulations 1997.
Where the member was able to meet the age and work test you will need to take the following action:
Where the member was unable to meet the age and work test you will need to take the following action:
Re-reporting in-eligible downsizer contributions as a personal contribution may result in some members exceeding their non-concessional contributions cap.
Once we notify you that a member’s downsizer contribution, or a part of a member’s downsizer contribution has been identified as ineligible you will need to assess whether the contribution can be accepted as another contribution type under 7.04(1) of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Regulations 1994 (SISR 1994) and 5.03(1) of the Retirement Savings Accounts Regulations 1997.
Where the member was able to meet the age and work test you will need to take the following action:
Where the member was unable to meet the age and work test you will need to take the following action:
Re-reporting in-eligible downsizer contributions as a personal contribution may result in some members exceeding their non-concessional contributions cap.
Once we notify you that a member’s downsizer contribution, or a part of a member’s downsizer contribution has been identified as ineligible you will need to assess whether the contribution can be accepted as another contribution type under 7.04(1) of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Regulations 1994 (SISR 1994) and 5.03(1) of the Retirement Savings Accounts Regulations 1997.
Where the member was able to meet the age and work test you will need to take the following action:
Where the member was unable to meet the age and work test you will need to take the following action:
Re-reporting in-eligible downsizer contributions as a personal contribution may result in some members exceeding their non-concessional contributions cap.
The design of our process and notifications for ineligible Downsizer contributions are fully automated. This ensures:
Unfortunately we are not able to give you a yes or no answer because the ten year ownership test is just one of the eligibility requirements you need to meet to make a downsizer contribution.
You will be eligible to make a downsizer contribution to super if you can answer yes to all of the following
However, we can provide the following information and example which should help answer your question.
Ten year ownership test: Interest in the land
The 10 year ownership requirement can relate to land on which the house is situated which allows for cases where a house is knocked down and another is built in its place or where a dwelling is built on a vacant block.
In these circumstances and individual must have owned the land at least 10 years prior to the disposal of the house. All other requirements, including that the disposal must relate to a house and that the main residence requirement is satisfied continue to apply.
Example
Akira purchased a vacant block of land in 2010 when she was aged 58. In 2017 she built a dwelling on the property and resided in that property for four years, treating that property as her main residence for CGT purposes.
In 2021 Akira sold the dwelling and is able to partially disregard the resulting capital gain made upon this disposal. Akira is able to make a downsizer contribution as she satisfies the 10 year ownership test even though at the time she purchased the property it did not have a dwelling on it.
If an individual’s home is accidentally destroyed and only the land is sold, the sale of a vacant block of land would not satisfy section 292-102(1)(b) Income Tax Assessment Act 1997.
To be eligible to make a downsizer contribution, an individual or their spouse must have 'disposed' of an 'ownership interest' in a 'dwelling' which is located in Australia.
292-102 Downsizer contributions
Criteria for a downsizer contribution
(1) A contribution is covered under this section if:
(b) the contribution is an
amount equal to all or part of the capital proceeds received from the disposal of an ownership
interest in a dwelling; …
From 1 July 2018, your members will be able to apply
directly via myGov. Members can find more information on eligibility, evidence
required and the application process on https://www.ato.gov.au/individuals/super/accessing-your-super/early-access-to-your-super/#Compassionategrounds
or by phoning 13 10 20 between 8am and 6pm, Monday to Friday. The compassionate
release application portal link will be activated on 1 July 2018.
The bank/mortgagee can contact the ATO 131020,
however, no information can be provided regarding the clients application,
unless they have been identified as an authorised contact.
From 1 July 2018, funds will receive a simultaneous electronic copy of the approval notice when we approve a compassionate release application. You will receive these ATO compassionate release notices via the BDE service. In order for funds to use the BDE service, they will need access to AUSkey.
Listed below is some key information for you about this service:
Super guarantee
contributions from employers are due quarterly on the 28th day after
the end of the relevant quarter. The best source of information on when you
last made a payment would be your own business records and bank statements. If
these are not available and you pay through a clearing house, they may be able
to assist, alternatively you would need to check with your employee’s super
fund to which you sent the payment. The ATO does not currently hold this
information (in an audit we would require you to provide evidence of payments
made).
From 1 July 2018, members will be able to apply via
the ATO linked service in myGov. Applicants are encouraged to read the ATO web
content prior to applying. This content will also include a link to the
online application service. For members that do not have access to digital
services, they can request a paper application form by contacting 13 10 20.
If an individual does not to enter into a contract to purchase or construct a residential premises, then they may recontribute an amount into superannuation during the same period they had to enter into the contract. This amount must be at least equal to their assessable FHSS released amount (which is concessional contributions plus earnings on all released concessional and non-concessional contributions) less any amounts withheld by the Commissioner and notify the ATO in the approved form. The amounts required to be re-contributed can be made as single or multiple non-concessional contributions to one or more super funds.
Super funds will need to accept the FHSS recontributed amounts as non-concessional contributions for the year in which the re-contribution is made and report these re-contributed amounts through the existing reporting processes to the ATO. There is not an ATO specific form that a member is required to provide to funds when making a recontribution. Once made, these contributions are no different to other non-concessional contributions and therefore, there is no specific distinct reporting required by the super funds.We refer to your question asking if it is necessary to issue a payment summary to a member aged 60 or over when there is zero tax payable.
This guidance is general in nature and is not binding on the Commissioner.
In the past, where you were required to issue payment summaries to your members, you will continue to do so in exactly the same manner. In addition, you will now also be required to issue a payment summary to a member:
· aged over 60 who has a capped defined benefit income stream, and
· to a member aged under 60 and receiving a reversionary capped defined benefit income stream where the deceased died at 60 years or over.
Payment summaries need to be provided even where the withholding amount is nil. Where a member turns 60 during the year and only receives an account based income stream, you are not required to provide a payment summary for the income paid to them after their birthday.
We hope this clarifies the situation for you.
Further information on Payment Summaries may be found on our ato.gov.au web site by searching Quick Code QC19550.From 1 July 2018, Superannuation funds will receive the ATO compassionate release approval notices via the Bulk Data Exchange (BDE) service used by superannuation funds to receive Electronic Portability Form (EPF) requests from the ATO. Superannuation funds should automatically receive compassionate release email notifications. You will need to go to the File Status page of this service to view and download the compassionate release PDF notice files. Superannuation funds will need to ensure that the appropriate permissions are in place for staff to view these files. This can be set in Access Manager by the superannuation fund’s AUSkey administrator. The email notification will include the details of the approval notice provided to the member in a PDF attachment.
You should receive notifications for any
services that you have subscribed to in Access Manager.