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Preparing for the new wave of ATO SMSF reporting

Super

Promoted by SuperConcepts

With the push for integrity and accuracy in the wider superannuation system, SMSFs are next in line for the ATO’s super guarantee focus, which aims to change reporting procedures for practitioners and trustees. 

Promoted by Philip La Greca - Executive Manager, SMSF Technical Services, SuperConcepts 4 minute read

A change for APRA regulated superannuation funds has been finalised from 1 July 2019 with the full transition away periodic reporting of contributions and benefits - bringing APRA funds closer to a real time reporting mechanism.

On the other side of the equation 1 July 2019 also sees the inclusion of small business into the Single Touch Payroll system, which results in employers required to report when a superannuation obligation arises to be paid every pay day to the ATO.

Micro businesses that only have family members or directors as employees (sounds like the relationship between SMSF members & trustees) will also be brought into the STP reporting cycle but do not need to start reporting to the ATO until 1 July 2020.

This will provide the ATO with additional information to assist in solving one of the largest problems in the superannuation system - the non-payment of superannuation guarantee contributions. This has been estimated to be around $2.7 billion every year since 2011/12.

By being able to cross-reference the employer information from STP with the superannuation fund data from MATS, gaps between what an employer says they are contributing - and what they are paying - can be easily identified.

Of course, the one source of data which will not be picked up in this process is SMSFs. But for how long?

As part of the push for integrity and accuracy for the wider superannuation system, somehow SMSFs will need to be brought into the fold.

Responding to a recent article discussing Real Time Reporting for SMSFs ATO Assistant Commissioner, Dana Fleming said “…The current state of annual reporting in arrears can cause many problems for trustees. The most concerning is the ATO holding out of date TSBs and contribution cap thresholds making it more difficult for trustees to make correct decisions. This will be exacerbated by the potential upcoming indexation of the TBC”.

So the real question is whether your SMSF clients are ready and what needs to do be done next?

The next generation of SMSF software, SuperMate, has evolved with automation and data feeds, and administration capabilities to allow real time reporting to the ATO for when the spotlight is eventually turned to the SMSF sector.

Are you maximising automation opportunities?

Having a full view of your Data Feed Dashboard as well as software that uses smart AI Powered Tax Statement Automation is critical to running an SMSF.

“SuperMate’s latest release enables practices to track the health of all your data feeds in one central location,” said Brad Ackermann, SuperConcepts CTO.

“A smart dashboard makes identifying and establishing data feeds for bank accounts much easier via our new holistic process; from generating pre-filled forms through to keeping on top of the daily automated data, it should all be easily accessible to ensure compliant reporting that will satisfy ATO needs now – and in the future,” Mr Ackermann said

“Traditionally entering tax statement components can be a time-consuming process due to the complexity and number of data fields needing to be entered,” said Mr Ackermann. 

“This is now a thing of the past with software like SuperMate that leverages machine learning artificial intelligence to automatically recognise and extract the tax components directly from the annual tax statement documents into SuperMate.

“This latest release sees SuperMate go one step further; if this is the first annual tax statement document uploaded for that asset, we will use the components to estimate across all other clients’ holdings,” Mr Ackermann said.

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