Superannuation Transfer Balance Account Report (TBAR) is a regime where SMSFs are required to report those events which impact on a Member’s transfer balance account on a real-time basis. There has been a lot of controversy over TBAR. The Tax Office has now finalized the details of TBAR reporting requirements.
From 1 July 2023, SMSF Members must lodge TBAR quarterly, specifically within 28 days after the end of the quarter in which the event happens. The ATO gives a temporary relief with all unreported events occurred before 30 September 2023 to be submitted by 28 October 2023.
There are certain events which must be reported to the Tax Office under TBAR. Please note investment gains or losses and pension payments do not affect the balance of your transfer balance account.
Common events are as follows:
ATO Guidance
- Income streams a Member was receiving on 30 June 2017 that
- continued to be paid to them on or after 1 July 2017, and
- are in retirement phase.
- New retirement phase income streams
- Some limited recourse borrowing arrangement payments
- Compliance with a commutation authority issued by the Commissioner
- Personal injury (structured settlement) contributions
- Commutations of retirement phase income streams
Trustees can download the TBAR report here to report the events directly to the Tax Office. Alternatively, we charge $350 for preparing and lodging a TBAR report. Please note separate TBAR report is required for each Member. A maximum of four events for a Member can be reported in one TBAR report.
TBAR report
It is important for Trustees to lodge the TBAR report on time. Otherwise, your Member’s transfer balance account and Total Superannuation Balance may be adversely affected and the Trustee may also be subject to compliance action and penalties.
FAQ:
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What is a Member’s “Total Superannuation Balance” ?
The definition of ‘total superannuation balance’ is complicated but essentially includes all of your super accounts (both in accumulation phase and in retirement phase) from all sources/Funds. An individual’s Total Superannuation Balance includes the following three items:- The value of all superannuation interests in accumulation phase
- The balance of a Member’s transfer balance account
- ‘In transit’ rolled over superannuation benefits (that are not yet reflected in the balances mentioned in the previous two bullets)
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Is a Lump Sum payment a reportable event?
If a Lump Sum is paid from the pension account, remember to lodge a TBAR as it is a reportable event. When instructed we can lodge a TBAR on your behalf. Be mindful to take out the minimum pension from the income stream account in addition to the lump sum withdrawal as the lump sum payment is not counted towards the minimum pension. If a minimum pension payment is not withdrawn your pension account will revert back to accumulation phase. This will result in losing the tax free nature. For more guidance on lump sum withdrawal, please see our page: -
How do I complete a TBAR Report?
We can complete the TBAR report for your Super Fund, we charge $350 per report. However you can complete this yourself, the ATO provide guidance on how and when to lodge a TBAR. The ATO have released a webinar showing detailed examples on how to complete a TBAR for different situations. Please see here for the webinar by the ATO with examples:
For more information on the Superannuation Transfer Balance Cap, please visit our $1.9m Transfer Balance Cap page here.
