With interest rates at record lows, the share market unpredictability and all round economic uncertainty, now more than ever it is important to ensure your SMSF investments are meeting your investment goals.
What an Unexpected Event means for your SMSF
2020 has been a year full of unexpected events, be they local, national, or international. But what happens if you have an unexpected personal event?
Your SMSF is a long-term plan. So much can happen during this time including illness, incapacity or death of a fund member.
Setting up an SMSF – What do you need to consider?
Setting up an SMSF can be complicated without the right assistance. Our aim to make the entire process as clear and stress free as possible for you to help you decide if an SMSF is right for you. The main points to consider are the following…
COVID-19 – Providing rental relief for the tenant in my SMSF property
With lockdown restrictions coming back into force in parts of the country many individuals and business may once again find themselves unable to earn any income in the short term – especially if they are only just recovering from previous lockdowns!
If your SMSF has a property and a tenant in financial distress, you may be able to provide your tenant with rental relief under an agreed commercial arrangement. This may even be the case when the tenant is a related party or yourself.
What is outsourcing and what does it have to do with my SMSF?
As a trustee, you probably don’t think too much about what happens once you drop all your SMSF information off to your accountant, financial planner or auditor (referred to as your administrator here).
It may surprise you to learn that many of these services are then outsourced to other companies – often to workers in developing countries like Vietnam, India and Malaysia.
Accessing your superannuation early during Covid-19
You may be aware that the Government recently announced measures which allow individuals affected by the economic impacts of COVID-19 to access a limited amount of their superannuation early.
Making the decision to access your superannuation early is a significant one and if possible, should be encompassed by financial advice. The Australian Taxation Office have now released guidance on the process for accessing superannuation early from SMSFs to assist in cushioning the adverse economic effects of Coronavirus. Read more
2020 End of Financial Year (EOFY) audit considerations
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected everyone’s lives, and SMSF trustees are no exception.
While the worst of the pandemic is (hopefully) behind us, trustees still have difficult questions to ponder as they focus on how best to position their SMSF in 2020-21, as well as meet their annual regulatory obligations for 2019-20.
Property and my SMSF
The ATO has released their bulletin for SMSFs highlighting their concerns with some of the riskier approaches to property investments. There are numerous strategies and ways for property to form part of an SMSF’s investments and each must be carefully considered to ensure it is within the law as well as meeting the SMSF’s investment strategy.
Are Your SMSF Clients Ready for EOFY?
With the end of the financial year fast approaching, now is the perfect time to ensure everything is in place for your clients SMSFs before 30 June. The following are some superannuation strategies that you might want to know more about to get the best results for your clients.
The Five Most Common SMSF Mistakes According to the ATO
As the saying goes “No one is perfect”. Unfortunately, the same is true with accountants, as much as we try to deny it! To prove it, the ATO has released a list of the top five most common issues found on lodged SMSF Annual Returns: