SMSF Annual Return

The SMSF annual return (SAR) is a single ATO lodgement that combines three things in one form: the income tax return for the fund, the regulatory and member contribution reporting required under the SIS Act, and the SMSF supervisory levy. Unlike a company tax return, the SAR cannot be lodged until the independent audit is complete, because the auditor number and audit completion date must be entered on the form. It also reports member-level information such as contributions received, pension payments and closing member balances, which a company return does not.

For an established fund lodging through a tax agent, the SAR is generally due on 15 May following the end of the financial year, though newly registered funds and funds with a poor lodgement history can have earlier dates. The fund must pay any income tax and the supervisory levy by the due date. Because the audit has to be finished before lodgement, we ask trustees for records well ahead of the deadline — late records are the single most common reason an SMSF return is lodged late, and late lodgement can affect the fund complying status on Super Fund Lookup.

Each year we ask for the fund bank statements for the full financial year, contribution records, rollover statements, dividend and distribution statements, interest income, any property rental records, broker or platform reports for shares and managed funds, loan documents for any LRBA, and details of any new investments, disposals or pension payments. If members started or commuted a pension during the year we also need the relevant minutes and benefit payment records. We provide a checklist at the start of each engagement so nothing is missed.

The SIS Act requires every SMSF to be audited each year by an approved SMSF auditor who is registered with ASIC and independent of the people who prepared the accounts. The audit covers both a financial audit (do the statements fairly present the fund position) and a compliance audit (has the fund met the superannuation rules). We coordinate the audit on your behalf — preparing the financial statements and working papers, providing them to an independent auditor, and responding to any queries — but the auditor remains independent and forms their own opinion. The audit must be complete before the annual return can be lodged.

If the auditor identifies a breach of the superannuation rules that meets the reporting tests, they are required to lodge an Auditor Contravention Report with the ATO, and they will raise the issue with the trustees first. Many minor matters can be rectified before year end and documented appropriately. More serious breaches — for example in-house asset limits, loans to members, or sole-purpose-test concerns — may have tax and penalty consequences for the trustees. We help trustees understand a finding, gather the documentation, and work through rectification, but the trustees remain personally responsible for the fund compliance.

We provide SMSF accounting and tax services only. We prepare the financial statements, member statements and annual return, report contributions and pension payments correctly, and flag where a contribution may approach a cap. We are not licensed to provide personal financial product advice — decisions about how much to contribute, whether to start or commute a pension, or how to invest are financial product advice that requires an AFSL. Where those decisions are needed we work alongside your licensed financial adviser, or can refer you to one.

Yes. We regularly take over funds from another accountant or administrator. We obtain the prior year financial statements, the last lodged annual return, the trust deed and member records, and reconcile the opening balances before starting the current year. There is usually a short handover where we confirm the investment register, any pension documentation and the audit history. Once we have a clean opening position the fund moves onto our recurring annual cycle of accounts, audit coordination and lodgement.