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Practical Checklist

The SMSF compliance calendar for 2026-27

A trustee-facing calendar of the SMSF compliance year — when the 2026 annual return falls due depending on how the fund lodges, when the auditor must be appointed, which quarters need a TBAR, and what has to be done before 30 June 2027.

Published Updated Sources verified 9 min read

Applies to: FY2026-27 (1 July 2026 – 30 June 2027), including lodgement of the 2026 SMSF annual return for the 2025-26 income year; the Act 49 of 2026 LRBA amendment commences 10 August 2026 and applies to arrangements entered into on or after that date; verified current at 13 July 2026 · Australia

The direct answer

The SMSF compliance year runs on fixed anchors: a transfer balance account report within 28 days of the end of any quarter in which a reportable event occurred, an approved auditor appointed at least 45 days before the annual return is due, the 2026 annual return itself falling anywhere between 31 October 2026 and 15 May 2027 depending on whether the fund is new, self-preparing or agent-lodged, and 30 June deadlines for actually paying minimum pensions and valuing every fund asset at market value. The $259 supervisory levy is paid in advance with the return.

Key points

  • Due dates for the 2026 annual return (covering 2025-26) vary by fund: 31 October 2026 for self-preparing new registrants and funds with a return overdue at 30 June 2026; 31 January 2027 for self-preparers that were taxable large or medium entities in 2025-26; 28 February 2027 for all other self-preparers and for funds in their first year with a tax agent; 15 May 2027 is the general date under the ATO registered agent lodgement program. Your tax agent confirms the fund’s actual date.
  • Appoint an approved, ASIC-registered SMSF auditor no later than 45 days before the annual return is due — the audit must be finished before lodgement, because the return needs details from the audit report.
  • An audit is required every year, even if the fund made no contributions and paid no benefits.
  • Every asset must be valued at market value at 30 June, on objective and supportable evidence kept for the auditor. Those values drive members’ total super balances and pension minimums.
  • Minimum pension payments (4% under 65, rising to 14% at 95 or more) must be actually paid by 30 June. Falling short generally means the fund cannot claim exempt current pension income for that whole year.
  • All SMSFs report transfer balance events quarterly — within 28 days after the end of the quarter — regardless of member balances. No event in the quarter means no report.
  • The SMSF supervisory levy is $259 a year, paid in advance with the annual return ($518 on a new fund’s first return).
  • New for 2026-27: Division 296 is law from 1 July 2026 for balances above $3 million, and the general transfer balance cap was indexed to $2.1 million.
  • Also new: from 10 August 2026, where an LRBA is used to acquire an asset that is real property, that asset must be business real property — a change made by the Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Act 2026 to s 67A(2) of the SIS Act. It applies only to arrangements entered into on or after that date; existing arrangements are protected, and an SMSF buying property without borrowing is untouched.

The 2026-27 compliance year at a glance

An SMSF’s year has three moving parts: the quarterly reporting rhythm, one annual return whose due date depends entirely on how and by whom the fund lodges, and a cluster of things that must genuinely be done — not merely resolved — before 30 June. The table below sets out the anchors for 2026-27, the year in which the 2026 SMSF annual return (covering the 2025-26 income year) falls due.

SMSF anchors for 1 July 2026 – 30 June 2027
DateWhat falls due
28 July 2026TBAR for the June 2026 quarter, if a reportable event occurred. Employer super guarantee contributions for the 1 April – 30 June 2026 quarter also had to reach funds by this date — the last quarterly SG deadline before Payday Super.
10 August 2026Not a lodgement — an awareness date. From this day, where a limited recourse borrowing arrangement is used to acquire an asset that is real property, the asset must be business real property. It applies only to arrangements entered into on or after this date; existing arrangements are protected.
28 October 2026TBAR for the September 2026 quarter (28 days after quarter end).
31 October 20262026 annual return for self-preparing new registrant SMSFs, and self-preparers with one or more returns overdue at 30 June 2026, unless a deferral was granted. Payment due 1 December 2026.
1 December 2026Payment date for funds with a 31 October 2026 or 31 January 2027 lodgement date.
28 January 2027TBAR for the December 2026 quarter.
31 January 20272026 annual return for self-preparing SMSFs that were taxable large or medium entities in 2025-26 (payment due 1 December 2026).
28 February 20272026 annual return — lodge and pay — for all other self-preparers, and for funds in their first year as a tax agent’s client.
31 March 2027Agent-lodged funds whose total income exceeded $2 million in the latest year lodged.
28 April 2027TBAR for the March 2027 quarter.
15 May 2027The general due date under the ATO’s registered agent lodgement program.
5 June 2027A concessional date available only to funds with a 15 May 2027 due date that were non-taxable or received a refund in the latest year lodged and expect the same again.
30 June 2027Minimum pension payments actually paid; every fund asset valued at market value; the investment strategy review documented.
28 July 2027TBAR for the June 2027 quarter.

Two qualifications on these dates

Where a due date falls on a weekend or public holiday, the ATO allows you to lodge or pay on the next business day — several of the 2026-27 dates above do fall on weekends, and the ATO has not published substituted dates, so work to the next business day rather than a date of your own. The September 2026 to June 2027 TBAR dates are applications of the “28 days after the end of the quarter” rule rather than dates the ATO publishes individually.

The annual return: due dates, the levy and the cost of being late

The SMSF annual return for an income year is due during the following income year — so the 2026 return, covering 2025-26, is lodged across 2026-27. The ATO is explicit that not all SMSFs have the same due date. If the fund uses a registered tax agent, the agent confirms the fund’s date under the ATO’s lodgement program; there is no single universal agent date, though 15 May 2027 is the general one.

2026 SMSF annual return — due dates by how the fund lodges
Fund’s situationLodgement datePayment date
Self-preparer — new registrant, or one or more returns overdue at 30 June 2026 (unless deferred)31 October 20261 December 2026
Self-preparer — taxable large or medium entity in 2025-2631 January 20271 December 2026
Self-preparer — all others28 February 202728 February 2027
Agent-lodged — first year as the agent’s client28 February 2027Confirm with the agent
Agent-lodged — new registrant SMSF28 February 2027, unless advised of a 31 October 2026 date after an ATO review at registrationConfirm with the agent
Agent-lodged — total income over $2 million in the latest year lodged31 March 2027Confirm with the agent
Agent-lodged — general program date15 May 2027 (5 June 2027 concession only if non-taxable or refunded in the latest year lodged and expected again)Confirm with the agent

The SMSF supervisory levy of $259 is paid with the return, in advance for the next financial year. A newly registered fund pays $518 on its first return, covering the establishment year and the year ahead. A fund that is winding up does not pay the levy again if it paid it in the previous financial year, unless the return relates to its first year of operating. The amount payable is stated on the return itself.

Two weeks late has a hard consequence

If an SMSF annual return is two weeks overdue, the ATO removes the fund’s regulation details from Super Fund Lookup. That can stop the fund receiving rollovers and employer contributions until the lodgements are brought up to date, and can result in penalties and loss of the fund’s tax concessions. A late return is not a quiet problem.

The annual audit and the 45-day rule

Every SMSF must be audited every year by an approved SMSF auditor — even a dormant fund that received no contributions and paid no benefits. The audit is not a formality bolted on after lodgement: the annual return itself requires information from the audit report, so the audit has to be finished before the return is lodged. That is why the appointment deadline sits in front of the lodgement deadline.

Working backwards from the fund’s lodgement date

  • Appoint the auditor no later than 45 days before the annual return is due. If the fund’s date is 15 May 2027, that puts the appointment on or before 31 March 2027; if it is 28 February 2027, on or before 14 January 2027. Count the days from the fund’s own date, not a generic one.
  • Check the auditor is registered with ASIC and has an SMSF auditor number (SAN). The auditor must also be independent of the fund.
  • Give the auditor the two mandated documents — a statement of financial position and an operating statement — with the rest of the audit file.
  • Answer follow-up requests within 14 days. Trustees must provide any further information the auditor requests within 14 days of the request.
  • Have the 30 June valuation evidence ready before the audit starts, not after the first query arrives.
  • Have the documented investment strategy review on file so the auditor can see evidence that it happened.

If the fund’s audit and annual return are handled as one workflow, the appointment date is set from the lodgement date automatically — that is the point of our SMSF audit coordination service.

Quarterly TBAR reporting

Since 1 July 2023, every SMSF reports transfer balance account events quarterly, whatever its members’ balances — the old annual concession for smaller balances is gone. A transfer balance account report is due within 28 days after the end of the quarter in which the event occurred. If nothing reportable happened in a quarter, nothing is lodged for that quarter.

  • Reportable: starting a retirement-phase income stream; starting a death benefit income stream, including a reversionary pension; full and partial commutations; an income stream ceasing to be in retirement phase; certain limited recourse borrowing arrangement payments; responses to a commutation authority; and personal injury (structured settlement) contributions.
  • Not reportable: ordinary pension payments, and investment earnings or losses.
  • Faster than 28 days where a member has exceeded their personal cap: a voluntary commutation made in response to an excess transfer balance determination must be reported within 10 business days after the end of the month in which it occurs, and a response to a commutation authority within 60 days of the authority’s issue date.

The general transfer balance cap was indexed on 1 July 2026 from $2.0 million to $2.1 million, and members’ personal caps are updated proportionally where they never used their full cap — the ATO expected updated personal caps to display in its online services from 13 July 2026. Because a member’s personal cap is a personal number, not the general one, check it before acting on a commutation or a new pension. Our companion resource explains the mechanics: the transfer balance cap explained.

30 June: minimum pension payments must actually be paid

An SMSF paying an account-based pension must pay each member at least the minimum annual amount by 30 June. The minimum is a percentage of the pension account balance at 1 July of that financial year (or at the start day, for a pension that begins during the year), with the result rounded to the nearest 10 whole dollars.

Minimum annual payment factors for account-based pensions, applying from 2023-24 onwards
Member’s ageMinimum percentage of the account balance
Under 654%
65–745%
75–796%
80–847%
85–899%
90–9411%
95 or more14%
  • A pension that starts after 1 July is pro-rated in its first year: the minimum is reduced by the days remaining in the financial year divided by 365 (366 in a leap year).
  • A pension starting from 1 June requires no minimum payment for that financial year.
  • Timing is literal. A benefit is only cashed when it is actually paid and debited from the fund, so if 30 June falls on a weekend or public holiday, all pension payments must be made before 30 June. Leaving the transfer to the last banking day is a needless risk.

What missing the minimum costs

If the minimum pension standards are not met, the income stream is taken to have ceased at the start of that income year for income tax purposes. Payments made during the year are not treated as super income stream benefits, the fund cannot claim exempt current pension income for that year, and there are transfer balance account consequences that must be reported on a TBAR. This is a whole-of-year consequence triggered by a shortfall on a single date.

30 June: market valuations and the investment strategy review

Trustees must value all fund assets at market value when preparing the fund’s accounts and statements each year. These are not book-keeping formalities: the market value of the assets supporting members’ retirement-phase and accumulation accounts at 30 June feeds each member’s total super balance, which in turn drives the next year’s pension minimums and — from 2026-27 — whether Division 296 applies.

Valuation evidence the auditor will expect

  • Listed securities — the closing price on 30 June.
  • Every valuation based on objective and supportable data, with the evidence of how the value was determined kept on file and given to the auditor. A number with no working behind it is the classic audit query.
  • A qualified independent valuer is required by law only for disposals of collectables and personal use assets to a related party — but the ATO recommends one where an asset is a significant proportion of the fund’s value, or is complex to value.
  • The investment strategy reviewed at least annually, with the review and any decisions documented — trustee minutes are the usual vehicle — and evidence of the review given to the auditor.
  • Interim reviews after significant events: a market correction, a member joining or leaving the fund, or a member starting a pension all warrant a fresh look at the strategy rather than waiting for June.

What is new for 2026-27

**Division 296 is law, not a proposal, and takes effect from the 2026-27 financial year. From 1 July 2026, individuals with a total super balance above the large super balance threshold — $3 million for 2026-27 — are subject to an additional 15% tax on the proportion of earnings relating to the excess, with a further 10% on the proportion of earnings above the very large super balance threshold of $10 million. SMSFs must report in-scope members’ relevant super earnings in the annual return from 2026-27 onwards, and funds may make an irrevocable election** for a CGT adjustment applying to all CGT assets held at 30 June 2026, due by the due date of the 2026-27 annual return. Notices of assessment for 2026-27 are expected to issue in the latter half of 2027-28.

Note

No Division 296 calculation is set out here. As at 2 July 2026 the ATO said it was still drafting law companion rulings on how relevant super earnings are calculated, so any worked figure would be premature. See Division 296: where the super tax stands for the current status, and treat the CGT election as a decision to work through with your adviser well before the 2026-27 return is due.

  • Transfer balance cap indexed on 1 July 2026 from $2.0 million to $2.1 million, with proportional increases to personal caps for members who never used their full cap. The defined benefit income cap for 2026-27 is $131,250.
  • Quarterly super guarantee ended with the 30 June 2026 quarter. The final quarterly contributions are due to reach funds by 28 July 2026; from 1 July 2026 employers calculate, pay and report super guarantee under Payday Super.
  • LRBAs and real property — from 10 August 2026. Schedule 5 of the Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Act 2026 amends s 67A(2) of the SIS Act so that, for an asset that is real property, an acquirable asset under a limited recourse borrowing arrangement must be business real property as defined in s 66(5). It applies only to arrangements entered into on or after 10 August 2026.

What the LRBA change does not do

It does not require any fund to sell anything: Schedule 5 contains no divestment provision, no forced sale, no unwinding requirement and no sunset date. Arrangements entered into before 10 August 2026 are protected — including maintaining or refinancing a borrowing under one, and an acquisition under a pre-commencement arrangement even where settlement happens afterwards. It does not stop an SMSF buying residential property without borrowing, it does not touch shares, units or other assets that are not real property, and it does not change the s 66 related-party acquisition rules. Trustees contemplating a new borrowing should know that “entered into” is not defined in the Act, so whether a particular arrangement was entered into before 10 August 2026 is a question of fact — get advice on the specific arrangement rather than assuming the date. The mechanics are set out in our companion resource on SMSF borrowing and business real property.

Hypothetical example — calculating a minimum pension for 2026-27

Imagine the “Marrindale Superannuation Fund”, a fictional SMSF, and a hypothetical member, Meera, who was 67 on 1 July 2026 and turns 68 during 2026-27. Her account-based pension balance on 1 July 2026 is $500,000. Her age puts her in the 65–74 band, so her minimum for 2026-27 is 5% × $500,000 = $25,000, which the fund must actually pay her by 30 June 2027. Now vary it: if she had instead started the pension on 1 January 2027 with a $500,000 balance on the start day, the first-year minimum would be pro-rated across the 181 days remaining in the financial year — $25,000 × 181 ÷ 365 = $12,397, rounded to the nearest $10 = $12,400. Had she started the pension on or after 1 June 2027, no minimum payment would be required for 2026-27 at all. Figures are illustrative only, use the ATO factors applying from 2023-24 onwards, and are not based on any client.

This example is entirely hypothetical and illustrates the mechanics only. It is not a client outcome, a prediction, or advice.

The annual audit file — what to have ready

  • Statement of financial position and operating statement for the year (both required to be given to the auditor).
  • Member statements showing accumulation and retirement-phase balances at 30 June.
  • Bank statements and investment holding statements covering the full year.
  • 30 June market valuations for every asset, plus the evidence supporting each one.
  • Trustee minutes, including the documented investment strategy review.
  • Pension documentation and records of payments actually made before 30 June.
  • Copies of any TBARs lodged during the year.

Limitations of this information

  • General information only, current at 13 July 2026 — the ATO sources were verified on 12 July 2026 and the Act 49 of 2026 statements on 13 July 2026. It is not personal tax, financial or credit advice. Obligations depend on the fund’s own circumstances and trust deed, and trustees remain legally responsible for the fund’s compliance.
  • Due dates vary fund by fund. The agent-lodgement dates shown are the ATO’s general program dates — a fund’s actual date must be confirmed with its registered tax agent, and the ATO can direct a different date.
  • Where a due date falls on a weekend or public holiday, the ATO allows lodgement or payment on the next business day. Substituted dates are not published here because the ATO has not published them.
  • The September 2026 to June 2027 TBAR dates are applications of the 28-day rule rather than dates individually published by the ATO; confirm each against the ATO’s guidance for the relevant quarter.
  • Division 296 is law from 1 July 2026, but as at 2 July 2026 the ATO was still drafting law companion rulings on how relevant super earnings are calculated — no calculation method or estimate is given here.
  • Setting up an SMSF, starting or commuting a pension, and making contributions can involve licensed financial advice, which sits outside tax agent and credit representative services. Nothing here recommends any of those actions.
  • The ATO’s dedicated supervisory levy page was last updated in 2023. The $259 and $518 amounts were cross-confirmed against current ATO annual return pages at 12 July 2026, and the amount payable is stated on the return itself.
  • SMSF borrowing (limited recourse borrowing arrangements) is a credit topic and is largely out of scope here — this calendar covers only the fact that certain LRBA payments are TBAR-reportable events and the 10 August 2026 awareness date. The Schedule 5 statements are taken from the text of Act 49 of 2026, verified at 13 July 2026; the ATO had published no guidance on Schedule 5 at that date.
  • “Entered into” is not defined in Schedule 5. Whether a particular arrangement was entered into before 10 August 2026 — and how the transitional protection applies where a post-commencement refinance increases the borrowing — are questions of fact that need specific advice on the arrangement, not a general answer.

Practical next steps

  1. Confirm the fund’s actual 2026 annual return due date — with your registered tax agent if the fund is agent-lodged — rather than assuming 15 May 2027.
  2. Count back 45 days from that date and diarise the auditor appointment on or before it.
  3. Check whether any transfer balance event occurred in the quarter just ended, and lodge the TBAR within 28 days of quarter end if one did.
  4. Recalculate each member’s minimum pension on their 1 July 2026 balance and schedule the payments so the money leaves the fund well before 30 June 2027.
  5. Start collecting 30 June market valuation evidence as you go, rather than reconstructing it during the audit.
  6. Document the investment strategy review in trustee minutes, and revisit it if a member starts a pension or joins or leaves the fund.
  7. If the fund is contemplating a new limited recourse borrowing arrangement to acquire real property, take advice on the 10 August 2026 change before committing — see SMSF borrowing and business real property.
  8. If you would like the return, the audit coordination and the pension reporting run as one workflow, see our SMSF annual return service or contact the practice.

Frequently asked questions

Your tax agent confirms the fund’s exact date under the ATO’s lodgement program. For 2025-26 returns lodged during 2026-27, the general program date is 15 May 2027; funds in their first year as an agent client are due 28 February 2027; funds with total income over $2 million in the latest year lodged are due 31 March 2027; and some funds have earlier dates, such as 31 October 2026 where a return was overdue at 30 June 2026. If a due date falls on a weekend or public holiday, you can lodge or pay on the next business day.

Official sources

The facts in this resource are drawn from the following official sources, each read on the date shown. If a source has changed since, the source prevails.

  • Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Act 2026 (No. 49 of 2026)Federal Register of Legislation · retrieved 13 July 2026 · supports: Schedule 5 — the amendment to s 67A(2) of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 requiring that, for an asset that is real property, an acquirable asset under a limited recourse borrowing arrangement be business real property (as defined in s 66(5)); commencement on 10 August 2026 (the 45th day after Royal Assent); application only to arrangements entered into on or after commencement; and the transitional protections for maintaining or refinancing a pre-commencement borrowing and for acquisitions under a pre-commencement arrangement even where settlement occurs later
  • How to lodge and pay your SMSF annual return (2026 instructions)ATO · retrieved 12 July 2026 · supports: self-preparer due dates for the 2026 SAR, the payment dates, the next-business-day rule, and the Super Fund Lookup consequence of lodging two weeks late
  • Registered agent lodgment program — super lodgmentATO · retrieved 12 July 2026 · supports: agent-lodged SMSF due dates (28 February, 31 March, 15 May and the 5 June concession) and the final quarterly super guarantee deadline of 28 July 2026
  • About Payday SuperATO · retrieved 12 July 2026 · supports: quarterly super guarantee applying to employee earnings paid up to 30 June 2026, and employers calculating, paying and reporting super guarantee under Payday Super from 1 July 2026
  • Your SMSF auditorATO · retrieved 12 July 2026 · supports: the 45-day auditor appointment rule, the annual audit requirement, auditor registration and independence, and the 14-day information request rule
  • Guide to valuing SMSF assetsATO · retrieved 12 July 2026 · supports: the 30 June market value requirement, objective and supportable evidence, listed securities at closing price, and when an independent valuer is required or recommended
  • Create your SMSF investment strategyATO · retrieved 12 July 2026 · supports: the requirement to review the investment strategy at least annually, document it, and evidence the review to the auditor
  • Income stream (pension) rules and paymentsATO · retrieved 12 July 2026 · supports: minimum drawdown percentage factors, the 1 July balance calculation and rounding, pro-rating and the 1 June rule, and the consequences of not meeting the minimum
  • TBAR lodgment reminder for July 2026ATO · retrieved 12 July 2026 · supports: quarterly TBAR reporting for all SMSFs regardless of member balances, the 28-day rule, and the 28 July 2026 date for the June 2026 quarter
  • When to lodge a transfer balance account report for SMSFsATO · retrieved 12 July 2026 · supports: which events are reportable, what is not reportable, and the faster deadlines where a member exceeds their personal transfer balance cap
  • SMSF supervisory levyATO · retrieved 12 July 2026 · supports: the $259 annual levy paid in advance, the $518 first-return amount, and the wind-up position
  • Transfer balance cap — key superannuation rates and thresholdsATO · retrieved 12 July 2026 · supports: indexation of the general transfer balance cap to $2.1 million for 2026-27 and the defined benefit income cap
  • Upcoming personal transfer balance cap changesATO · retrieved 12 July 2026 · supports: proportional indexation of personal transfer balance caps and the 13 July 2026 date from which updated personal caps are expected to display in ATO online services
  • Is your SMSF ready for the new tax on large super balances?ATO · retrieved 12 July 2026 · supports: Division 296 being law from 2026-27, the $3 million and $10 million thresholds, new SAR reporting, the CGT adjustment election, the timing of the first notices of assessment, and the ATO’s statement at 2 July 2026 that it was still drafting law companion rulings on how relevant super earnings are calculated
Discuss your situation with us

This resource is general information only — neither tax advice nor credit assistance. Tax outcomes depend on individual facts, and lender policies differ and can change without notice. Speak to a registered tax agent about tax matters; any credit assistance we provide is described in our Credit Guide. It is also not financial product advice — we are not an Australian financial services licensee. Decisions about superannuation or other financial products should be discussed with a licensed financial adviser. Read our Credit Guide.

Last verified against official sources: · Next scheduled review by 13 October 2026 · Update sensitivity: high

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