The ATO has reminded trustees and advisers that spreadsheet transfer balance account report (TBAR) forms will no longer be accepted after 31 October and excess transfer balance determinations and commutation authorities issued in October need to be actioned by the Christmas/New Year period.
The communique follows the SMSF regulator’s recent announcement that SMSF advisers using spreadsheets to lodge TBARs would be pushed to use the ATO’s online services portal.
“Electronic lodgment for TBARs has been available in online services for agents since March 2019. We are now decommissioning the spreadsheet TBAR form, and we will not process forms you lodge this way after midnight of 31 October 2019,” it said.
It highlighted pre-filled details, inbuilt verification rules and faster processing times as some of the advantages of using the online TBAR form.
“We generally process events reported via the online form within 24 hours. If you represent an individual, you will be able to see the information reflected in the SMSF member’s transfer balance account at the same time,” it noted.
It also urged trustees to action any excess transfer balance determinations and commutation authorities issued in October ahead of the Christmas/New Year deadline.
“We encourage SMSF trustees and members to respond early to this correspondence to avoid adverse consequences,” it said.
“Commutation authorities need to be actioned by the due date to avoid losing access to the income tax exemption on the assets supporting the pension.
“If SMSF members don’t respond to excess transfer balance determinations by the due date, we’ll send a commutation authority to the fund specified in the determination.”
It pointed out trustees with concerns about a determination issued by the ATO could visit its online service to see the events in their transfer balance account that led the regulator to issue the determination.
“If any information is missing or incorrect, provide it or correct your reporting as soon as possible to allow us to revoke the determination,” it added.
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