On 1 July 2014, superannuation fund payments will be made electronically using the new SuperStream system. According to the Australian Taxation Office, the new system has been introduced to assist employers in making their contributions in a more efficient, timely and consistent manner into a member’s account. SuperStream simplifies the process by which funds are deposited by providing the common standards that are lacking under the current system.
Members will be required to ensure that their SMSF bank accounts are set up to receive electronic payments and messages containing information about contribution payments. One projected benefit is that record-keeping will be improved for the purposes of taxes and auditing.
On the deadline date, all employers with twenty employees or more will be required to send all payments and contribution data through SuperStream. Smaller businesses, with 19 or less employees, will have an extra year (until 1 July 2015) to become compliant with SuperStream.
Employees of small businesses will be required to update their information with their employers by 31 May 2014. This includes the Australian Business Number (ABN) of their SMSF, the bank account in which their SMSF receives contribution payments and an electronic service address where receipt of contribution messages can be received.
Related-party employers will be exempt from SuperStream and allowed to continue using their current method of contribution payments.
Every contribution payment will generate at least the minimum data required by the ATO. This includes: employer details, employee details, the types of contributions and amounts, including those amounts earmarked as concessional and the details of the payment, including a reference number unique to that transaction.
SMSF members will have the option of choosing an SMSF message provider to help them become compliant with the SMSF standard. The SMSF providers simplify how SMSF members receive the contribution messages that their employers send. The messages are received by a secure network that translates the messages into a format that provides easy access for SMSF trustees.
We Can Help
We offer a complete range of SMSF services in Perth and will be happy to help you. If you have any questions or would like us to provide a complimentary analysis of how your SMSF is performing, please call (08) 6462 0888.
