New Stricter SMSF Penalty Regime – Are you in the spotlight?

It’s now more important than ever to walk the straight and narrow when it comes to your Self-Managed Superannuation Fund (SMSF).  There’s a new penalty regime for trustees of SMSFs, where previously, there were no financial penalties on breaches to the fund. 

Did you know that if there is a breach of the superannuation laws, the ATO can:

1. Issue a rectification direction; and/or
2. Force the trustees to complete an education course; and/or
3. Impose a penalty on the trustees of the fund.

The penalty is payable by the trustee and cannot be paid or reimbursed by the Superannuation Fund. The penalties apply to various breaches, even late lodgement of the fund’s tax return and can be quite onerous – up to $10,200 for each breach.

SMSFs can be a key part of a successful savings and retirement strategy. However, having a SMSF also brings a high level of compliance responsibility. 

The ATO has the power to levy this penalty on each trustee. Where the trustee is a corporate, the penalty is issued to the company and the directors will be joint and severally liable for the debt.

In the case of a fund with individual trustees, the ATO can levy the penalty on each trustee. This means the penalty could be up to four times the penalty imposed on a corporate.  E.g. where the penalty is $10,200, a corporate trustee would be charged $10,200 but a fund with individual trustees would be charged $10,200 per trustee – potentially $40,800 in total. This is one of many reasons why Corporate Trustees are recommended. Immediate rectification of any existing breach is recommended.

The new penalties apply from 1 July 2014 however breaches from prior periods can be captured if not rectified by this date.