Reporting rollovers to the tax office
When all or part of a member’s balance is rolled over to another super fund, the paying fund must report the information to the ATO using a Rollover Benefits Statement (RBS), which can be obtained from the ATO website (www.ato.gov.au).
An RBS comprises four sections that include details of the receiving fund, the member, the rollover components and the paying fund. Each section must be accurately completed and the ATO warns that penalties may apply when false or misleading information is reported.
If the amount to be rolled over is being split and the parts distributed to more than one fund, a separate RBS must be completed for each receiving fund.
It’s important to note that if the payment is from a contribution-splitting arrangement for the member’s spouse, the details of the spouse receiving the payment must be provided.
When calculating the amount of the contribution to be rolled over, trustees must apply a “proportioning rule”. An explanation of how the proportioning rule is used, and practical examples of its application, can be found in Taxation Ruling TR2010/1.
The ATO does not require a copy of the RBS, but advises that you must keep a copy for your own records for at least five years.
Amounts rolled over to another fund must also be included in the fund’s Self-Managed Super Fund Annual Return. As this can become rather complex, the ATO’s website has a downloadable instruction document called ‘Self-Managed Superannuation Fund Annual Return Instructions’.
An updated document is released each year, so it’s important that you download the latest version.
The fund that receives the rolled-over amount must show those details in its Self-Managed Super Fund Annual Return as well. The amount received must correspond with the amount reported by the paying fund on the RBS, and will include any additional contributions made for the member into the new fund during the financial year.
For more information, please call us on 02 9318 6400 or email fred.tortora@surrypartners.com.au.