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Self-Managed Super Funds provide an unparalleled degree of flexibility for trustees allowing them to invest in a broad range of assets including direct property, cryptocurrency, shares, managed funds, bullion, private company shares, and much more.
This flexibility has driven the ongoing demand for SMSFs with over one million active SMSFs in Australia across a broad range of demographics. Our accredited SMSF Accountants in Melbourne are specialists in the super space and are experienced working with clients at all stages of their super journey.
We use the Class Super platform as the core technology for our SMSF accounting – Class Super allows for data feeds and other automation tools to keep your compliance as efficient and cost-effective as possible. The use of Class Super is also complimented by our strong internal systems that monitor your compliance from an additional perspective.
Taking control of your retirement savings through an SMSF can be a rewarding but challenging experience for many clients.
The upsides of being able to invest in a broader range of assets than traditional superannuation offerings while controlling your financial destiny can be appealing.
However, it is important to understand the obligations and rules imposed on an SMSF and enforced by the ATO.
Our firm boasts a passionate team of SMSF accountants servicing clients with ongoing compliance support and advisory services. Our primary goal is to relive the stress that can be accompanied with managing your own super.
Our services are built on automation technology and technical experience – providing the most cost-effective service we can. SMSF Australia is independently owned and managed – we regularly collaborate with our clients own personal accountants or financial planners to ensure your long-term financial goals are matched across all your assets.
If you’re interested in learning more about our SMSF Accounting Services please reach out for a confidential quote. Simply submit your details and one of our friendly team will be in touch as soon as possible.
Do you want to learn more about our SMSF Accounting Services?
Give us a call on (03) 9117 0283 or fill in the form above
Our accredited SMSF Accountants servicing Melbourne and the wider Victorian area have completed their specialist training via the Tax Institute of Australia. The Chartered Tax Adviser badge is earned by accountants and lawyers who decide to focus their efforts within the taxation and superannuation environment.
The firm is led by Emily Cooper, an accredited SMSF Specialist with the SMSF Association of Australia. Outside of our core accounting staff, we also have a practicing lawyer sitting on our advisory board as a permanent member of the firm who provides legal and technical support to our team and clients on complex legal issues should they arise.
This blend of legal and accounting expertise allows us to handle complex SMSF issues with relative ease and support clients regardless of the difficulty of their situations. This holistic approach is not found amongst any other SMSF accounting firms in Australia – the breadth of knowledge on our team is unparalleled.
Our clients feel supported and know that our passionate team will always have their best interests at heart.
SMSF Australia assists with the complete lifecycle of SMSF Accounting Services – from initial setup through to eventual wind-ups. Our team is dedicated and experienced enough to help you through the entire process, including rolling over superannuation from other providers upon setup.
We’ll also help you maintain the appropriate records that meet the administration and accounting requirements
Our pricing model is inherently simple.
We use fixed price quotes for simplicity – you’ll always know what our fees are in advance. Over 90% of our clients pay $1,300+GST or under for their annual works.
These annual works include:
Keep in mind that all super funds have to be audited annually by an independent, ASIC registered, SMSF Auditor. This auditor will review the deed, investment strategy, and compliance documents as well as the financial reports, tax return, and supporting documents. We have a panel of auditors we recommend to clients although you are also free to pick your own although any cost difference between them and our regular panel will naturally be passed along.
Our team provides a range of SMSF Accounting services for the Melbourne market including:
All funds need to lodge an SMSF tax return annually to the Australian Taxation Office.
The tax return itself reports the financial performance and position of the fund to the ATO along with the member’s balances.
This tax return cannot be lodged without the inclusion of an independent auditor’s report confirming whether the fund had any contraventions during the financial year.
The due date of the SMSF Tax Return will depend on the age and size of the fund and its compliance history with the ATO.
For first-year funds, it must be lodged by the following 28th February after the end of the financial year as the ATO tends to keep a close eye on new funds to ensure that trustees are fully aware of their obligations.
For most funds, the average lodgement deadline is extended further to the 15th of May although we do encourage clients to never leave their lodgements to the last minute as it tends to put a lot of pressure on the trustees and risk potential late lodgement and penalties with the ATO.
The SMSF Deed is the legal backbone of the super fund which enunciates the legal relationships between the trustee company, and the members and creates rules that the trustee must follow in the administration of the fund.
All SMSF Deeds should be regularly reviewed as successive governments over the last few decades have made innumerable legal changes to the superannuation environment which may negatively affect older deeds.
As part of our standard onboarding process, our team will conduct a quick review of a client’s existing deed and let them know if there are any causes for concern that arise from that.
In situations where the SMSF deed does appear dated then we recommend engaging a specialist SMSF Lawyer to review the deed in detail and advise on the pathway to creating an amended deed for the fund.
This process is not particularly expensive or difficult to organize and will protect the trustees from the risk of noncompliance with the fund.
SMSF Australia provides services either to clients directly or on a white-labelled basis to other accounting firms who may lack the resources to be able to administer their client’s SMSFs on a cost-efficient, high-quality basis.
This wholesale work involves completing all the client’s work on our customised Class Super platform while giving the accounting firm we are working with live access to their clients’ files.
We can then complete the tax lodgement either using our Tax Agent Number or that of the accounting firms depending on their personal preferences.
Alongside our wholesale offering, we also assist trustees directly with their Self-Managed Super Funds, providing SMSF Accounting Services for clients throughout Melbourne and wider Victoria.
Our services are not designed to be the cheapest in the market but are designed to offer a competitive value for money solution. Our team’s high-level technical excellence coupled with a customised automated toolkit provides SMSF Australia a large competitive advantage.
Our firm is a trusted partner for accounting firms across Australia who want to outsource their SMSF funds to a specialist provider. We seek to build long-term partnerships with the accounting firms we work with – ensuring that their clients are being looked after professionally and with your values and ethos in mind.
Our firm has a network of financial planning firms whom we work closely with to support their client’s self-managed super funds from a compliance point of view.
As our business actively excludes financial planning within our model there is no overlap in services between SMSF Australia and the financial planning partners we work with.
All the planners we work with, regardless of the source of our client relationship, are given live access to their client’s data via a separate login to the Class Super portal.
This means that you can request reports and review transactions on a live basis rather than waiting for periodic reports to be issued.
Talk to our friendly team to see if we can help you with your SMSF fund today!
Please fill in your details on the contact form or give our office a call and we would be happy to have an obligation-free discussion about how we can assist you moving forward.
The cost of starting an SMSF in total is $2,000+GST.
The costs included in this SMSF Setup fee are:
If you can’t provide photo ID that matches your ATO records, we will not be able to assist you in setting up a SMSF. The ATO will automatically reject any application where this is the case.
There is an element of legal work that goes into setting up a SMSF. At SMSF Australia, we partner with a Specialist SMSF Law firm who completes the Deed along with creating the constitution for the corporate trustee. Feel confident knowing that all your documentation is being processed by an industry professional.
All the members of the corporate trustee company are also generally required to be directors. Due to this you will need to apply for a Directors Number ID. These ID numbers are linked to the individual director and will follow them to all companies they choose to be directors of in the future.
Our job as Specialist SMSF Accountants is to provide you with SMSF advice concerning the ongoing accounting, compliance, and tax obligations of your fund.
We can advise on all areas of taxation and compliance with the SIS Act; however, we cannot provide advice on investment choices or portfolio allocations. We are not financial planners and are not legally qualified to provide financial advice.
If you have investment related questions, seek out an ASIC licensed financial planning firm who will be able to better assist you in allocating your portfolio – financial planners will consider your personal circumstances and create the best plan for you!
Yes, it is perfectly legal to purchase property in your SMSF and many funds are set up for that exact purpose. SMSFs can purchase either residential or commercial property depending on the will of the trustee and the of course the rules they have laid out within their investment strategy.
It is important to remember that an SMSF must be for the sole purpose of providing retirement benefits to its members. This means you cannot purchase a holiday home or other residential property through an SMSF and use it yourself at any time or have it used by your family. The members of an SMSF may not use or benefit from the property in any way.
Self-Managed Super Funds are generally forbidden from borrowing funds with an exception of under a Limited Resource Borrowing Arrangement.
Using a legal instrument known as a Bare Trust, an SMSF can take out a mortgage on an investment property, but under strict conditions and only if allowed by the SMSF Deed and Investment Strategy of the fund.
As far as where to borrow the funds, all four of the big banks in Australia have withdrawn from lending in the super space after the Royal Commission having deemed the superannuation environment too high risk.
This means that SMSFs seeking finance are required to go to second-tier lenders such as La Trobe or Liberty – resulting in a higher interest rate. It also tends to be harder to refinance a loan in an SMSF compared to an individual or business loan.
As a typical rule, these second-tier lenders will lend 70-80% for the purchase of a residential investment while only 60-70% on the purchase of a commercial investment property when they are being purchased within an SMSF structure.
Keep in mind that this is only a general rule, and you should speak to a licensed mortgage broker to get an idea of your SMSFs unique borrowing power and position.
Yes, you can buy cryptocurrency in a SMSF, but you need to keep in mind that the ATO treats all crypto investments as an asset and not a currency from a taxation viewpoint. This means that any transaction within the Crypto space is considered a purchase and sale for tax purposes.
For example, if you move money into a US stable coin and then move the US stable coin to Bitcoin, you will have a taxable event on the sale of the US Stable Coin which will result in a profit or loss regardless of the fact you never received Australian Dollars.
This means that the record-keeping requirements for SMSFs in the Crypto space are of particular importance.
Another important rule is that the account on the exchange must be set up in the name of the fund/its corporate trustee and not in the member’s name. You must also make sure both the Investment Strategy allows for crypto investments.
For complete and affordable SMSF solutions, get in touch with our SMSF Accountants today.
© 2023 SMSF Australia Pty Ltd
Liability limited by a scheme approved under the professional standards legislation.
For complete and affordable SMSF solutions, get in touch with our SMSF Accountants today.
© 2023 SMSF Australia Pty Ltd
Liability limited by a scheme approved under the professional standards legislation.