The ATO has released guidance on how members of an SMSF should go about claiming deductions for a personal contribution, stating notice must be given about the claim in writing.
In the guidance, the ATO said SMSF members who intend to claim a deduction will need to provide their SMSF trustee with a notice of intent to claim or vary a deduction for personal super contributions.
The member must also obtain written acknowledgement from their SMSF trustee of the notice of intent before lodging their 2019 individual tax return, the SMSF regulator added.
The ATO stressed the need for the acknowledgement to have been received by the member before make the claim deduction, saying it would be required for use when completing an individual tax return and “your annual member statement or your income statement isn’t accepted as ‘acknowledgement’”.
It has previously stated a notice will be invalid if the person is no longer a member of an SMSF, the member no longer holds the contribution because of a partial rollover that included the contribution, or has paid either a lump sum or started to pay a super income stream that includes the contribution.
The personal super contributions for which members can claim a tax deduction will reduce their taxable income and the tax they need to pay, count towards their concessional contributions cap and be taxed at 15 per cent, it noted.
In earlier advice, it said if a member wishes to claim a tax deduction for personal contributions, the member must give notice by the earlier of either the time they lodge their personal income tax return for the financial year during which the contribution was made or the end of the financial year following the year the contribution was made.
