SMSF lodgement and compliance updates from the ATO

• the latest tax gap for small super funds shows around 97.5 per cent compliance
• reported regulatory contraventions among self-managed superfunds are currently tracking at about 2 per cent
• during the 2020 financial year, 22,000 new self-managed superfunds were registered, a 7 per cent increase from 2019
• about 14 per cent of the 2019 self-managed super funds annual returns haven’t yet been lodged acknowledging that this may be due to COVID-19

The Commissioner advised that the independence guide updated in May 2020 provides strict advice about in-house auditors. The ATO will use 2021 as an “opportunity to educate industry about this issue”. As part of this, it will be providing further guidance on the ATO website in the coming months and deferring compliance action until after 1 July.