Plenty Plus plans to launch the new CGT relief tool before 30 June. The tool will determine whether an SMSF client should apply the CGT relief to certain assets and how exactly they should apply the relief.
Plenty Plus co-founder Greg Einfeld said the new module will pull in data about every asset including the purchase price of each asset parcel as well as the age of each client, whether the client is retired or when they plan to retire, when they plan to sell each asset and whether that’s before or after retirement.
It will also analyse information about the different balances in the fund and the amounts in accumulation, pension and transition to retirement, whether the fund uses the segregated or proportional method, and whether assets are in an unrealised gain or an unrealised loss.
Once the system has all this information Mr Einfeld said it will calculate “whether the fund should be claiming relief on each individual asset or whether they should be deferring the payment of the tax”.
He said one of the main difficulties for unlicensed accountants is that in order to understand whether the client should apply the relief, the accountant needs to understand whether their client is going to be starting pensions, when they are going to be commuting pensions and when they’re going to be selling assets in the fund.
“You need to be a financial adviser to advise on all of those things. So it does become difficult for accountants to provide advice on CGT relief on its own unless they’re licensed,” he said.
“I think this module will solve a large problem for a lot of accountants because there’s so much confusion.”
It does read that way but I think he means that if you have a non segregated fund but some assets in pension phase then you can apply proportional relief but that will trigger a gain for assets that are not ECPI. This will trigger CGT for these assets although they can elect for the liability to be deferred. If those assets to come into pension phase prior to the asset being sold and the member remains below the TBC then there will be no CGT payable.
My concern relates more to “cheap and easy” support for matters this complex and requiring individual customisation, I don’t think its this easy but good on him if does it. I just glad I’m not the PI insurer.
Strange. I thought the CGT relief was ONLY for people who had met the criteria: started a pension before 1/7/2016 & held CGT assets 9/11/16 & who have to restructure their tax affairs so they meet TRIS and/or Transfer Balance Cap requirements. The way this article reads is that anyone can apply for the relief.