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Lodgement double-ups surfacing as TBAR confusion sets in

TBAR, client handovers
By Miranda Brownlee
03 August 2018 — 1 minute read

Transfer balance events are being reported twice for clients in some cases, particularly where the client has switched to a new accountant or administrator, warns an SMSF software company.

While it’s still early days with the transfer balance account reporting regime, Class chief executive Kevin Bungard said some issues have arisen where reports have been manually processed and it’s not clear who is responsible for completing TBAR lodgements for the client.

For example, where a client changed accountants in the past 12 months, it may be unclear which professional is responsible for reporting what, the CEO explained.

“Will it be the previous accountants who have been doing the lodgement for last year’s tax return, who probably did that on the 2 July or thereabouts? Would they have done the TBAR or it is the new accountant who’s doing TBAR because they’ve picked up from the new financial year,” Mr Bungard said.

The confusion around this, particularly where different firms use different methods for reporting, is causing some events to be reported twice.

“There has been some reporting of double accounting where someone’s done a manual return and someone else has done an electronic lodgement. So, I think there might be some confusion with handovers between firms where trustees have changed administrator.”

The TBAR regime, as well as a spate of other measures announced in the 2016 federal budget, have been an ongoing source of confusion for the SMSF sector, and the lead up to this year's June 30 deadline was no exception. 

For example, in early June, Class found pension accounts were causing serious delays to SMSF lodgement, whereby 35 per cent of funds were yet to lodge their annual returns a week out from deadline.   

The "biggest ECPI changes in a decade" are also continuing to create waves. You can read more about them here. 

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