ATO outlines causes for missing TBAR info on online services
The ATO has outlined some common reasons why tax agents may not be able to see information that a super fund has reported for a member when they access online services for tax agents.
Speaking in a webinar, ATO director Helen Morgan said that there may be situations where the tax agent for an individual has been told that a super fund has reported transfer balance account information for a client, but when they log on to online services for tax agents, they can’t see that information.
“The most common reason for that is that there’s been an issue with that reporting and it’s been suspended as an unprocessed form,” Ms Morgan explained.
“The other reason could be, particularly if it was an SMSF that was reporting that information, that the information was reported to us using a paper form or a spreadsheet where our processing time is longer, and we may still be going through the process of getting that information onto our systems.”
In those instances, Ms Morgan said that the tax agent will need to check with the individual fund when they reported the information to the ATO and how they reported the information.
“If there’s an issue with the information that the fund has reported to us, it’s best that fund contacts us to resolve the matter because we’ll need to talk to them about any issues they have with their reporting,” she said.
She also cautioned tax agents using the ATO’s online services not to cancel a cancellation of a transfer balance account report.
“Please do not try to cancel a cancellation TBAR; that creates some confusion in our systems,” she warned.
“Once we have processed the cancellation TBAR, you will need to [re-enter] the event that you had cancelled in error.”
In early April, the ATO extended transfer balance account report services to all tax agents and BAS agents in public beta through the online services for tax agents portal.
Through the new portal, tax agents can view transfer balance cap information and lodge transfer balance account reports (TBARs) electronically by completing an interactive form.
Miranda Brownlee
Miranda Brownlee is the deputy editor of SMSF Adviser, which is the leading source of news, strategy and educational content for professionals working in the SMSF sector.
Since joining the team in 2014, Miranda has been responsible for breaking some of the biggest superannuation stories in Australia, and has reported extensively on technical strategy and legislative updates.
Miranda also has broad business and financial services reporting experience, having written for titles including Investor Daily, ifa and Accountants Daily.
