Heffron said phase two of the toolkit was developed in response to requests from SMSF advisers, accountants and trustees seeking guidance in order to meet auditor and ATO requirements for their SMSF landlords providing rent relief to COVID-impacted commercial tenants.
The SMSF services provider estimates that there are 54,000 SMSFs with commercial property investments.
As a consequence of the pandemic, many of these landlords have provided rent relief for tenants who are unable to comply with the standard terms of their lease, Heffron said.
“For SMSF landlords specifically, complying with superannuation law adds complexity to this process,” it said.
Heffron launched phase one of the toolkit in June with the Investment Strategy, a guided document tool walks through the process of creating an ATO-compliant strategy. The toolkit is designed to be shared with clients, enabling documents to be previewed and downloaded.
Heffron managing director Meg Heffron explained that the COVID-19 rent relief tool doesn’t simply produce template documentation, but also walks users through the ATO’s requirements for compliance relief, helping users identify the drivers for rent relief and articulate the reasons why relief should be given in particular situations, as well as highlighting rent relief risks.
“The launch of the Heffron Super Toolkit marks the future of our SMSF Document Services. We are fortunate to be agile and able to bring our expertise and practical experience to the market quickly at an affordable price. Co-creating our tools with our clients will continue to drive product development,” Ms Heffron said.
