This financial year, the ATO have been cracking down on personal super contribution claims because they are wanting to ensure that everyone is following the rules.
For some, submitting a Notice of Intent before lodging your tax return seems to be a new process, however, it has been around for a while. The reason you may only be hearing about it now is because the ATO have been tightening up their systems.
In this article, we explain what a Notice of Intent is and why you need to submit one. We also talk about the process to follow in order to claim a deduction for super contributions in your tax return.
What is a Notice of Intent?
A notice of intent is simply a document that you need to submit to your Super Fund before lodging your annual tax return. It’s a requirement when you plan to claim a deduction for personal super contributions made during the financial year.
How to Claim a Deduction for Additional Super Contributions
If you intend to claim a deduction for any personal super contributions made, you must:
1) Submit a valid notice of your intent to your chosen Super Fund
This must be done on the day you lodge your tax return OR on the last day of the following income year (the year after you made the contributions) – whichever occurs first.
2) Your Super Fund must then provide acknowledgement stating that they have received it
Once these 2 steps are complete we are able to include your personal super contributions as a claimable deduction when we lodge your tax return with the ATO.
The Information Required by your Super Fund
Below are key details that you need to provide to your Super Fund so they can identify you easily.
- Tax file number (TFN)
- Name
- Date of birth
- Postal address
- Daytime phone number (including the area code).
The quicker you provide these details to your Super Fund the quicker we can go ahead and lodge your tax return. That way you can be united with your much loved tax refund (if any) in no time.
Key Things to Know before Trying to Make a Claim
- We’re not able to lodge your tax return until we gain acknowledgement from your Super Fund, stating that they have received the notice of intent
- If you need to amend the amount claimed as a deduction, you must complete a new notice of intent and send to your Super Fund for processing.
There are some other conditions that apply when claiming super contributions as a deduction in your tax return.
Always speak to your accountant before taking any action on your own so we can help you and make the process as smooth sailing as possible.
If you need some assistance or would like to learn more about this, feel free to give us a call on (03) 9762 7344.
All the best!
