Don’t use your SMSF for bills or presents this Christmas

Find out why you shouldn’t dip into your SMSF to pay bills or buy presents for Christmas and the consequences if you do.

There are very limited circumstances where you can legally access your super early and paying bills and buying Christmas presents doesn’t make the list.

Generally, you can only access your super when you:

• reach preservation age and retire, or
• turn 65 even if you’re still working.

To access your super legally before then, you must satisfy a condition of release.

If you’re an SMSF member and you illegally access your benefits, you may be liable for additional income tax, administrative penalties and could be disqualified as a trustee.

If you’ve illegally accessed your super, contact us immediately via the SMSF voluntary disclosure service. The ATO will take your voluntary disclosure and circumstances into account when considering penalties.

If you’ve illegally accessed your super, returning it to the fund may be considered a new contribution. This may affect your Contribution caps and result in additional tax on excess contributions.

Beware of people promoting early access schemes! If someone offers you advice that you can withdraw your super early (other than by legal means) you should protect yourself by:

• stopping any involvement with the scheme, organisation or the person who approached you,
• not signing any documents,
• not providing them with any of your personal details such as your Tax File Number (TFN) or passwords,
• making a tip-off online or phone us on 13 10 20 and advise us or your situation.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comment section. We will be happy to answer all your queries.