My first TBAR report
A pre-existing income stream is an income stream (retirement pension) that commenced prior to 1 July 2017.
If a member of your Fund was drawing a superannuation pension prior to July 1 2017, they are said to have a pre-existing income stream.
Funds with members having a pre-existing income stream were required to lodge TBAR reports by 1 July 1 2018.
The good news is that the ATO has stated it will show some leniency to those reporting late, but you MUST lodge the required TBAR report no later than when you lodge your Fund Tax return for 2017-8. The really good news is that, for users subscribed to the Professional Version of Mclowd, Mclowd makes it very easy.
Note: If you are not yet subscribed to the Professional Version, log in to your Mclowd Account and press the UPGRADE button in the top right corner to upgrade. It’s just $33.00 a year, including GST, and the benefits include automated TBAR lodgement, advanced asset maintenance, and even the ability to lodge your Fund Income Tax return automatically, at no cost. Plus you’ll enjoy FREE TECHNICAL SUPPORT and an Ad Free interface.
TBAR Reporting is covered in depth in a dedicated chapter in the User Manual.
This article is intended to address only the specific requirement to report the Transfer Balance Account of retirees with pre-existing income streams as at 1 July 2017.
Step 1: Add an intermediary
This is the person who will lodge the report and who can respond to any information requests from the ATO in relation to the report. It might be your accountant, or a trustee of your fund.
Choose the TBAR tab on the main Tab Menu.
The TBAR button menu displays. Choose MANAGE INTERMEDIARIES then ADD A NEW INTERMEDIARY.
Fill in the details. If an accountant will lodge the report, enter his/her company information and contact name and email. If a Trustee will lodge, the Company is your Superannuation Fund, or any Corporate Trustee of your Fund.
Note: To create an event and lodge a report, you MUST create an Intermediary and assign them to the Fund. Without an assigned Intermediary, you cannot lodge a report.
SAVE DETAILS then go back to the TBAR menu.
Step 2: Choose ADD TBAR EVENT
Note: This instruction is solely for lodging a FIRST report for a member receiving a superannuation income stream (pension) as at 20 June 2017.
Choose SAVE DETAILS then BACK TO TBAR.
If you have multiple reports to lodge, repeat the above steps for each member for whom a report is required.
Step 3: Choose GENERATE TBAR FILE
Select the Intermediary you set up to lodge this report.
Mclowd displays a list of created reports that have not yet been lodged.
Place a check box to the left of each Event for which you are lodging a report.
Choose GENERATE TBAR FILE.
Mclowd should report that the file was successfully created.
Choose BACK TO TBAR.
Step 4: Choose VIEW TBAR FILES
Locate the file(s) you just generated and click the Download link on the right.
Select SAVE AS to select a convenient folder to save in and name the file appropriately. (By default, it will be named ‘tbar-file’. It is a simple text document.)
Step 5: Log in to the ATO Business Portal
Log in to the ATO Business Portal for the Fund you are reporting for, or to an Agent Portal through which you are authorized to report for this Fund.
Note: The ATO has advised Trustees to link their Fund to their MyGov account and log in via MyGov. (See https://www.ato.gov.au/Business/Business-Portal/Getting-started/Manage-ABN-Connections)
Once correctly logged in to the Portal, you will see a grey panel on the left with menu options.
Choose Lodge File under File Transfer at the bottom of the menu. The Lodge File screen displays.
Scroll down to click the Submit button.