TR 211/D6

Income tax: deductibility under subsection 295-465(1) of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 of premiums paid by a complying superannuation fund for an insurance policy providing Total and Permanent Disability cover in respect of its members.

Income tax deductions for superannuation funds – Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) premiums

In December 2011, the ATO released a Draft Taxation Ruling TR 2011/D6, titled Income tax: deductibility under subsection 295-465(1) of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 of premiums paid by a complying superannuation fund for an insurance policy providing Total and Permanent Disability cover in respect of its members.

Currently in draft form, the ruling provides direction as to when a superannuation fund may claim a tax deduction for premiums paid to provide TPD cover for members.  The draft ruling replaces an earlier draft ruling, TR 2010/D9, which has now been withdrawn. Read the rest of this entry »

In the 2011 Federal Budget, the Government announced it would legislate to allow the refund of excess concessional contributions in specific instances. In December 2011, the Government released draft legislation to allow the announcement to be made law.

Legislation

The draft legislation, titled Tax Laws Amendment (2012 Measures No. 1) Bill 2012: refunded excess concessional contributions, provides for the refund by the ATO (‘Commissioner’) of excess contributions, within limited circumstances. Those limitations are:

• the Commissioner is satisfied the individual has excess concessional contributions for a particular financial year;
• the amount of the excess concessional contributions is $10,000 or less;
• after 1 July 2011, the individual has had no prior excess concessional contributions;
• the individual has lodged an income tax return for that particular financial year, either within 12 months of the end of that year or longer if permitted by the Commissioner; and
• the individual accepts an offer from the Commissioner to have the excess contributions returned.

Read the rest of this entry »