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3 July 2024
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Pension payments in super after the age of 60 are tax free and anyone over 65 can switch their super into a pension account even if they do not change their employment. Why do so many continue paying 15% tax?
SMSFs offer unlimited investment flexibility and most trustees make their own decisions but the majority of investments fall into five categories. There remains a strong home bias despite global opportunities.
While the ATO has many ways to watch taxpayer transactions and ensure tax is collected, for some unknown reason, it is legal to select from four different cost base treatments for capital gains tax. It's costing billions.
No entity holds a consolidated view of the taxable income of super, not even the ATO. So Treasury and the Treasurer adopted a simple method to impose a new tax, and the adverse consequences then started to surface.
The end of the 2022 financial year is fast approaching and there are choices available to ensure you pay the right amount of tax. Watch for some pandemic-related changes worth understanding.
The best way to preserve your SMSF’s favoured status is to make sure the fund’s annual return reaches the ATO on time. There are new rules this year that every SMSF trustee should know.
Some of our readers have said family trusts have little merit because of the tight limits on the amount that can be distributed to children paying low tax rates. But the use of bucket companies drives many of the structures.
Make a note of the lodgement deadlines for personal tax returns, and start collecting the information you will need. Unless your affairs are simple, professional help is usually money well spent.
It sounds arcane but it could be costly. For the first time, about 44,000 individuals will receive their first Division 293 notice early in 2019, and it will surprise many.
The ATO has issued an update on illegal early release of super, when an SMSF is worth having, reporting obligations and trustee checklists. Make sure you stay on top of the rules.
A bill that allows the ATO to merge dormant super accounts with active ones and release super members from compulsory life insurance embedded in enterprise agreements and from exit fees was tabled on 21 June 2018.
The use of separate SMSFs for accumulation and pensions stages to minimise tax obligations may attract the ire of the ATO, but there may be other, more legitimate, reasons for using this strategy.
Two commonly asked questions are: 'How much do I need to retire' and 'How much can I afford to spend in retirement'? This is a guide to help you come up with your own numbers to suit your goals and needs.
There seems to be more confusion than clarity about the mechanics of how the new $3 million super tax is supposed to work. Here is an attempt to answer some of the questions from my previous work on the issue.
Washington H. Soul Pattinson is an ASX top 50 stock with one of the best investment track records this country has seen. Yet, most Australians haven’t heard of it, and the company seems to prefer it that way.
We are often quoted life expectancy at birth but what matters most is how long we should live as we grow older. It is surprising how short this can be for people born last century, so make the most of it.
A new report suggests Australian housing is twice as expensive as that of the US and UK on a price-to-income basis. It also reveals that it’s cheaper to live in New York than most of our capital cities.
Here are 10 rules for staying happy and sharp as we age, including socialise a lot, never retire, learn a demanding skill, practice gratitude, play video games (specific ones), and be sure to reminisce.