Superannuation Record Keeping

SMSF Record Keeping Responsibilities

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Good record keeping is an essential part of having your own Self Managed Super Fund (SMSF). Not only does it help you stay on top of keeping accurate financial accounts and statements, it will also help your SMSF auditor and your tax specialist work out the tax obligations relevant to your specific situation.

Some of the key responsibilities of record keeping include:

  • If there are changes to your fund (e.g. change of member, change of trustee or change of address etc.) you must notify the ATO within 28 days as well as keep a record of those changes.
  • You must regularly review your investment strategy and document the review in meeting minutes.
  • Accounting needs to be accurate and keep seperate accounting records for each member that records activity specific to them.
  • Keep track of types of contribution and any rollovers your fund receives – this particularly helps your taxation specialist work out the tax obligations.
  • Keep track of all investment transactions

When it comes down to how long to keep records;

  • 5 years – Accounts, statements, SMSF Annual returns, payment summaries and rollover statements
  • 10 years – A range of trustee documents and forms must be kept for at least 10 years.

Record keeping is a key SMSF trustee responsibility so it’s important to stay on top of it. If you have any questions don’t hesitate to get in contact with us.