The 2013 financial year is now merely a memory. It’s time to think carefully about what immediate issues might be important for the 2013/14 financial year. Contribution splitting for spouses comes top of a list of things you should start to consider now.

1. Contribution splitting – I think contribution splitting is worthwhile considering. To action this there are a number of rules you need to satisfy. At a basic level, you need to complete a form prepared by the Tax Office, which you can download here.

There are some rules however that you need to be aware of. The first of them, as usual, is your SMSF’s trust deed. Does it permit you to split contributions with your spouse?

You can split contributions regardless of your age and if your spouse if aged under 55. If your spouse is aged between 55 and under 65 then they can’t be retired (if your spouse hasn’t been in paid employment for many years then there may be an argument that they’re retired).

In most occasions, you can lodge the splitting application with a super fund in the financial year immediately after the financial year in which the contributions were made.

For contributions to SMSFs, you can only split employer contributions and personal super contributions that have been claimed as a tax deduction.

You can only split up to 85% of these contributions (up to the cap amount). For example, if your concessional contributions are $25,000, you can split up to $21,250 (85% of $25,000).

You can’t split non-concessional contributions or small business CGT contributions.

The ATO form mentioned above is quite straightforward and should only take you a few minutes to complete.

Contribution splitting probably won’t add anything to your overall wealth but it may save you additional tax at some point. Contribution splitting won’t cost you anything (although some SMSF administrators will want to charge you more fees).

2. Minimum pension percentages – from 1 July, the minimum income that has to be paid from superannuation pensions will increase. The minimum percentages for 2013/14 will be as follows:

For 2012/13, the minimum income amounts were 75% of the above percentages.

Also from 1 July 2013, the minimum income needs to be worked out using the market value of the assets backing the pension.

3. Valuation of assets – from 1 July 2013, the market value of assets has to be used for most legislative requirements in SMSFs, including the preparation of financial accounts and information passed to the Tax Office on annual returns. Further details are provided in this article.

4. Increased auditor supervision – from 1 July 2013, SMSF auditors need to be registered with ASIC – you should check to make sure that your auditor is registered – and a lot more will be expected of them when completing their task of checking the financial accuracy of your fund’s bookkeeping and accounts, as well as checking your fund has met all its compliance obligations.

5. Compulsory super increase – from 1 July 2013, employers will have to contribute 9.25% of an employee’s salary and wages into super.

6. Increased regulatory fee – from 1 July 2013, your SMSF regulatory fee will increase from $191 to $259. The increase has been imposed to ensure that SMSFs fully pay for regulating the sector.

Another change made in relation to the annual regulatory fee involves the timing when it has to be paid. At the moment, SMSFs pay their fee annually when they submit their regulatory return. These returns aren’t due until many months after the end of each financial year. However, going forward, the payment of the fee is being transitioned from “in arrears” to “in advance”.

When you submit your 2012/13 return, you will pay the 2012/13 levy of $191 and half of the 2013/14 levy ($130 rounded up). The other half will be paid when you submit your 2013/14 return, when you will also pay the 2014/15 levy.

Effectively this means the levy when you submit your 2012/13 return will be $321, and for the 2013/14 return, you’ll pay $388.

Slightly different rules will apply for funds being set up after 1 July 2013. When they submit their first regulatory return, they’ll pay the first two years regulatory fee.

This change means that all super funds pay their regulatory fees in the same financial year.

Important: This content has been prepared without taking account of the objectives, financial situation or needs of any particular individual. It does not constitute formal advice. Consider the appropriateness of the information in regards to your circumstances.

Also in the Switzer Super Report

• Peter Switzer: Banks, as safe as houses
• Paul Rickard: Switzer portfolios outshine in June
• Rudi Filapek-Vandyck: Is the worst over for the mining sector?
• Penny Pryor: The future is bright for residential