SMSF

When the tax was first proposed in 2023, theEarningsmeasure would have captured increases in asset values even where nothing had been sold. In principle, that could have left SMSF members whose funds hold farmland,Businessreal property or otherIlliquidAssetsfacing tax bills on paper gains, without any …

Division 296 applies an additional 15 per cent tax to the share of a member's realised superEarningsattributable to their total super balance, or TSB, above $3 million. A further 10 per cent applies to the share above $10 million.

According to the SMSF Association, 12,264 new SMSFs were established in the June 2026 quarter alone, lifting the 2025–26 total above 50,000.

Because it carries regulatory information, the return also feeds the fund's status onsuper fundLookup, the public register that other funds and employers check before sending money to a fund.

The audit must be completed before the SMSF annual return is lodged, because the return requires the auditor's details and confirmation that the audit has been done.

Valuations also matter when money moves in or out of the fund. Starting a pension, paying a benefit, making an in-specie contribution or transferring an asset all rely on an accurateMarket Valueat the time.

A fund that loses its complying status can be taxed at the highest marginal rate on its income and on a large part of its assets.