The ATO has recently replaced the Taxation Ruling (TR) 93/7W on whether penalty interest is deductible to the new TR 2019/2. This new ruling highlights the circumstances in which penalty interest is deductible and the situations where it is not.
“Penalty interest” refers to an amount charged by a lender to a borrower under a loan agreement if instalments are not paid. The payable amount is then calculated by reference to a number of months of interest that would have been received.
TR 2019/2 says that penalty interest is generally deductible under section 8-1 where:
The borrowings are incurred when gaining or producing your assessable income; or
It is necessarily incurred in carrying on a business for the purpose of gaining or producing your assessable income.
Penalty interest that is incurred to discharge a mortgage is also deductible under section 25-30, to the extent that borrowed funds were used to produce assessable income. The ATO makes a note that unlike the general deduction provisions, there’s no influence from the expense being capital or revenue in nature.
You cannot deduct a loss or outgoing under section 8-1(2) to the extent that:
It is of capital or capital in nature.
It is of a private or domestic nature.
It is incurred in relation to gaining or producing your exempt income; or
A provision of the Act prevents you from deducting it.
Consolidating your super can save you time and money. Consolidating your super means that rather than having multiple different accounts, all your super is in one account.
Why you should consolidate your super:
Choosing to consolidate your super means that you will no longer be paying fees to multiple super funds.
There is also less paperwork to complete each time
You will be able to track your super more easily
Before you consolidate your super:
Consider how changing super funds affects employer contributions: Certain employers may contribute more to one fund than another. In which case, you should consider switching to the fund that your employer is most compatible with.
Consider how changing super funds impacts insurance you have through the fund: Changing funds might mean you no longer receive benefits of the insurance. Double checking the details of this is particularly important if you have a pre-existing medical condition or you are aged 60 or over.
Inform your employer of any change in details they may need, to pay to your chosen super account.
Don’t simply choose the account with the highest balance. Rather, take into consideration the performance of that super fund, the fees you are required to pay, whether it is linked to any insurance and any other factors. Upon reviewing this, you may find that rather than choosing between your current super funds, starting with a completely new fund might be the best way to go.
How to consolidate to one of your current super funds:
Create an account on the myGov website
Link your myGov account to the ATO
Go to ‘Super’ and then ‘Manage’
Select ‘Transfer Super’
Transferring to a new fund
In the case you decide that transferring to a new fund is the best option, you can consolidate either by contacting the new fund directly, or using an ATO rollover form.
