Taxpayers are responsible for safely storing a written backup copy of their tax record in case the original electronic form becomes inaccessible or unreadable. In the event that your records have been damaged or destroyed, there are a number of ways you can reconstruct them.
Where the tax records are accidentally lost or destroyed from a burglary or fire, the ATO will allow a taxpayer to claim a deduction for certain expenses, provided that:
The taxpayer has a complete copy of a lost or destroyed document.
The ATO is satisfied that the taxpayer took reasonable precautions to avoid the loss or destruction of the form. If the tax record was a written document, it is not reasonably possible to attain a substitute document.
Taxpayers keep a record of these circumstances and inform the ATO in writing to back up the claim.
The ATO holds and can re-issue or supply copies of tax documents, such as:
Income tax returns.
Activity statements.
Notices of assessment.
If you have lost your TFN, you can still access your tax information by phoning the ATO. They will allow for other information to verify identity, such as an individual’s date of birth, address or bank account details.
If you are unable to substantiate claims made in your tax returns or activity statements because records have been lost or destroyed, the ATO can accept the claim without substantiation, where it is not reasonably possible to obtain the original documents.
A super death benefit is the super paid after a person’s death, usually to a nominated beneficiary. These benefits are subject to different tax treatments, depending on whether the beneficiaries are dependant or non-dependant.
Superannuation death benefits will generally be received tax-free by tax dependants, who are considered to be:
A child of the deceased who is under 18 years of age,
A spouse or former spouse of the deceased,
A person who has an interdependency relationship with the deceased (e.g. if they live together or have a close personal relationship),
A financial dependant of the deceased.
Dependants will not have to pay tax on the tax-free component of their super in the event that they:
Withdraw it as a lump sum, or
Receive an account based income stream.
However, they will be taxed at their marginal rate if they receive a capped benefit income stream and:
The deceased was at least 60 years of age at the time of death
The dependent is over 60 years of age and the total of their tax-free component and taxed element exceeds their defined benefit income cap.
Not all super death benefits are subject to tax; for non-dependants, there is a taxable portion. This component is largely made up of after-tax super contributions that the deceased member has made.
Super death benefit payments are subject to tax when:
The payment is made as a result of the SMSF member passing away,
The payment is provided to a non-dependent for tax purposes,
The payment has a taxable component.
Non-dependants must calculate how much money in the super account is a:
Tax-free component,
Taxable component the super provider has paid tax on (taxed element),
Taxable component the super provider has not paid tax on (untaxed element).
The amount of tax non-dependants pay will be based on their marginal tax rate, however, this amount may be reduced by tax offsets. For the taxed element of the taxable component, the effective tax rate is your marginal tax rate of 17% (whichever is lower). For the untaxed element of the taxable component, the effective tax rate is 32% or your marginal tax rate (whichever is lower).
