A key responsibility self-managed super fund (SMSF) trustees have every income year is valuing your fund's assets at 'market value'.
Prior to lodging your SMSF annual return (SAR), your fund's SMSF auditor is required to check assets have been valued correctly and assess and document whether the basis for the valuation is appropriate.
Where the auditor determines you have not provided sufficient appropriate audit evidence to them to confirm the fund's assets have been correctly valued at market value, a regulation 8.02B contravention may have occurred and your auditor may be required to notify us about this.
In 2024-25 we observed an increase in regulation 8.02B breaches being reported by SMSF auditors. These breaches now account for over 12% of all breaches reported to the ATO.
We're increasingly using data to identify and deal with risks and continue to place compliance scrutiny on funds who have maintained the same values on reported SMSF assets in their annual return.
We're concerned these funds may not be meeting their legal requirement to value and report their assets at ‘market value’ every year.
Trustees are reminded:
- If your asset valuations fail to meet the valuation requirements, the fund and members may have additional tax to pay and you could be liable for administrative penalties.
- As part of the annual audit process, you must provide objective and supportable evidence to your SMSF auditor to support the valuation of your fund assets. This includes providing all relevant documents specifically requested by your auditor.
Have a look at our SMSF valuation guidelines for more information.
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