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Retired former members of the Australian Public Service have descended on their superannuation funds and the Superannuated Commonwealth Officers Association (SCOA) in their hundreds seeking new end-of-year PAYG statements that include their tax offset entitlement.
The retired members need the statement to lodge their tax returns but confusion has arisen due to new arrangements introduced by the Australian Taxation Office for the first time requiring super funds to report the tax offset amount directly to the ATO.
SCOA said “many retirees” had contacted them because the amount showing the 10% tax offset which is usually included in the summary, was not included this year.
According to the Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation the new arrangement was introduced to make it easier for the retirees to prepare their tax returns.
“Your tax offset amount has already been reported to the ATO and is not included on your statement,” the CSC says in a statement posted on its website
“The offset will still be applied to your pension, but now the ATO will calculate your offset and ensure that you still enjoy its benefit.”
It said the changes a retiree would be affected by depended on their age.
For people 60 or older, the payment summary will include more information, including tax-free amounts.
“You may not have seen this information on your summary before, but it does not change the amount of tax you pay,” the CSC says.
“If you turned 60 last financial year you will have received two payment summaries, one covering the time up until you turned 60, and one for the period after that.”
It said that while some people had been asking for a replacement PAYG statement which included the offset amount, they couldn’t provide it.
“Because of the new ATO requirements, we aren’t able to issue a statement that shows the offset amount.”
The SCOA spokesperson said the main message to get across is that people will still receive their offset.
“If you want to know how much, just take 10 per cent off your gross”, the spokesperson said.”
The full explanation can be accessed on the SCOA website at this PS News link.
