Application for Compassionate release of superannuation

Transcription

1 Instructions for individuals Application for Compassionate release of superannuation When to complete this form Complete this application if you believe that you are eligible to apply for the compassionate release of superannuation. Generally, you cannot access your superannuation before you reach your preservation age. There are limited circumstances where the law lets you access your superannuation early. You may be allowed to withdraw some of your super to pay unpaid expenses for: medical, treatment or transport accommodating a disability palliative care for a terminal illness the recent passing of a dependant preventing foreclosure or forced sale of home. Compassionate release of superannuation is only available when you are unable to pay for the above expenses by other means, such as savings, a loan, or sale of assets. Only unpaid expenses will be considered for compassionate release of superannuation. This is because when an expense has been paid, the expense no longer exists; therefore, the eligibility requirements of the compassionate grounds have not been met. Payment of an expense indicates you were able to meet that expense in other ways. When a loan (including personal loans, car loan, loans from family and friends and credit cards) has been used to pay an expense, this is considered to be a paid expense. Eligibility criteria You should only apply if: you have not paid for the expense you are unable to pay the expense through any other means you are a citizen or permanent resident of Australia or New Zealand. How to apply Our application process is free and easy. Our staff are available to assist with any enquiries you may have with completing your application. You should be aware that some entities may charge a fee to assist with preparing an application on your behalf. The application is a three-part process. Before you apply, check with your super fund whether they allow the early release of super before you begin. It s important you provide all information and supporting evidence we ask for. If you don t, we may not be able to consider your application. 1 Complete an application form and attach all required documentation. We assess your eligibility for compassionate release of superannuation, which can take up to 28 days. 2 If your application is approved, you must contact your super fund to arrange release of your money. You will need to provide the super fund with a copy of the approval letter to process your payment. 3 You must pay the expenses with the amount released from the fund and keep your receipts as evidence. If you have a self-managed super fund, you still need our approval to access your super early. NAT

2 How to complete this application Section A: Applicant s details As the applicant, you are applying to withdraw money from your own super fund. Provide your Tax File Number (TFN). If you don t have a TFN contact us on to apply. Provide your personal details so we can identify you. All correspondence for this application will be sent to the address you provide. Section B: Who are you applying for? You can apply to pay for your own expenses or to pay for a dependant s expenses. When applying to pay for your dependant s expenses, only your spouse or child are automatically considered your dependant. We define a spouse as someone who is: legally married to you not legally married to you, but lives with you on a genuine domestic basis in a relationship as a couple. We define a child as: a biological child an adopted child a stepchild. Section C: Dependant s details If you apply to pay expenses for a dependant who isn t your spouse or child, you need to prove you are in an interdependent relationship. An interdependent relationship is a close personal relationship between two people: who live together, and where one or both provides financial and domestic support, and who care for one another. You won t be eligible if you don t live together, unless the reason you live apart is because one or both of you are: temporarily working interstate or overseas detained in prison receiving care for physical/intellectual/psychiatric disability. Note: You will need to provide evidence of why you are temporarily living apart. Evidence of interdependency To prove you are in an interdependent relationship, you must provide documents showing you both live at the same address. You also need to provide a statutory declaration telling us about your interdependent relationship. This statutory declaration should include: how long you ve been in the relationship if you jointly own a house or belongings if you jointly care and provide support for children if your relationship is public the amount of emotional support. Section D: Reason for super release You can apply for one or more of these compassionate categories. However, if applying for foreclosure or forced sale of home, do not select any other category. Section E: Medical treatment Complete this section using the information supplied in the reports by registered medical practitioner and registered medical specialist. To be eligible, the medical treatment can t be readily available through the public health system and you or your dependant must have: a life threatening illness or injury, or acute or chronic pain, or an acute or chronic mental illness. If you are applying to pay for medical treatment expenses you must provide two separate reports. One must be from a registered medical specialist and the other can be from either a registered medical practitioner or a registered medical specialist The registered medical specialist must be specialised in the field of treatment for the patient The medical practitioner, or specialist report, must be completed no more than six months before you submit your application. The reports must be signed, dated and submitted with your application. If applying for IVF, we will only consider one IVF treatment per application. If you are receiving treatment with an overseas medical practitioner, leave the AHPRA registration number blank. Quotes and invoices Complete this section using the information supplied in the quote or invoice. All quotes and invoices must be: on the medical provider s letterhead dated no more than six months old for quotes no more than 30 days old for unpaid invoices. Medical transport If you are applying to only pay for medical transport expenses, you must provide two separate reports. One must be from a registered medical specialist and the other can be from either a registered medical practitioner or a registered medical specialist, advising that you or your dependant requires transport to access medical treatment for: a life threatening illness or injury acute or chronic pain an acute or chronic mental illness. 2 Application for Compassionate release of superannuation

3 Note: If you are applying for medical treatment and medical transport, you can use the same medical practitioner, or specialist reports, as long as at least one report captures the locations, frequency and duration of the treatment. The specialist must be in the field of the medical condition being categorised as a life threatening illness or injury, acute or chronic pain, or an acute or chronic mental illness. The medical practitioner or specialist reports must be completed no more than six months before you submit your application. The reports must be signed, dated, and submitted with your application. Suitable medical transport may include: public transport government or non-government providers offering medical transportation services on a fee for service basis private taxi hire car, ambulance, train, or ferry domestic flights, international flights, or air ambulance vehicle expenses purchase of a vehicle where at least than 60 percent of its primary use will be for medical transport. Note: Before we approve a release for medical transport, we will need to consider the reasonable costs of all suitable transport. Difficulty paying a car loan does not meet a condition for release on compassionate grounds. Quotes and invoices Complete this section using the information supplied in the quote or invoice. All quotes and invoices must be: on the provider s letterhead dated no more than six months old for quotes no more than 30 days old for unpaid invoices. Section F: Accommodating a disability If you are applying to pay for modifications to your home or vehicle, or purchase of a disability aid, you must provide one report completed by a registered medical practitioner or specialist, who treated you or your dependant for the disability. We can only approve modifications to your dependant s home if the home is also your principal place of residence. Note: A person s principal place of residence generally means the residence where a person dwells permanently or has dwelt for a considerable period of time. Rental and investment properties and holiday homes are generally not accepted as being a person s principal place of residence. We can only approve modifications to your vehicle if you own, or have joint ownership of the vehicle. If you live in a rental property, we can still approve a release if your landlord has provided written consent to the proposed modifications. The registered medical practitioner or specialist needs to certify that: either you or your dependant have a severe disability, and the modifications or purchases are required to accommodate the severe disability. The medical practitioner or specialist report must be completed no more than six months before you submit your application. The report must be signed, dated and submitted with your application. Quotes and invoices Complete this section using the information supplied in the quote or invoice. All quotes and invoices must be: on the provider s letterhead dated no more than six months old for quotes no more than 30 days old for unpaid invoices. The quote or invoice needs to list the home address or the name of the owner of the vehicle being modified. Section G: Palliative care for a terminal illness If you are applying to pay for palliative care for a terminal illness, you must provide one report completed by a registered medical practitioner or specialist who treated you or your dependant. The registered medical practitioner or specialist needs to certify you or your dependant: has a terminal illness and has 24 months or less to live, and requires palliative care. The medical practitioner or specialist report must be completed no more than six months before you submit your application. The report must be signed, dated, and submitted with your application. Note: You may apply directly to your super fund for early release of super to pay for your own palliative care. The fund can release the money if you have a terminal medical condition and you will not pay tax on this money. We can also approve your request for compassionate release of superannuation for palliative care for you or on behalf of your dependant; however this amount will be taxed. Quotes and invoices Complete this section using the information supplied in the quote or invoice. All quotes and invoices must be: on the provider s letterhead dated no more than six months old for quotes no more than 30 days old for unpaid invoices. Application for Compassionate release of superannuation 3

4 Section H: The recent passing of a dependant If you are applying to pay for the funeral, burial or death expenses of a dependant, you will need to provide: a copy of your dependant s death certificate, or a letter from your dependant s medical practitioner or the funeral provider that should state the dependant has passed away the date of death the registered medical practitioner s AHPRA number, and be --on their letterhead -- less than six months old --signed and dated. We can t approve the release of superannuation to pay for venue hire or catering for a wake. Quotes and invoices Complete this section using the information supplied in the quote or invoice. All quotes and invoices must be on the provider s letterhead dated no more than six months old for quotes no more than 30 days old for unpaid invoices. Section I: Preventing foreclosure or forced sale of home If you are applying to pay for mortgage arrears to prevent foreclosure or forced sale of your home, the following must apply: the property is your principal place of residence you are legally responsible for the mortgage repayments and are listed on the written statement from your mortgagee. You need to provide a letter from your bank or lender for each loan you secured for your home. The letter must state: payment of an amount is overdue and the mortgagee will foreclose or force the sale of your home if the overdue amount isn t paid by the due date the current amount owing that must be paid in order to stop action to sell your property the address of the property under threat of sale the amount equal to three months of repayments for the loan the amount equal to 12 months interest on the outstanding balance of the loan the name of the mortgagee and the loan account number. If you have more than one mortgage on your home, you need to provide a separate letter for each mortgage under threat of foreclosure or forced sale of home. The letter must also be: no more than 30 days old on the bank or lender letterhead dated. If you and someone else want to apply for compassionate release of superannuation for the same mortgage, the lender s written statement must specify that you are all legally responsible for the mortgage. You may also be eligible to apply if you have arrears on council rates and your council is threatening to take possession of or sell your home. The applicable supporting evidence above needs to be provided. Note: You can t apply for release of superannuation for a dependant s mortgage. Section J: Payment details Prior to completing this section, you should contact your super fund to ask about: whether they will release super early under compassionate grounds whether there is sufficient balance in your account any fees for releasing super early under compassionate grounds tax on the amount released implication on any insurance attached to your accounts. If your fund does not permit early release of super, you may be able to transfer your super to a different fund that allows early release on compassionate grounds. Super fund details Provide super fund details and the amount to be release. You can request a release from more than one super fund. We can only approve the release of the amount required to pay your immediate unpaid expense. We may consider approving less if you provide a reason of why you are requesting less than the total expense. Note: Don t include release fees and tax in the release amount. Financial Impacts You may want to talk to an independent financial adviser before applying for compassionate release of superannuation. Releasing your super early will count towards your assessable income for income tax purposes. This can affect your family tax benefit or child support (if applicable). If you are under the preservation age, you need to pay tax on any lump sum payment from your early release of super. The rate of tax is dependent on the components of the amount released. Your fund will provide you with the correct amount. Using savings, assets and investments We can only approve a release for the amount required to pay your immediate unpaid expenses. You should not apply for any expenses that you can meet with your savings or the sale of shares, investments, or assets. 4 Application for Compassionate release of superannuation

5 Joint applications Joint applications can be made if you and another person need to pay part of the same expense. If you are making a joint application, each person will need to complete and submit a separate application and meet the eligibility criteria and provide the applicable evidence. The total amount released cannot exceed the total amount of the invoice/quote. Section K: Declaration Read the declaration. If it is correct, print your full name, then sign and date the declaration. Send the completed application form and all supporting documentation to: Australian Taxation Office Compassionate release of superannuation PO Box 3006 PENRITH NSW 2740 Complaint or feedback To make a complaint, or provide feedback, call us on Amend or withdraw an application Make sure your details are correct as you can t amend your application after it has been submitted. To withdraw an application, contact us on Contact us For more information about completing this application form: phone us on between 8.00am and 6.00pm, Monday to Friday If you are overseas, phone between 8.00am and 5.00pm (Australian Eastern Standard Time or Eastern Daylight Saving Time), Monday to Friday. Our commitment to you We are committed to providing you with accurate, consistent and clear information to help you understand your rights and entitlements and meet your obligations. If you feel that this publication does not fully cover your circumstances, or you are unsure how it applies to you, you can seek further assistance from us. We regularly revise our publications to take account of any changes to the law, so make sure that you have the latest information. If you are unsure, you can check for more recent information on our website at ato.gov.au or contact us. This publication was current at June Australian Taxation Office for the Commonwealth of Australia, 2018 You are free to copy, adapt, modify, transmit and distribute this material as you wish (but not in any way that suggests the ATO or the Commonwealth endorses you or any of your services or products). Published by Australian Taxation Office Canberra June 2018 C Application for Compassionate release of superannuation 5

6 Application for compassionate release of superannuation When to use this application Use this application if you are requesting compassionate release of superannuation. You may be allowed to withdraw some of your super to pay for: n medical treatment or transport accommodating a disability palliative care for a terminal illness the recent passing of a dependant preventing foreclosure or forced sale of home Completing this application n Print clearly in BLOCK LETTERS using a black pen only. n Place X in ALL applicable boxes. Compassionate release of super is only available for unpaid expenses you are unable to pay for by other means, such as savings, a loan or sale of assets. Eligibility criteria Check your eligibility before applying: Have the expenses been paid? No You are not eligible to apply Are you able to pay the expenses through a combination of you or your partner s: n savings n (sale of) assets n (sale of) shares n (sale of) other investments. No You are not eligible to apply Are you a citizen or permanent resident of Australia or New Zealand? No You are not eligible to apply Section A: Applicant s details 1 Tax file number (TFN) 2 Name We are authorised by the Taxation Administration Act 1953 to collect your TFN. You are not required by law to provide your TFN. However, quoting your TFN reduces the risk of administrative errors that could delay the processing of your application. Title: Mr Mrs Miss Ms Other Family name First given name Other given names 3 Date of birth NAT Page 1

7 4 Residential address This is the address that we will use to send correspondence for this application. Street address Suburb/town/locality State/territory Postcode Country if outside Australia (Australia only) (Australia only) 5 Daytime phone number (include area code) Section B: Who are you applying for? Myself Go to section D. Spouse or de facto Go to section D. Dependant child Go to section D. Dependant parent Go to section C. Other dependant Go to section C. Section C: Dependant s details 6 Name Title: Mr Mrs Miss Ms Other Family name First given name Other given names 7 Date of birth 8 Residential address if different from section A. Street address Suburb/town/locality State/territory Postcode Country if outside Australia (Australia only) (Australia only) 9 Do you live with this person? Provide evidence No Provide reason why you live apart and evidence 10 Do you provide ongoing emotional, domestic and financial support? Provide evidence No Page 2 You are not eligible to apply

8 Section D: Reason for super release 11 Select the ground(s) you are applying for Medical treatment or transport Go to section E. Accommodating a disability Go to section F. Palliative care for terminal illness Go to section G. The recent passing of a dependant Go to section H. Preventing foreclosure or forced sale of home Go to section I. Section E: Medical (treatment or transport) 12 Select the medical reason Treatment for life threatening illness or injury Treatment for acute or chronic pain Treatment for acute or chronic mental illness None of the above you are not eligible to apply for medical treatment or transport 13 Select the type of treatment Dental Weight loss surgery In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) Other treatment provide details 14 Evidence type (Report completed by registered medical specialist) Medical specialist s name AHPRA registration number Date medical practitioner completed form Evidence type (Report completed by registered medical practitioner) Medical practitioner s name AHPRA registration number Date medical specialist completed form 15 If you are applying for medical treatment and transport complete questions 16 to 19. If you are applying for medical treatment only complete question 16 and question 17. If you are applying for medical transport only complete question 18 and question 19. Page 3

9 16 Medical Treatment Is the medical treatment available through the public health system? No Is it necessary to have this treatment before it is readily available in the public health system? No You are not eligible to apply Provide details below 17 Quote or unpaid invoice from medical provider Medical provider name Quote or unpaid invoice from medical provider Medical provider name Quote or unpaid invoice from medical provider Medical provider name n attach report completed by a registered medical specialist n attach a second report completed by a registered practitioner or specialist n attach relevant quotes or unpaid invoices from medical provider If this is the only category you are applying for go to Section J: Payment details, otherwise continue to the relevant section. 18 Medical transport Provide details of the type of medical transport required Page 4

10 19 Quote or unpaid invoice from provider Quote or unpaid invoice from provider Quote or unpaid invoice from provider n attach report completed by a registered medical specialist n attach a second report completed by a registered medical practitioner or specialist n attach relevant quotes or unpaid invoices from medical provider n attach relevant quotes or unpaid invoices from provider Note: if applying for both medical treatment and medical transport you can use the same medical practitioner reports as long as at least one report captures the location(s), frequency and duration of the treatment. If this is the only category you are applying for go to Section J: Payment details, otherwise continue to the relevant section. Section F: Accommodating a disability 20 Has the medical practitioner stated that you have a disability? No You are not eligible to apply under this category 21 Select the type of modification or disability aids required Modification to your home Modification to your vehicle Purchasing a modified vehicle Purchasing a disability aid e.g. wheelchair or mobility scooter Other (provide details) 22 Evidence type (Report completed by registered medical practitioner or specialist) Medical practitioner or specialist name AHPRA registration number Date medical practitioner or specialist completed form Page 5

11 23 Quote or unpaid invoice from provider Quote or unpaid invoice from provider Quote or unpaid invoice from provider n attach report completed by a registered medical practitioner or specialist n attach relevant quotes or unpaid invoices If this is the only category you are applying for go to Section J: Payment details, otherwise continue to the relevant section. Section G: Palliative care for a terminal illness 24 Has the medical practitioner or specialist confirmed that you or your dependant has a terminal illness? No You are not eligible to apply under this category 25 Type of care e.g. accommodation in hospice 26 Evidence type (Report completed by registered medical practitioner or specialist) Medical practitioner or specialist name AHPRA registration number Date medical practitioner or specialist completed form Page 6

12 27 Quote or unpaid invoice from provider Quote or unpaid invoice from provider Quote or unpaid invoice from provider n attach report completed by a registered medical practitioner or specialist n attach relevant quotes or unpaid invoices If this is the only category you are applying for go to Section J: Payment details, otherwise continue to the relevant section. Section H: The recent passing of a dependant 28 Do you have evidence confirming date of death? No You are not eligible to apply under this category 29 Select the type of expense: Funeral Burial Cremation Other (provide details) 30 Provide details of the evidence type e.g. death certificate or letter confirming passing Date dependant passed away Date of supporting evidence Death certificate number (if applicable) Medical practitioner AHPRA number (if applicable) Page 7

13 31 Quote or unpaid invoice from provider Quote or unpaid invoice from provider Quote or unpaid invoice from provider n attach evidence n attach relevant quotes or unpaid invoices If this is the only category you are applying for go to Section J: Payment details, otherwise continue to the relevant section. Section I: Preventing foreclosure or forced sale of your home 32 Do you have a letter threatening the foreclosure or forced sale of your home? No You are not eligible to apply under this category 33 Address of property under threat This property must be your principal place of residence. Street address Suburb/town/locality State/territory Postcode Country if outside Australia (Australia only) (Australia only) 34 Select the type of expense: Mortgage lender go to question 35 Council go to question 36 Other go to question 37 Page 8

14 35 Complete evidence details from mortgage lender Overdue payment amount $ Date first missed payment was due Amount equal to 3 months repayments $ Amount equal to 12 months interest on the outstanding balance of the loan $ Mortgage lender Mortgage account number Is the attached document on the mortgage lender s letterhead? No You are not eligible to apply Attach letter from your mortgage lender to your application Go to Section J: Payment details 36 Complete evidence details from council Overdue amount $ Council name Is the attached document on the council s letterhead? No You are not eligible to apply Attach letter from your council to your application Go to Section J: Payment details 37 Complete evidence details from other (foreclosure) Overdue amount $ Debtor name Is the attached document on the debtor s letterhead? No You are not eligible to apply Attach foreclosure notice to your application Go to Section J: Payment details Section J: Payment details We can only approve the release of the amount required to pay your immediate unpaid expenses. 38 Release super from Fund 1 Fund name Fund ABN Account number Release amount $ Page 9

15 Fund 2 Fund name Fund ABN Account number Release amount $ Fund 3 Fund name Fund ABN Account number Release amount $ Fund 4 Fund name Fund ABN Account number Release amount $ 39 Total amount that you are withdrawing from your fund(s) $ Releasing your super early will count towards your assessable income for income tax purposes. This can affect your family tax benefit or child support (if applicable). 40 Total amount of expenses $ 41 If you are requesting less than the total expenses, provide reason Another person is submitting a claim for the balance Name Title: Mr Mrs Miss Ms Other Family name First given name Other given names Date of birth Address Street address Suburb/town/locality State/territory Postcode Country if outside Australia (Australia only) (Australia only) Part of the expense will be paid using savings, sales of assets, shares or other investments Other (provide details) Page 10

16 42 Provide a phone number we can use if we need additional information This can be your contact number or you may nominate a representative. This must be an individual as we will not contact a non individual entity. Full name Contact s phone number (include area code) Section K: Declaration Complete and sign the declaration I declare that: n the information I have provided is true and correct. n I will pay the expenses with the amount released and keep my receipts as evidence. Name (BLOCK LETTERS) Signature Date The tax law imposes heavy penalties for giving false or misleading Information. Privacy The ATO is a government agency bound by the Privacy Act 1988 in terms of handling personal information and tax file numbers (TFN). We are authorised by the Taxation Administration Act 1953 to ask for the information requested on this form including your TFN. We require this information to help us administer taxation and superannuation laws. We may give this information to other government agencies. For further information about your privacy visit ato.gov.au/privacy Lodging your application Send your application and supporting documentation to us at: Australian Taxation Office PO Box 3006 PENRITH NSW 2740 Keep a copy of your application and supporting documentation for your own records. Page 11