Understanding The Costs

Set Up Costs

$1600

Ongoing Costs

$150 a month

Set Up Costs

The set up fee of $1600 (inc GST) is eventually paid by the SMSF, but because the fund does not exist yet, the set up costs need to come from somewhere. This is why you need to pay the establishment fees ($1600) out of your own money when you fill in the application. 

Once the fund is set up and you have received your super into your new SMSF bank account, then you reimburse yourself the $1600.

Monthly Accounting Fees

The accounting fees are $1800 (inc GST) per financial year, billed at $150 per month. Once you have the SMSF bank account we set up a direct debit. The first monthly debit brings the fund up to date for the financial year. 

For example: if a single member fund is set up in December the first debit will be $150 x 6 = $900. From then on the monthly debit is $150.

Accounting fees are a tax deduction for the fund. 

Return Not Necessary Option

If  you set up the SMSF later on in the financial year and no funds were held in the SMSF until July 1st or after, we can make a “return-not-necessary” lodgement. In this case you still have reporting obligations for the year but you do not need to complete a full tax return. A return-not-necessary lodgement can be submitted for $0 instead of the full year’s accounting fees of $1800.

Annual SMSF Levy

The SMSF supervisory levy is annual fee the ATO charge you to have an SMSF. The levy is currently $259 a year and this is added to your tax bill in your annual SMSF tax return. You pay it twice in the first year and once for all following years.

ASIC Annual Renewal

The ASIC annual review fee is currently $56 per year.  The company renewal fee is automatically debited from your SMSF bank account on the anniversary of your SMSF establishment.

Annual ESA

ESA fees are currently $55 per year.  The ESA  (or Electronic Services Address) is a system that notifies you and the government when your employer makes contributions to your SMSF. The ESA fee is automatically debited from your SMSF bank account on the anniversary of your SMSF establishment.

Contributions Tax

Just like with any super fund, your employer contributions are taxed at 15%. For more on contributions tax check out our blog on Types of Contributions or see the ATO superannuation contributions page here.

Capital Gains Tax

If you sell any assets and overall made a profit during the year, your profit will be taxed at 15%. Any losses are carried forward until you make the losses back. For more on SMSF tax see the ATO page here.

Total costs Example

Pricing example

Here is an example of the running costs of a typical client with a single member SMSF. The SMSF makes 60 transactions a year with shares, crypto and some gold.
Note: All costs except the set up fee to start the fund are paid out of the SMSF bank account.

Costs for 1st financial year: (regardless of month fund is established)

Set up fees: $1600 (paid upfront)
Accounting fees: $1800 (direct debited at $150 per month)
SMSF Levy: $518 (paid at tax time)
Company Renewal: $0 (payable from year 2 onwards)
ESA: $0 (payable from year 2 onwards)
Total: $3918

Cost for 2nd financial year (and following years)

Accounting fees: $1800 (direct debited at $150 per month)
SMSF Levy: $259 (paid at tax time)
Company Renewal: $59 (direct debited on anniversary of the fund set up)
ESA: $55 (direct debited on anniversary of the fund set up)
Total: $2173

See below for a complete price schedule.

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Price Schedule

All costs are inclusive of GST

Setup Cost

Cost to set up your SMSF

Establishment of SMSF $1600

What is included…

  • SMSF establishment documents
  • ABN and TFN application for the fund
  • Initial audit assistance pack if required
  • All ASIC set up fees covered
  • $1600 paid back to you from your super after set up

Upfront payment is paid via Paypal at the time of application and paid back to you from your super after you receive your rollover, which is normally approx. 3 weeks from application.
You should ensure all trustees are eligible to run an SMSF as there are no refunds on the establishment fees.

Ongoing Fees

The costs to run your SMSF (all paid from your super)

Monthly Fee$150.00

Monthly fees include the following…

  • Annual SMSF tax return and lodgement
  • Annual SMSF audit
  • Annual compliance reviews
  • No lock-in contract. You can leave the ongoing service at any time.
Additional members$20.00

If you have more than 1 member in your SMSF, there is an additional $20 fee per month for each additional member. You can have up to 4 members in an SMSF. Additional members must be immediate family.
For example:
Single member monthly fee: $150
Two member monthly fee: $170
Three member monthly fee: $190

Note

Monthly fees are automatically debited from the SMSF and are a tax deduction for the fund. The first debit will bring the fund up to date for the financial year. This means the first debit payment will be $150 for each month from July this financial year to the first debit.
There is no discount for funds only being operational a portion of the year. This is because the cost to do the accounting, compliance and audit are the same regardless of how many months the fund is open for the year.

Additional Fees

Fees not included in the monthly service fee.

Government fees

The government charge an annual fee to have an SMSF. It is called the SMSF Supervisory Levy and is payable at tax time each year. You pay this twice at your first SMSF tax return, then once per year.

$259*
ASIC Company Renewal

Each year you need to pay ASIC for a company review and to keep your company’s name registered on their database.  The ASIC fee is payable each year on the anniversary of establishment and will be automatically debited from your SMSF bank account.
https://asic.gov.au/for-business/payments-fees-and-invoices/payment-options/business-name-fees-and-payment-options/

$59
Electronic Service Address

ESA stands for Electronic Service Address which is a system that notifies you and the government when your employer makes contributions to your SMSF. Annual fee for ESA is payable each year on the anniversary of establishment and will be automatically debited from your SMSF bank account.

$55

Failed direct debit
After your first successful direct debit goes through, any failed debits for the ongoing monthly fee will attract an additional administration fee of $15.00. This fee is over and above anything your bank might charge you for being overdrawn. So please ensure you keep enough funds in your SMSF bank account to pay for ongoing obligations for your SMSF.

$15

Real estate – Establish Bare Trust
Cost to establish a bare trust is a once off cost of $1800. For more information on purchasing real estate in your SMSF see our blog post here.

$1800

Real estate
Additional accounting fee per property held in the SMSF (per annum).

$220

BAS Lodgement
If you require BAS statements to be prepared and lodged each quarter, we can do so for an additional $165 per BAS lodgement. Most SMSFs don’t have to register for GST. You only need to register your SMSF for GST if your SMSF transactions that include GST is $75,000 or more per year.

$165

Unlisted company
For each company the SMSF invests in that is not listed on a stock exchange an additional charge of $110 per annum will apply.

$110

Staking coins
You are permitted to stake coins with your SMSF. There is an annual staking fee of $55 per destination address of each coin staked and we must be able to look up and see the staking rewards on the relevant blockchain.

$55

Additional transactions
There is a limit of 400 non-bank / non-staking transactions in your SMSF per financial year. A transaction is any deposit, withdrawal or trade in any account other than the main SMSF bank account. Additional transactions are charged at $4.40 per transaction.

$4.40

Additional / unsupported exchange accounts
Transactions with unsupported providers or on non-SMSF dedicated accounts will attract an additional fee per transaction. This is designed to ensure your SMSF activity stays compliant for the ATO. If you do trade on an unsupported exchange New Brighton Capital may not be able to complete your tax return.

Supported crypto providers are CoinSpot, Independent Reserve, Swyftx and BTC Markets. Supported share trading platforms are Commsec, NABTrade, ANZ eTrade, Saxo and Interactive Brokers.

$550

Privacy coins sent off exchange
Privacy coins must remain on the exchange. Unfortunately we need to restrict privacy coins so they need to remain on the exchange at all times. This is for compliance and audit purposes. All coins sent off the exchange need to be traceable on a public blockchain at all times. Moving privacy coins (untraceable coins) off the exchange will attract an additional fee per occurrence and your fund may become non-compliant.

$550

Actuarial certificate
If you require an actuarial certificate, they can be supplied for $220 each. (Actuarial certificates are generally only required in pension phase).

$220

Pension phase 
If you are moving to pension phase we will manage the process and provide the relevant documentation for $220. Note: if not changing to pension phase at exactly the end of the financial year an interim statement might need to be prepared. Interim statements can be prepared for $550.

$220

Accountant’s letter
You may require an accountant’s letter from time to time to verify information that assists with setting up mortgages or other activities within or outside the SMSF. We can prepare an accountant’s letter for $80 when required if we have completed a tax return for your fund.
If we have not completed a tax return for your fund and need to prepare your financials first the cost will be $220-$660 depending on the ease of the accounting / financial statement.

$80 / $660

Updates or changes to the trust deed
Over time the ATO or ASIC may make changes to the superannuation rules requiring an updated trust deed.

$220

Transfer existing SMSF to New Brighton Capital
Existing SMSFs can transfer over to us.

$330

Add a member to your SMSF
You can have up to 4 members in your SMSF. The $440 is only for adding members after the fund is established. The cost to establish an SMSF is the same whether you start with 1, 2, 3 or 4 members.

$440

Remove member from your SMSF
When removing a member from an SMSF, additional accounting is required to calculate the exact balance of the member on the day of leaving the fund. If the member leaves on the last day of the financial year the cost to remove a member is $550. If the member leaves the fund at any time other than the very end of the financial year an interim statement needs to be prepared. The cost to prepare an interim statement is $1100.

$550 / $1100

Failure to provide adequate information
In July/August each year, New Brighton Capital will request documents be uploaded to your online portal for the preparation of the annual tax return. New Brighton Capital reserves the right to add an additional $44 to the monthly fee if sufficient documentation is not provided in the portal by November 1st following the end of the financial year. The additional $44 to the monthly fee will remain until adequate documentation is provided.

$44

Change of Address
If you move house we will need to register the change of address with the ATO and ASIC. Failure to not notify ASIC of changes of address within 28 days can result in additional fines. We will make all the changes on your behalf and lodge the paperwork.

$55

Preparation of Financial Statements outside end of financial year.
Sometimes if you are applying for finance in or outside of your super, the banks may ask for a set of financials of your SMSF. Also, while it is an easy process to roll funds into an SMSF, to roll funds out of an SMSF into another super fund requires a partial tax return needs to be completed. For these or any other reason, if you require a set of financials completed on your SMSF on any day other than June 30, a fee of $660 will apply.

$660

Wind Up SMSF
Should you wish to close down the SMSF, the tax return and audit needs to be completed for the year and an additional fee of $440 will be charged for the process of “winding up” the fund.

$440

*Pricing is inclusive of GST and subject to change.