Know the date your SMSF annual return is due

If your self-managed super fund (SMSF) had assets, such as super contributions or other investments as of 30 June 2025, you’ll need to lodge a SMSF annual return for the 2024–25 financial year.

If your fund doesn’t have any assets, you need to either make a return not necessary request or cancel your fund’s registration if you no longer wish to have a SMSF.

Not all SMSFs have the same lodgment due date, so check which due date applies to your SMSF. Failure to lodge by the due date can result in penalties and the loss of your SMSFs tax concessions.

Information on dates SARs are due:

  • Newly registered SMSFs and SMSFs with overdue SARs for prior financial years (excluding deferrals) should have lodged by 31 October 2025.
  • All other self-preparing SMSFs (unless we asked you to lodge on a different date) need to lodge their SAR by 28 February 2026.
  • If you lodge your SAR through a tax agent, you may have up to the 15 May to meet your lodgment obligation – your agent can confirm this. Make sure you provide your agent with all the information they need to lodge your return well before the due date. You should contact your agent early to make sure they can lodge on time as an extension may not be granted if you have not provided the information in a timely manner.
  • If you’ve engaged a new tax agent, you’ll need to nominate them to confirm they’re the authorised representative for the fund. For further guidance, see How to nominate your registered agent.

Failing to lodge your SAR on time can result in the compliance status of your SMSF on Super Fund Lookup being changed to ‘regulation details removed’ which may prevent rollovers and employer contributions being made to the fund.

You can review Your obligations as an SMSF trustee or visit our Help and support for SMSFs for help.

Looking for the latest news for SMSFs? You can stay up to date by visiting our SMSF newsroom and subscribing to our monthly SMSF newsletter.

Source: ato.gov.au November 2025
Reproduced with the permission of the Australian Tax Office. This article was originally published on https://www.ato.gov.au/individuals-and-families/super-for-individuals-and-families/self-managed-super-funds-smsf/smsf-newsroom/know-the-date-your-smsf-annual-return-is-due
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