Private ruling: Undeducted Purchase Price (UPP) of your foreign pension
Published: October 2012
Ruling period: 2006-07 income year | 2007-08 income year | 2008-09 income year
Date scheme commenced: On or after 1 July 1983

Ruling: Q1: Are you entitled to an annual deductible amount in respect of the undeducted purchase price (UPP) of your Italian pension? Ruling Yes, your annual deductible amounts have been calculated in accordance with subsection 27H(3) of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 (ITAA 1936).

Relevant facts and circumstances: You are a resident of Australia for income tax purposes. You received pensions from a retirement fund established and managed outside Australia. The international tax agreement between Australia and the country in which the retirement fund is established and managed provides that the pensions are taxable in Australia. Your assessable income includes your pension income. The pensions are paid by a retirement fund. The survivor's pension reverted to you on the death of your spouse. All the pensions are payable to you. There is a Taxation Ruling that provides for an alternative calculation of the deductible amount under section 27H of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 (ITAA 1936). You receive your pensions on a monthly basis.

Relevant legislative provisions: Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 Section 27H | Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 Subsection 27H(2) | Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 Subsection 27H(3) | Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 Subsection 27H(4) | Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Section 960-50 | Income Tax Regulations 1936 Regulation 9 | Income Tax Assessment Regulations 1997 Regulation 960-50

Reasons for decision: Detailed Reasoning - Explanation: Please note that all references to 'pension' cover both pensions and annuities. Section 27H of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 (ITAA 1936) operates to include in assessable income the amount of any pension derived by a taxpayer during a year of income reduced by the deductible amount. The deductible amount is calculated based on the undeducted purchase price (UPP). The UPP is the amount you contributed towards the purchase price of your pension for which you did not claim, and were not eligible to claim, a tax deduction in Australia. Contributions made by an employer or by another person under an agreement to which the employer was a party, cannot form part of the UPP of the pension. Each year a portion of the UPP can be used to reduce the pension income in your tax return. This is called the deductible amount and is deemed to be a return of part of your contribution towards the purchase of the pension. There is a Taxation Ruling that considers the taxation treatment of certain foreign pensions received by Australian residents. The ruling states that for a part of a foreign pension to be exempt from Australian tax, the pension must be paid by a foreign superannuation or retirement fund and the pension must be purchased by contributions to the fund and identified as such by the fund. Your foreign pensions meet these requirements. Therefore, you are entitled to a deductible amount of the UPP of your pension for the 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09 income years. The Taxation Ruling states that in recognition of the difficulties for pensioners in obtaining information relating to their contributions, it has been decided to accept that the portion of the pension identified by the fund as being derived from the contributions made by the pensioner (reduced by 10% to reflect the interest element in that component of the pension) is the annual exclusion amount. In working out the contributive amount for a particular year, it must be noted that the figures supplied by the fund are based on calendar years and therefore two years' statements are required to calculate the amount for each Australian financial year. Therefore the formula for calculating the deductible amount of your UPP for any year is: (amount of contributive portion for YYYY and YYYY calendar years) ÷ 2 x 90% In your case, the deductible amount of your UPP for the relevant income years has been calculated in accordance with the information supplied by the fund for your contributive amounts for the relevant calendar years in accordance with the above formula. Note: Please do not use this amount for earlier or future income years as the deductible amount varies from year to year based on the contributive amounts for each year. However, you may use the above formula to calculate your deductible amount for each future year based on the information provided by the fund for the two calendar years to cover the relevant Australian income year. For the 2003-04 and subsequent income years, subsection 960-50(1) of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (ITAA 1997) requires an amount in a foreign currency to be translated into Australian currency. Subsection 960-50(4) of the ITAA 1997 further requires any foreign currency elements in a calculation to be translated before the final amount is worked out. In accordance with the currency translation rules contained in section 960-50 of the ITAA 1997 and clarified in Taxation Determination TD 2006/54, pensions received in foreign currency should be translated to Australian currency on the following basis: (a) if the amount is received at or before the time when it is derived - the amount is to be translated to Australian currency at the exchange rate applicable at the time of receipt; or (b) in any other case - the amount is to be translated to Australian currency at the exchange rate applicable when it is derived. As a general rule, the deductible amount is translated to Australian currency using the same exchange rate applying to the pension. Alternatively, regulation 960-50 of the Income Tax Assessment Regulations 1997 (ITR 1997) and Schedule 2 to the ITR 1997 allow pensions received in foreign currency and the deductible amount to be translated to Australian currency at the average exchange rate for the income year. This is provided the conditions outlined in Schedule 2 to the ITR 1997 are satisfied. Where the pension is received as a series of payments made over the course of an income year, and provided the average exchange rate is considered a reasonable approximation of exchange rates, the conditions outlined in Schedule 2 to the ITR 1997 will be satisfied. In your case, as you received your pension payments on a monthly basis, it is accepted that you are entitled to use the average exchange rate for the year. The average exchange rates are available from our information line on 13 10 20 or visit our website at www.ato.gov.au/super. | Detailed Reasoning - Important information to note: Income tax returns may be amended within two years from the date upon which the Commissioner gives notice of the assessment to the individual (for assessments for the 2004-05 and later income years) or within four years from the date upon which the tax became due and payable under the assessment (for assessments for income years prior to the 2004-05 income year). In regards to assessments that fall outside the two/four year period, you will need to lodge an objection request and a request for an extension of time to lodge an objection form. Please complete the attached form and forward to the above address.

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