Validation: R1- Lump Sum payment cannot be negative
Guide: The superannuation fund tax return, R1 – Lump sum payment generally cannot be negative because R1 represents the gross amount of lump-sum payments made by the super fund, rather than a net or adjustment amount.
A lump-sum payment is an amount actually paid to a member/recipient. Therefore, the ATO expects the amount at R1 to be zero or positive.
A negative figure would effectively mean the fund is reporting that it received or reversed a lump-sum payment, which isn't what R1 is designed to capture.
If your accounting records show a negative amount:
If you're seeing something like -$171.77 for the lump-sum payment in LodgeiT, the important question is why the amount is negative.
It could be caused by:
- a journal entry reversing a previous payment;
- an incorrect account mapping;
- a refund or repayment;
- an accounting adjustment; or
- the transaction being classified incorrectly as a lump-sum payment.
In that situation, don't simply change the negative amount to positive. The underlying transaction should be reviewed to determine the correct ATO treatment.