Trust tax return instructions 2011

Is any tax payable by the trustee?

The trustee is liable to pay tax on:

• That part of the net income of the trust that has not been assessed to either a presently entitled beneficiary or the trustee on behalf of a presently entitled beneficiary; see Is a beneficiary presently entitled to a share of the income of the trust estate?
• shares of the net income of a trust on behalf of individual or company beneficiaries not in their capacity as trustee of a trust estate who are presently entitled to a share of the income of the trust estate but are non-resident at the end of the income year; see Non-resident beneficiaries - additional information
• shares of the net income of a trust on behalf of beneficiaries who are presently entitled to a share of the income of the trust estate but are under a legal disability, see appendix 11.
• If the trust is a special disability trust and the 'principal beneficiary' is an Australian resident at the end of the income year, the 'principal beneficiary 'is treated as being under a legal disability.
• The rate of tax payable by the trustee will depend on the type of trust and the beneficiary's individual circumstances.

If the beneficiary is presently entitled to a share of the income of the trust estate, not under a legal disability, and is a resident at the end of the income year, then the beneficiary, not the trustee, is taxed on that same percentage share of the net income of the trust.

If the trustee is liable to pay any tax, print X in the Yes box at this item even if payments have been made in advance. Otherwise print X in the No box.

The beneficiary or trustee pays tax on the net income of the trust. Net income means the total assessable income calculated as if the trustee was a resident taxpayer, less all allowable deductions, except deductions for net farm management deposits. (For more information, see appendix 11). In the case of any beneficiary with no beneficial interest in the trust corpus, past losses are required to be met out of corpus.

Request for a non-taxable advice

If the trustee is not assessed on income and a non-taxable advice is required, provide a request on a separate sheet of paper headed 'Request for a non-taxable advice' and include the trust name and TFN with the details. Sign the request, attach it to the tax return and print X in the Yes box at Have you attached any 'other attachments'? at the top of page 1 of the tax return.

Sections within Completing the tax return - Page 1 Trust tax return

• Tax File Number (TFN)
• Name of trust
• Australian Business Number (ABN)
• Full name of the trustee to whom notices should be sent
• Family trust election status and interposed entity election status
• Type of trust
• Is any tax payable by the trustee?
• Final tax return
• Electronic funds transfer (EFT)