Since August 2025, we’ve been providing an opportunity for general interest charge (GIC) remission on family trust distribution tax (FTDT). Where you proactively self-review, notify and pay an FTDT liability, we'll favourably consider remission of up to 80% of the GIC, where it's fair and reasonable to do so. Many trustees, electing entities and their tax agents have acted on this opportunity already.
We’ve heard your feedback that reviewing your family trust elections and identifying any FTDT liabilities can take time. We want to help you get it right and stop any recurring FTDT issues going forward, so we’re extending our opportunity for GIC remission for another 6 months until 30 June 2027.
The full details of the GIC remission opportunity, including steps you need to take, are available in our family trusts information. We encourage you to review your situation, seek advice, and act promptly if you want to take up this opportunity.
We also encourage you to take steps to lower the risk of FTDT liabilities arising in the future.
FTDT tips
Watch and share our short video, presented by Deputy Commissioner Louise Clarke, for an overview of our key FTDT tips.
Family trust distribution tax: Tips for electing entities and their tax advisersExternal Link
You can find more detailed tips below, as well as links to key resources on our website.
Tip 1: Do you need your elections?
We recommend that you review your family trust elections (FTEs) and interposed entity election (IEEs) and consider the need to vary the specified individual or revoke an election.
Once you make an election, you can only vary or revoke it in limited circumstances.
For FTEs, you can vary the specified individual once, subject to certain conditions. These include that, generally:
- the new specified individual is a member of the original specified individual's family group
- there have been no conferrals of present entitlement or distributions of income or capital outside the new specified individual’s family group.
You can revoke an FTE where the family trust is a fixed trust, or the FTE wasn't required to do any of the following:
- recoup tax losses
- deduct bad debts
- access franking credits (subject to satisfying certain conditions).
Generally, you:
- can make variations and revocations until the end of the fourth income year after the income year specified in the original election
- are required to make variations and revocations with the entity's tax return for the income year it's to be effective.
To find out more about variations and revocations, visit our family trusts information.
Tip 2: Know the family group
That is, know all the individuals and entities, including corporate beneficiaries, who are part of the ‘family group’. There's a strict legal definition of family group. It’s based on who the members of the 'specified individual’s' family group are.
This is important now as you make year-end distribution decisions. Where you make distributions outside the family group, it will attract FTDT at 47% payable by a trustee, director, or partner.
Tip 3: Review your record keeping
It's important you check you have strong governance and record-keeping practices. This includes for:
- all elections you've made
- members of the family group
- distributions.
This is even more important if you've changed tax agent.
You need to maintain your records (e.g. written records of the original FTE and IEE) for at least 5 years after their final lodgment obligations with us. In addition, you must include the specified income year from your FTE and IEEs on your tax return each year your election remains in force.
To support tax agents, our Online service for agents ‘Family trust and interposed entity elections report’ displays details about elections. From 18 April 2026, we've enhanced this report to include more information about all elections lodged with us, including the date lodged.
To find out more about this report and the enhancements, visit increased visibility for trust elections.
We display elections as they're lodged with us. We form no opinion about the validity of the elections displayed in our online report.
Tip 4: Use our website to stay up to date
We’re here to help and have detailed resources available.
Use our family trusts information as an ongoing resource. On that page, you'll also find our webinar about family trust rules.
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