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Trust income (including exception for primary producers)

Last updated 27 June 2018

If you have not completed the Managed funds section, you must show at this section your share of the net income of a managed fund, including a cash management trust, money market trust, mortgage trust, unit trust or managed fund such as a property trust, share trust, equity trust, growth trust, imputation trust or balanced trust. If you are unsure whether you have invested in such a trust, check with your advisor or the entity in which you have invested.

If you are the principal beneficiary of a special disability trust you are considered to be entitled to all of the income of the trust.

Your statement of distribution or advice from the trust should show separately your share of primary production and non-primary production income (excluding net capital gains, foreign income and franked distributions) included in the calculation of the trust's net income (for tax purposes). It will also show whether the trust made a loss in relation to either or both of these income categories. This information is needed for averaging purposes.

You show your share of:

  • any primary production trust income or loss included in the calculation of the trust's net income at Net income from trusts under the Primary production section
  • other trust income or loss included in the calculation of the trust's net income at the relevant section, either:
    • Net income from trusts, less capital gains, foreign income and franked distributions or Franked distributions from trusts under the Non-primary production section ,or
    • in the sections Capital gains or losses and Foreign income, assets and entities.

If the trust made an overall loss for tax law purposes in 2017–18, the loss is retained in the trust. You will have no share of the net income of the trust. For more information, phone 13 28 61.

Your statement of distribution or advice may show that your share of the trust's net capital gain is more than the overall amount of your share of the trust's net income (for tax purposes), for example because it shows a share of primary production or non-primary production loss. In this situation, there may be a limit to the amount of the net capital gain component that you exclude from Net income from trusts, less capital gains, foreign income and franked distributions and show at the Capital gains or losses section. For more information, see the Guide to capital gains tax.

If your statement of distribution or advice shows your share of franked distributions from trusts separately, include this amount at Franked distributions from trusts, together with any share of franking credits referrable to those franked distributions. The franking credits are also shown at Franking credit from franked dividends.

Exception for primary producers

You may still be eligible for income averaging even where the trust reports a loss. While beneficiaries of fixed trusts that report a loss continue to be eligible for income averaging, beneficiaries of discretionary trusts are now required to meet some additional requirements.

Completing your claim for income averaging

If you are an eligible beneficiary and you show nothing at Net income from trusts so far, enter 0 at this field.

Professional income

If the trust income which you have received, or to which you are entitled, includes income from activities as an author of a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work, or as an inventor, performing artist, production associate or active sportsperson, you must also enter the amount of this taxable professional income in the Other income section. Select Any other income and then Type of payment is Special professional income. You will not be taxed twice on this income.

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