Trustees of closely held trusts – Important ATO change that simplifies reporting, but you need to get it right.
What’s changing?
Trustees are no longer required to lodge a quarterly TFN report for periods after 30 June 2026. Instead, you must now report beneficiary TFNs in the statement of distribution when completing your trust tax return. This applies for the 2027 trust tax return onwards.
Key dates:
- After 30 June 2026: Quarterly TFN reports stop
- From 1 October 2026: You will no longer be able to lodge TFN reports through Standard Business Reporting (SBR) enabled software
Your obligations remain:
- If a beneficiary has quoted their TFN, you must store and use it safely as required by the Privacy (Tax File Number) Rule 2015
- If a beneficiary has NOT quoted their TFN before receiving a payment or entitlement, existing TFN withholding and reporting obligations apply – you must withhold at the top rate
This is a good opportunity to clean up your trust distribution records and ensure all beneficiary TFNs and addresses are current before 30 June.
If you operate a family trust, unit trust or discretionary trust, let’s review your distribution statement process before 2027 lodgements.
Source: https://www.ato.gov.au/businesses-and-organisations/business-bulletins-newsroom/reminder-tfn-reporting-changes-for-closely-held-trusts
General info only. This is not personal tax advice. Tax laws change. You should seek advice specific to your circumstances from a registered tax agent before acting.
