Trust Setup Services That Start With the Tax Question
Most people are sold a trust before anyone checks whether they need one. We model your numbers across sole trader, company and trust first, then build the structure that actually leaves more in your pocket. Deed, trustee, duty, ABN and TFN all handled. From $800 plus GST, ready in 3 business days.
When a Trust Is Genuinely the Right Structure
A trust is not a tax trick and it is not right for everybody. It earns its keep in four situations, and these are the ones where we set them up most often.
Family Businesses
A trading trust lets profit be distributed across adult family members on lower marginal rates, instead of landing entirely on the highest earner. This is where most of the real saving sits.
Property Investors
Trusts hold investment property well when the portfolio is positively geared and you want flexibility on who receives the rent. We will also tell you when they do not, because losses get trapped.
Consultants & Professionals
Contractors and consultants running through a trust for asset protection and flexibility. We check the personal services income rules first, because they override the structure if your work fails the tests.
SMSF Property Buyers
A bare trust is compulsory when your self managed super fund borrows to buy property. Get the holding trust wrong and the whole arrangement breaches the borrowing rules.
Everything Needed to Make the Trust Real
A deed on its own is not a working structure. You need the trustee resolved, the duty paid where your state charges it, the registrations lodged and the books set up before the trust can trade or hold anything.
- Structure session comparing sole trader, company and trust on your real numbers
- Discretionary, unit, hybrid or bare trust deed prepared and executed
- Settlor arranged and the settlement sum documented correctly
- Corporate trustee company registered with ASIC where that is the better call
- Stamp duty on the deed checked and paid in the states that charge it
- ABN, TFN and, where you need them, GST and PAYG registrations
- Bank account document pack and your Xero or MYOB file initialised
- Family trust election advice and your first distribution resolution drafted
We Will Talk You Out of a Trust If the Numbers Say So
The Structure Question Comes First
Before a deed is drafted we model your income across sole trader, Pty Ltd and trust and show you the tax difference in dollars. Sometimes the answer is that you do not need a trust yet, and we will say so rather than sell you one.
Corporate Trustee, Advised Not Defaulted
An individual trustee is cheaper today. A corporate trustee gives cleaner asset protection, survives a death or a falling out, and saves a costly retitling exercise later. We tell you which one suits your situation and what each really costs.
We Are Still There Every 30 June
A trust that misses its distribution resolution before 30 June can have income taxed at the top marginal rate. We diarise it, draft the minutes, and keep your distributions inside what the ATO accepts under section 100A.
From First Call to Trading Trust in Three Business Days
Structure Session
We look at your income, your assets and who else is in the picture, then model the tax across each structure so the decision is made on numbers rather than a hunch.
Deed & Trustee
We settle the trust type, prepare the deed, arrange the settlor, and register the corporate trustee company with ASIC if that is the direction you take.
Duty & Registrations
The deed is executed in the right order, duty is paid where your state charges it, and the ABN, TFN, GST and PAYG registrations go through.
Bank, Books & Resolutions
You get the bank account pack, an initialised Xero or MYOB file, and your first distribution resolution drafted so the trust starts compliant.
Fixed Setup Fees. From $800 plus GST
Quoted in writing before we start. Government charges, being the ASIC company registration fee and any state duty on the deed, are shown separately so you can see exactly what is our fee and what is a lodgement cost.
- Discretionary or unit trust deed
- Settlor arranged and deed executed
- ABN, TFN and GST registration
- Bank account document pack
- First distribution resolution drafted
- Everything in the individual trustee setup
- Trustee Pty Ltd registered with ASIC
- Constitution and officeholder consents
- Stronger asset protection and continuity
- Structure session and Xero file included
What People Ask Before Setting Up a Trust
Should I use an individual trustee or a corporate trustee?
A corporate trustee costs more up front and carries an annual ASIC review fee, but it separates the trust from you personally, keeps going if a trustee dies or steps away, and avoids having to retitle every asset when the trustee changes. If the trust will hold property, borrow, or involve more than one family, a corporate trustee is almost always worth it. For a simple trust with modest assets, an individual trustee can be enough. We work through it with you rather than defaulting either way.
How much does it cost to set up a family trust?
Our fee starts at $800 plus GST for a trust with an individual trustee, and $1,900 plus GST where a corporate trustee company is registered as part of the setup. On top of that, some states charge duty on the deed itself. New South Wales and Victoria both do, Western Australia does not. We confirm the duty position for your state before you commit, and every figure is quoted in writing first.
Will a trust actually save me tax?
Sometimes, and less often than people are told. The saving comes from distributing income to adult beneficiaries who sit on lower marginal rates, and from the 50 per cent capital gains discount that a trust keeps but a company does not. If you are the only adult in the picture and all the income has to come to you anyway, a trust adds cost without adding much benefit. That is exactly what the structure session is for.
Can I distribute trust income to my children?
To adult children, yes, and it is one of the main reasons families use a trust. To children under 18 the benefit is very limited, because unearned income above a low threshold is taxed at penalty rates that reach the top marginal rate quickly. Distributions also have to be genuine. The ATO looks closely at arrangements where a beneficiary is allocated income on paper but the money goes somewhere else, so we keep your resolutions inside what section 100A allows.
How long does the setup take?
Three business days for the deed, execution and the ABN and TFN registrations, assuming we have your identification and beneficiary details up front. A corporate trustee is registered with ASIC the same day in most cases. Where your state charges duty on the deed, the stamping step can add a little time, and we tell you the expected timeline for your state at the structure session.
Trust Calculators
Model the numbers on your own situation before you book a structure call.
What Our Clients Say About Us
Build the Rest of the Structure Around It
Find Out Whether a Trust Is Actually Right for You
Book a structure call and we will model your income across sole trader, company and trust, show you the difference in dollars, and quote the setup in writing. If a trust is not the answer, you will hear that too.
Fixed fee quoted upfront · Ready in 3 business days · 2-hour reply guarantee