Rental Property in a Family Trust Tax Saving Strategies

🏡 Are you leaving tax savings on the table with your investment properties?

When clients ask whether they should hold property in their own name or through a family trust, the answer often comes down to one word: strategy.

Here’s the reality 👇

1️⃣ If your family trust holds a rental property making a $10,000 loss, that loss is trapped inside the trust. You can’t push it down to your personal return. However, if that same trust holds another property with a $10,000 profit, the two offset to nil. The problem? Both assets are exposed—no individual asset protection.

2️⃣ If you split them into two separate family trusts, you gain asset protection. A loss in one trust can be offset against profit in another through distributions, and creditors can’t attack both at once.

3️⃣ Add a trading company owned by a trust, and you open up even more flexibility. Profits can be distributed to individuals or other family trusts in the group. Losses can be offset, profits can be spread, and if there’s leftover income, you can allocate it strategically across family members.

The big picture:
✅ You reduce tax by offsetting gains and losses.
✅ You protect your assets across multiple entities.
✅ You plan ahead for the “sleeping giant”—capital gains tax.

Too many high-income earners hold property in their personal names for negative gearing benefits now, only to get stung with massive tax bills when they sell. Structuring through family trusts allows you to spread future capital gains across family members on lower marginal tax rates—keeping more money in the family.

💬 Over to you:
Have you reviewed whether your current structure actually protects your assets and minimises tax?

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♻️ Share this with someone who owns investment property but hasn’t considered the benefits of family trusts.