31/08/2026
If you've borrowed money and lent it to your family trust interest-free, you may be claiming an interest deduction you're not entitled to - and the ATO takes a firm view on this exact arrangement.
https://rvn.com.au/news/rvn-next-move-august-2026/
The rule is straightforward: to claim interest, the borrowed money must be earning you assessable income. Lending it to your trust at no interest means the loan earns you nothing. The distribution you later receive is the trustee's discretion - it's not a return on your loan, and with a discretionary trust, no one is guaranteed one.
There are two clean ways to structure this correctly: a genuine loan to the trust at a commercial interest rate, properly documented, or an agency arrangement where the trust is the true borrower from the outset. Both work - but only if they're in place before you borrow. Neither can be fixed after the fact.
If you're thinking about borrowing to invest through your family trust, let's talk before anything is signed - the right structure needs to be set up from the start.
👉 Read the article: https://rvn.com.au/news/rvn-next-move-august-2026/