Be Prepared. Are you buying or selling a property owned by a Family Trust? Changes in tax rules you need to know about…

The Government’s Taxation (Land Information and Offshore Persons Information) Bill is likely to be passed by the end of September. The commencement date is set to be 1 October 2015 so there will be very little time to adjust to the changes.

Trustees of family trusts need to be aware of these changes, as without the necessary tax information they may not be able to complete a property transaction!

If your settlement date is after 1 October 2015, trusts which are buying or selling property will be required to provide a Trust IRD number.

It will not be satisfactory for individual trustees to provide their own personal IRD numbers.  The trust will need to supply its own IRD number.  This could be problematic as many trusts do not have an IRD number, and there may be delays in applying for one.

As 1 October approaches, if a Trust does not have an IRD number, trustees should apply to Inland Revenue to obtain one. This way, you can avoid delays in your settlement proceeding, when the Bill becomes law.