Can a family trust pay into super ?

If you mean as a distribution then I believe the answer is no, but if the Trust has employees the Trustee can certainly pay super for them (and, depending on the salary level paid and the award they are paid under, might be obligated to pay super for them).
 
You may be thinking that a family trust could be used as a super fund? Unfortuantely not. A super fund is a form of trust with tax advantages, but it's also highly regulated in its operation.

What you can do is disperse funds from the family trust into a super fund, which could be a self managed super fund if you really want to run it yourself. I'd advise against a SMSF unless you've got at least $200k in it. The maintenance cost often isn't worth it otherwiese.
 
If an employee contribution yes if a trust distribution then it is regarded as non arms length income and taxed at 45 percent. Pete wouldnt recommend that strategy to any client as they are taxed heavily.
 
Yep can be done.

The super needs to be paid for an employee of the trust.

A director of the trustee company can be classifed as an employee for the payment of super.
 
I should clarify a previous comment. You can disperse funds from your trust to the beneficiaries. The beneficiary can then make a contribution to the trust.
 
Refer to 2010/1 paragraph 243. "The corporate trustee of a trust may be entitled to deduct a contribution made for a director against the income earned by the company (rather than the income of the trust). A superannuation contribution for a director of the corporate trustee of a trust can only be deducted from the income of the trust if the director is a common law employee of the trust engaged in producing the assessable income of the trust or its business."

http://law.ato.gov.au/atolaw/view.htm?docid="TXR/TR20101/NAT/ATO/00001"
 
So let me clarify a little,

Family trust so no company element as trustee, wife not working, so I can dispurse to her and she can make a personal contribution to super.

I imagine that this would make no difference to her TAX due on the income dispersed to her.

I was hoping that the trust could pay direct to her super and bypass her hence maximizing her tax free threshold as a seperate payment.

It was just a thought..
 
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