A family trust generally needs to lodge a BAS only if it is registered for GST, or if it has PAYG withholding obligations (for example, because it employs people). Whether or not it lodges a BAS, the trustee has to lodge a trust tax return every year.
The details below are as at October 2026, from the ATO’s own pages (linked at the end). One point trips people up: the ATO says trusts are not liable to pay PAYG instalments, so for most family trusts instalments are not a reason to lodge a BAS.
When a trust has to lodge a BAS
The ATO’s summary of a trust’s key obligations says it may be required to lodge business activity statements, for example if it is registered for GST, has employer obligations such as PAYG withholding, or has PAYG instalments. The ATO’s trust page narrows the last one, so in practice that gives two triggers and one that rarely applies.
| Trigger | What it means for the trust |
|---|---|
| GST registration | The trust lodges a BAS once it is registered. Registration is required at a GST turnover of $75,000 or more, or when it is likely to reach that in the next 12 months. Below that it is optional. |
| PAYG withholding | If the trust employs people, the trustee has employer obligations, including PAYG withholding, and reports it on an activity statement. |
| PAYG instalments (rarely a trigger) | The ATO says trusts are not liable to pay PAYG instalments. Beneficiaries (or the trustee, when assessed on their behalf) may have to pay instalments on their share of the trust’s instalment income. |
A trust with no GST registration and no employees usually has no BAS to lodge. If a trust has PAYG withholding but isn’t registered for GST, the ATO calls the statement it lodges an instalment activity statement (IAS) rather than a BAS.
How GST turnover is worked out
GST turnover is the trust’s total business income (not its profit) minus things like the GST included in its sales and input-taxed sales. The ATO looks at two measures: current turnover (this month and the previous 11) and projected turnover (this month and the next 11). Reaching the threshold on either one generally means the trust must register, and it has 21 days to do it.
If a trust registers voluntarily below the threshold, it generally has to stay registered for at least 12 months.
What a trust lodges every year
The trustee has to lodge a trust tax return (the Trust tax return 2026 is form NAT 0660), regardless of how much net income the trust made, unless the ATO has said a return isn’t required. The return includes a statement of distribution showing who the trust’s income went to. Beneficiaries then include their share in their own tax returns.
The due date depends on who lodges. If the trustee lodges the return themselves, the ATO says it is due by 31 October. If a registered tax agent lodges it, the ATO’s lodgment program gives later dates for most trusts. The trust generally needs to be on the agent’s client list by 31 October to get them. For the 2026 return:
| Trust | Due |
|---|---|
| Any prior-year return outstanding at 30 June 2026 | 31 October 2026 |
| Latest return showed a tax liability of $20,000 or more | 31 March 2027 |
| All remaining trusts | 15 May 2027 (5 June 2027 under the ATO’s concession, if any payment is also made by then) |
Large and medium trusts (total income over $10 million) have their own agent dates. The ATO also asks trustees to lodge early, so individual beneficiaries’ returns can be pre-filled with the distribution data.
Trustee resolutions, briefly
If the trust is distributing income to beneficiaries by resolution, the ATO says the resolution is only effective for deciding who is taxed on the income if it is made by 30 June, or earlier if the trust deed says so. There is no standard format, and whether it must be in writing depends on the deed, but a written record is the best evidence. If a resolution isn’t effective, other beneficiaries or the trustee can end up assessed on the income, possibly at the top tax rate. Resolutions belong to the income tax return, not the BAS.
Records a trust must keep
The ATO’s trust tax return instructions list the records a trust should keep:
- a copy of the trust deed
- a copy of all trustee resolutions
- a detailed statement of assets and liabilities
- the names in which business contracts are made
- a record of the trustee’s name and contact details at year end
On top of that come the ordinary records of income and expenses. Most are kept for 5 years from when they were prepared or obtained, or from when the transactions they relate to were completed, whichever is later. Records of tax losses may need to be kept longer, and so do records that affect capital gains.
A worked example
The Nguyen Family Trust owns one commercial unit and charges GST on its rent. The rent is $22,500 a quarter plus GST, so $90,000 a year. That is above $75,000, so the trustee registers for GST and lodges a BAS.
In one quarter the trust charges $2,250 GST on the rent ($22,500 x 10%) and pays $3,630 for repairs and outgoings, which includes $330 of GST ($3,630 / 11). On the BAS, the GST it owes is $2,250 and the GST credit it claims is $330. The net amount payable is $1,920.
Now take a second trust that owns a commercial unit let at $60,000 a year, with nothing else going on. It is under the threshold and not registered, so it lodges no BAS. At the end of the year its trustee makes a resolution by 30 June, lodges the trust tax return, and keeps the deed, the resolution and the year’s records.
Questions
Does a trust with no income have to lodge a BAS?
Generally only if it is registered for GST or has PAYG withholding. A trust that isn’t registered for GST and has no withholding has no BAS to lodge, though it still lodges its trust tax return unless the ATO says otherwise.
Do I lodge a trust tax return if the trust made no profit?
Yes, unless the ATO has told you a return isn’t required. The ATO says the trustee must lodge regardless of the amount of net income.
Does the trust need its own ABN?
A trust should have its own tax file number, and it is entitled to an ABN if it is carrying on an enterprise. You need an ABN before you can register for GST.
Does the trustee’s own registration cover the trust?
No. The trustee registers for the trust’s TFN and ABN as trustee, and the ATO says this is separate from any registration the trustee has in another capacity. For how it applies to your trust, ask a registered tax agent or the ATO.
Where Beans fits
If a trust is registered for GST, the BAS is only as good as the books behind it. Beans keeps them as you go: bank lines and receipts are recorded in the right entity’s books as they arrive, across several entities and your personal money, and it only asks when the call is yours to make, such as whether something belongs to the trust or to you. It works up the BAS from books that are already done, and the BAS waits for your yes.
Sources (all ato.gov.au, checked 15 October 2026): Trusts registration and reporting obligations, Business structures: key tax obligations, Completing your last GST BAS, Income tax return, What trustees need to know for Tax Time 2026, Registering for GST, How to lodge your BAS, Individuals and trusts (registered agent lodgment program), Trustee resolutions, General information for trusts (Trust tax return 2026 instructions), Overview of record-keeping rules for business.
General information, not tax advice.