Australia: Changes to trust tax returns and private rulings application forms

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) released a guide on upcoming changes to the annual tax return forms for trust income reporting from 1 July 2024, and updated its application forms for sovereign entities and superannuation funds for foreign residents (SFFFRs) to apply for private rulings for certain tax exemptions.

Changes to annual tax return forms

According to the ATO, the changes will affect trust tax return filings for the 2023–2024 income year and onwards and include:

• Modifying the labels in the statement of distribution—which is part of the trust tax return—to improve the reporting of beneficiary details
• Introducing a new schedule (trust income schedule) that all trust beneficiary types who receive trust income will need to file with their tax return—to assist correct reporting and facilitate consistency of reporting across all beneficiary types
• Adding new data validations to the trust tax return form in the practitioner filing service—to strengthen the integrity of data reported

Changes to SFFFRs private rulings application forms

According to the ATO, the forms have been updated to improve the private ruling process for applicants—particularly in clarifying the level of information needed to determine eligibility for the exemptions.

The updated forms are for private rulings that relate to:

• The tax exemption for sovereign entities under Division 880 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (referred to as sovereign immunity)
• The withholding tax exemption for SFFFRs under paragraph 128B(3)(jb) of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936