Yes, companies and trusts are extremely complex and 99% of those going into them don't understand most of the issues.

Land tax is a state based tax and the laws vary will from state to state. So wether you will pay more in land tax by using a trust will depend on what state you are in and what other property you own in that state. eg. In NSW an individual will get a land tax free threshold of about $370,000 in land other than their main home. After this they will pay 1.6% pa in tax based on the value of the land exceeding the threshold amount.

so if an individual that owns no other land were to buy a house valued at $600,000 with $300,000 land value then they would probably pay no land tax. But if the individual already owned say 5 houses then he may pay 1.6% x $300,000 pa = $4800

But if a trustee were to buy the same block there would be no tax threshold. So the trustee would pay $4800 pa from the start.

So if an individual with no other investments then a trust would cost $4800 pa extra in land tax compared to buying in own name.

But if the individual already owned a few houses they would be paying this in land tax anyway so no extra.

(this is a lot of money to fork out each year!).

If you were wanting to start investing with others then you should use a new entity. You probably want to look at a unit trust in such a case. But you could have the units of this trust owned by your discretionary trust.

I would be inclined to go for IO with offset right now. Every dollar you pay off this loan means you need to borrow another dollar for the new PPOR down the track. And that means your tax position will be getting worse.

Also the $15k separate savings account, you might as well put that in the offset.

Then set up a separate LOC on this house. This LOC will be for investment expenses such as deposits and every other cent you spend on the next investment property other than interest – eg. rates, insurance, deposit etc.

Every dollar borrowed for your investment frees up a $1 for your new ppor and enhances your tax position. Never use your offset money for investments.

Generally, never have 2 directors of a company. It only doubles the risk. If something were to go wrong it would be best if only one of you went down with the company. Having one person can ehance borrowing capacity too because the other person can avoid giving a guarantee. But, it may be necessary to give a guarantee sometimes – at least with this way you will have a choice.

Be careful with land tax when buying in a trust and watch out for losses.

If you are buying in rural area make sure you consider things carefully. There is generally less capital growth which is the main driver in getting you rich.

In VIC Mooreslegal are the experts at structuring.

From an accountant I would say around $2000 for a company and trust would be about right depending on which deed they use. I am not sure what the stamp duty on the establishment of the trust is down there.

James from House of Wealth should be good because of his DNA. (james son of dale)

That sounds about right

Well,  at least you should be able to claim all the GST on the costs associated with the development. Is the entity registered for GST?

Actually I think it should be 1/11th of the sale price.

You will be able to claim GST on items purchased for the development though. Did you pay GST on the purchase?

Sale price x 10%??

Hi Mandy

Sorry to hear about your husband's cancer.

What you are proposing won't really work although it may be possible in theory.

For it to work you will need to find someone with $220,000 in cash wanting to buy half a property – what is in it for them? They will be up for stamp duty and will expect an income return as well. If you were to sell a lessor amount then you would all have to apply for a mortgage and be jointly and severally liable which won't really work either.

It may work out better to sell outright as Michael suggests. This may help you qualify for rental assistance if you then rent. You may be able to set up a special disability trust for the funds released and these are concessionally taxed and there are special centrelink rules regarding the transfer of money into the trust. If the trust had $200,000 it could be invested with the income going to your husband possibilty tax free.

I think you need some good advice.

probably stamp duty and cgt

This is not pessimistic but smart. There are several 'what ifs' that you should ask yourself before any investment.

Besides the financial ones such as "what if I can't sell" etc there are legal ones:

1. What if I were to become incapacitated, eg. in a coma
2. What if I were to die
3. What if I were to go bankrupt

What would happen if one of these happened to you?