Trust business valuations for family and unit trusts

Who actually owns a trust business

In a trust business, the legal owner of everything is the trustee. The trustee holds the goodwill, business name, equipment and any shares or investments for the beneficiaries or unit holders, under the rules in the trust deed.

The trustee is often a company, so people assume it is a company business. It is not. A corporate trustee holds the assets for the trust, not for itself, and for most tax purposes it is the trust that counts. That matters for the 2027 changes, which treat trusts and companies very differently.

The value is usually shaped by three documents: the trust deed, any unitholders agreement, and the trust's balance sheet, including loans and unpaid distributions owed to beneficiaries or a related company.

The business, the units or the trust's net assets

Before we quote, we pin down which of three things you need valued. Each is a different question with a different answer.

Why the split matters: for CGT, a business is not one asset. Goodwill, the business name and client lists are CGT assets, while everyday tools, vehicles, equipment and trading stock are generally dealt with under other tax rules. A report that gives only one total makes your adviser's job harder.

We value businesses and business interests only. If the trust owns the premises, we use a property valuation you obtain separately, and the report says so.

Unit trusts and discretionary trusts are valued differently

Unit trusts

Units work much like shares: each holder owns a fixed number, carrying rights to income and capital, so each holding can be valued. We look at the size of the holding, what the deed lets the majority do, any pre-emption or buy-sell terms, and whether the holding can block a sale.

Discretionary (family) trusts

No beneficiary owns a fixed share. The trustee decides each year who receives income and capital, so a beneficiary generally has a right to be considered, not a slice of the business. The value sits with the trustee's assets, and control sits with whoever controls the trustee and holds the power to appoint or remove it, often called the appointor.

Hybrid trusts, with both fixed and discretionary elements, are quoted after we have read the deed.

Which trusts are in scope for 30 June 2027

From 1 July 2027, the 50% CGT discount for Australian resident individuals and trusts is generally replaced, for gains that build up from that date, by cost base indexation, and resident individuals (including beneficiaries taxed on a trust's capital gains) pay at least 30% tax on those gains, with some exceptions. This is separate from the proposed minimum tax on discretionary trusts below. Earlier gains can still get the 50% discount when the asset is eventually sold, if the usual conditions are met.

To separate the two periods, the law treats the trustee as having sold and bought back the trust's relevant CGT assets just before 1 July 2027, generally at market value, where the conditions are met. One condition is that at least one beneficiary could get the CGT discount on a gain from the asset. No tax is payable then: the notional gain or loss waits until the trust actually sells.

That is why a valuation for this purpose is prepared as at 30 June 2027: the market value just before 1 July 2027. Instead of market value, the trustee may in future be able to choose an apportioning method set by the Government (section 112-185), in the trust's tax return for the year the asset is eventually sold. That method is still a draft, released for consultation in August 2026 and not yet final. Your tax adviser decides. We value businesses; we do not give tax advice.

Companies are different, corporate trustees are not

Companies can't use the 50% discount, so the 30 June 2027 rule for trusts and individuals does not apply to assets a company owns in its own right, although a company's pre-CGT assets (acquired before 20 September 1985) are separately reset at 1 July 2027. A business run by a company as trustee is different: the assets belong to the trust, so the trust rules may apply. And shares in a private company held by a family trust are trust assets, so the trustee's shareholding may need a value. See private company share valuation.

Units held by individuals are their own assets, so a unit holder may have a separate 30 June 2027 question. One engagement can cover both, priced as an additional interest.

Preparation can start now: confirming what the trust holds, reading the deed and setting the scope with your accountant. A valuation as at 30 June 2027 is prepared after that date, once your records to 30 June 2027 are available. You can book your place now.

The proposed minimum tax on discretionary trusts

Separately, the Government has proposed a 30% minimum tax on discretionary trusts, applied at trustee level, from 1 July 2028. As at October 2026 this is exposure draft legislation released for consultation. It is not law, and its detail may change.

The proposal excludes fixed trusts and some other trust types. It also proposes rollover relief for a limited period from 1 July 2027 for businesses that restructure, for example into a company or a fixed trust, with an alternative election to fix distributions. Whether any of that suits your family is for your tax adviser and lawyer.

If you do restructure, values can matter even where rollover relief defers the tax: to set each person's shares or units, for financing, for any state duty questions your lawyer raises, and as a record. See business restructuring valuation.

What we ask a trustee for

• The trust deed and every variation, plus the unit register and any unitholders agreement
• Trustee company details, and who holds the appointor or similar powers
• Three years of trust financial statements, plus the year to 30 June 2027 when that is the valuation date
• A list of everything the trustee holds, including shares or units in other entities
• Loans to and from beneficiaries and related entities, and unpaid distributions owed to a beneficiary or related company

Those last items are easy to miss, and they can move the net asset value, and the value of a unit holding, a long way.

Documents come only through the secure upload link on your matter, never by email or through this website. A referring accountant sees your matter only with your written consent. Every report is prepared and signed by a suitably qualified business valuer at Valuation Group.

Fees for trust structures

We price by the business and the number of interests valued, not by how many names appear on the structure chart.

• Full valuation report, one trading trust business or interest with annual turnover under $10 million: one fixed fee of $999 + GST. Delivery is 2 business days for turnover under $2 million and 3 business days for turnover $2 million to $10 million. Delivery time starts once payment and all required information have been received, and pauses while we wait for answers to our questions or your signed representation letter.
• Each additional entity or interest, such as a unit holder's units valued alongside the business: $795 + GST.
• Each additional valuation date: $495 + GST.
• Groups of entities, several unit holders each needing a value, or turnover over $10 million: Quoted in writing.

Delivery time starts once payment and all required information have been received, and pauses while we wait for answers to our questions or your signed representation letter. The fixed fee applies once we confirm the interest, purpose, structure and records fit the fixed-fee scope. Anything outside it is quoted in writing before we start. Fixed fee, confirmed in writing before we start. No hourly billing and no surprises.

Accountants with several trust clients facing the same 30 June 2027 question can ask for a bulk quotation. Family law matters involving a trust are handled by our dedicated family law practice, Family Law Valuations.