Trusts Aren’t the Tax Hack You Think They Are (And Lenders Just Changed the Rules)

In this episode of The Property Nerds, we cut through the noise on property trusts, because despite what the internet says, a discretionary trust is not a magic “distribute to anyone” tax loophole.

With Ronesh from Incentum Group joining as a repeat guest, we go back to basics on discretionary vs unit trusts, the real world tax traps and why your finance strategy must come before structure if you actually want to build a portfolio.

We also unpack the lender headlines, the extra compliance pressure being placed on trust setups and the key message investors miss: costs are the cost of doing business, strategy and market cycles come first.

We cover:

• The biggest myths investors believe about discretionary trusts
• Why you can’t just “distribute income to anyone”
• Discretionary vs unit trusts: when each structure actually makes sense
• The negative gearing catch inside trusts
• Land tax differences across states
• The hierarchy investors need

Timestamps:

00:00 - The trust myth

01:59 - Lenders pulling back from trusts: what’s actually going on

02:37 - Trusts explained simply: trustee, beneficiaries, and “discretion”

04:20 - Who should buy in a trust? The 3 questions to decide

06:21 - Discretionary vs unit trusts: the key difference most investors miss

06:49 - When unit trusts make sense

09:54 - Why trusts don’t always “save tax”

11:27 - Why distributing outside the group can trigger 47%

12:26 - Land tax reality: state by state rules and why it gets complicated

21:31 - Finance first, cost of doing business last

If you’ve been trying to pick a structure based on tax savings alone, this episode is your reset: start with borrowing capacity and strategy, build the right team, then treat trust costs as part of the cost of doing business, not the thing that blocks your investing plan.

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