FAQ 81 When and how do I prepare a Trustee distribution resolution

The trustee distribution resolution needs to be prepared before the 30 June every year.

The document to be used for this can be downloaded here

Prepare one for each trust that the trustee looks after

The things to be decided are:

• Which beneficiaries or associated entities are going to be the beneficiaries
• The percentage or amount each is to receive or the actual amount in $.
  Note that the actual amount is a harder thing to fix before year end 

The difficulty is that until the trust accounting has been completed the
amount of profit that is available for distribution will not be known. This can be overcome tby taking the
trustee bank account statement to the accountant for a trial balance to be produced at
around 1 month before the end of the tax year. At this time it is also useful to discuss any
tax arrangements that are required well in advance. It is too late to make changes
if this is undertaken after the end of June.

If it is known that the trust will make a loss then simply nominate a single beneficiary
and allocate 100% of the profits to it. 100% of nothing is nothing so no harm done.
The accountant will calculate the losses in the trust and record them on the trust tax
return to carry forward to next year.