Prepare a trust distribution working paper

The trust's accounts are close to final, but the distribution minute is still in a different folder. Put it beside the deed before you allocate a dollar to a beneficiary.

Gather the records

For the 2025–26 income year, collect the prior-year workpaper, closing trial balance or cashbook, investment and fund tax statements, the deed's income clause, and the trustee resolution. Check who is named, each beneficiary's status and the percentages or specific entitlements the resolution actually records. An absent or unclear resolution is a question for the trustee, not a percentage to infer from last year.

Separate accounting income and tax character

Reconcile the accounts to the income and deduction schedules first. Franked distributions, capital gains and foreign income need their character kept through the tax calculation. Compare distributable income under the deed with the accounts result and record the basis if they differ. Then allocate each character to beneficiaries under the resolution; check that the allocations and totals reconcile after rounding.

If the resolution streams a gain or franked distribution to one beneficiary, check the deed and record why that allocation is supported. Record TFN-held status, entity type and residency for each beneficiary. Missing beneficiary detail or an unallocated amount changes the review, even when the total income figure ties.

Use the working paper

Create a trust case in Workpapers for 2025–26 and upload those records. The delivered workbook has a tax calculation and distribution statement linked to its trial balance and investment schedules. Read the beneficiary rows, source links and review points; answer any question about the deed or resolution before treating the allocation as complete.

For the income-year treatment used here, the repo's trust workpaper pack is the source. This guide describes the review job in fresh language; the pack remains the product's internal rules.