New private trust fund rules coming in 2021

March 17, 2019

Andrea Tratnik, Estate Planning Lawyer, Beard Winter LLP

View Full Article

Investment Executive Magazine quotes Beard Winter LLP estate planning lawyer Andrea Tratnik in an article on new trust rules coming.

Excerpt:

Under the current reporting and filing requirements, a trust must file a tax return only if it earns income or distributes money. But according to Andrea Tratnik, an associate lawyer with Beard Winter LLP’s trusts and estates group in Toronto, most family trusts will be required to file tax returns with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) beginning in 2021, regardless of whether a trust earns income or makes distributions in that year.

The increased compliance burden may add to the cost of managing a trust, says Tratnik: “Trusts that previously did not need to file tax returns may face increased administration costs as a result of the required filings.”

“It’s possible that many trusts, particularly non-resident trusts, will incur non-compliance penalties simply due to lack of awareness of the changes,” Tratnik says. “Trust professionals should alert their trustee clients of the new requirements prior to 2021 to minimize the risk of non-compliance.”

Andrea Tratnik is a member of the firm’s Estate and Trust Planning and Corporate Law groups. She summered and articled with the firm and returned as an associate following her call to the bar in 2012.

Do you have questions about this topic? Email Andrea at atratnik@beardwinter.com or call her at 416.306.1815.