Master Class: The Budget Changes Every Farm Family Needs to Understand

The proposed Australian budget tax changes have left many farmers, landholders, and rural families asking the same question: what does this mean for our farm, our trust, our capital gains tax, and our succession plan?
In this discussion, accountant George Morrice from Prime Partners Accounting breaks down the biggest proposed changes affecting Australian farmers, including CGT changes, family trusts, negative gearing, farm succession, company structures, SMSFs, fuel tax credits, biosecurity cuts, and off-farm investments. If you own farmland, operate through a trust, lease agricultural land, hold investment property, or are planning to transfer the farm to the next generation, this conversation will help you understand the risks, questions, and planning points you need to consider.

This is especially important for rural families trying to protect intergenerational wealth, manage tax exposure, understand proposed trust rules, and avoid rushed financial decisions before legislation is finalised. The key message: these changes are not yet law, but they could have major consequences if passed.

You’ll learn how proposed capital gains tax changes could affect farms, investment properties, and pre-CGT assets. George explains why trusts may face new tax pressure, how negative gearing may change for residential property, and why some farmers may need to reconsider company structures, SMSFs, succession planning, and off-farm income strategies. The discussion also covers fuel excise changes, farm management deposits, leasing income, biodiversity payments, and why farmers should avoid knee-jerk restructuring until the rules are clearer.

Chapters
00:00 Intro and welcome
02:40 Meet George Morris from Prime Partners Accounting
03:20 Why the budget has farmers worried
04:20 Proposed changes are not law yet
04:54 Leasing farmland, trusts, and CGT concerns
06:00 Small business CGT concessions explained
08:30 How capital gains tax could change after budget night
09:40 Why the budget may create tax loopholes
10:00 Pre-CGT farm assets entering the tax system
11:10 Selling investment property to improve the farm
13:17 Negative gearing and off-farm assets
15:08 Fuel, fertiliser, and budget wins for farmers
16:15 Loss carry-back rules for company structures
17:30 Fuel excise and fuel tax credit changes
20:30 Biosecurity cuts and rural impact
23:22 What the budget means for sole traders and partnerships
24:00 Trust distributions and the proposed 30% tax issue
25:31 Transferring property between generations
26:30 Testamentary trusts explained
28:23 Companies, succession, and farm ownership structures
30:46 SMSFs and farming land structures
33:07 Possible inheritance tax concerns
35:24 Election timing and whether changes can be reversed
37:51 Commercial property vs residential property
38:03 New builds and negative gearing
40:23 Primary production income and trust rules
42:45 Moving land into a trust for succession
44:00 CGT rules before 1999
46:23 Passing farms to grandchildren
48:59 Gifting, super funds, and asset transfers
51:25 Passive income, leasing, and trust tax questions
54:00 Should farmers move from trusts to companies?
56:00 Lobbying and rural advocacy
57:11 Existing negatively geared properties
59:00 Biodiversity payments and tax treatment
01:01:28 Intergenerational transfers and CGT concessions
01:03:26 Closing comments and follow-up

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Видео Master Class: The Budget Changes Every Farm Family Needs to Understand канала Hard Ground - With Josh and Steph.