Using company, trust and partnership income to buy in Green Square

If you earn through a company, trust or partnership and want to buy in Green Square, lenders will count that income only when it’s stable, provable and actually reaches you after tax. The right move this week is to line up your accountant and broker, clean up your financials, and choose ownership that matches how you’ll really use the apartment.

This guide walks through the key rules, a worked example, and a simple one‑week action plan for busy SME owners and professionals.

Your company, trust and partnership numbers need to be clean before you buy in Green Square.

1. How lenders really see company, trust and partnership income

Most banks don’t care what your ASIC record says. They care about:

1. History – usually two years of financials and tax returns.
2. Consistency – is profit or trust income stable or trending up?
3. Access – can you legally and practically draw that income?
4. Sustainability – will the business survive higher repayments and softer trading conditions?

1.1 Common income types for Green Square buyers

*Indicative only. Actual policy varies by lender and can change.

If your structure is complex, a specialist broker can often present the numbers better than a single bank branch. See how this plays out in practice in /insights/green-square-mortgage-broker-vs-bank-branch.

1.2 Add‑backs and adjustments

Lenders often increase your usable income by adding back non‑cash or one‑off expenses such as:

• Depreciation and amortisation
• Extra super contributions above compulsory
• Once‑off legal or setup costs

But they will reduce income for:

• Once‑off COVID grants or windfall income
• Aggressive income deferral or trust income streaming to low‑tax family members (it never reaches you)

Aligning accountant tax strategy with bank servicing is critical so you don’t accidentally slash borrowing power through over‑minimisation.

2. Ownership: personal vs entity title for a Green Square property

A key point many SME owners miss: ownership through a company or trust rarely makes your Green Square home loan interest deductible.

ATO rules focus on purpose of the borrowing, not the name on title. If the loan is used to buy your main residence, interest is generally not deductible, even if a company or trust owns the apartment. That’s been reinforced across several of our entity‑focused pieces, including /insights/lending-reality-buying-home-through-entity-2.

2.1 When personal ownership usually makes sense

For an owner‑occupied Green Square or Zetland apartment:

• Personal or joint ownership normally gives you the main residence CGT exemption.
• Entity ownership often complicates lending and can reduce future flexibility.
• You can still use business income to service the loan, as long as it’s flowing to you.

2.2 When an entity might be worth considering

For a pure investment property (for example, a rentvesting play buying in Green Square while living elsewhere):

• A trust or company can help with asset protection or succession.
• From 1 July 2027, the new CGT rules and trust minimum tax rates may change the maths, especially for discretionary trusts.
• An SMSF or trust strategy only makes sense when each entity has a clear non‑tax role, like retirement income or asset protection.

But remember: lenders generally prefer simple, personal ownership for residential property. Complex structures can mean fewer lender options, lower maximum LVRs and stricter documentation.

If you’re thinking about investment or rentvesting, it’s worth pairing this piece with /insights/rentvesting-green-square-off-the-plan-loan-structures.