Running home business through Family Trust?

[Astrid]

Pretty much what type of business you run under depends on what is best tax wise for your family and that can only be discussed with an accountant.

For day to day stuff the business just runs the same way pretty much depending on whether you pay GST or not, or have employees. It is how you pay yourself, how the business income is taxed, insurance and workcover that will differ depending on your structure. That can also depend on what state you are working from.

Check with your accountant what you can claim when running a business from home, don't even think of claiming mortgage payments for your residence as that will just raise capital gains issues later. Of course that is very different if your residence was business like a pub.

Here is some info on trusts from the ATO site:
Choosing a business structure

ETA: This site has some good explanations of differenct business structures, just click on each one for the advantages and disadvantages: http://www.business.vic.gov.au/BUSVI.../PC_60828.html