Bare Trust to SMSF Transfer

Q: Do I need to do this straight after repaying the loan?

There is no need to leave the property sitting in the custodian once the loan is gone. Transferring it into the fund tidies up the structure and avoids complications later.

Q: Do you provide financial or tax advice?

No, legal and conveyancing services only. Whether and when to transfer, and the tax consequences, should be discussed with your accountant or licensed adviser.

Loan repaid? Move the property into your super fund — concessionally and correctly.

Transfers property from your custodian / bare trust to your SMSF.
Structured for concessional NSW duty — not full ad valorem duty.
No change in beneficial ownership, so no CGT event on the transfer.
Statutory declarations and Revenue NSW lodgement handled in-house.
Fixed-fee pricing with no billing surprises.
Serves existing & grandfathered LRBAs — unaffected by the 2026 changes.

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The step most people forget

When the loan is repaid, the title doesn’t move by itself

While your SMSF was borrowing to buy property under a Limited Recourse Borrowing Arrangement (LRBA), the property was held by a bare trust (holding trust), with a custodian holding legal title on the fund’s behalf. Your fund was always the beneficial owner — but on paper, the custodian still holds the title.

Once the loan is fully repaid, the bare trust has done its job and the property can be transferred out of the custodian and into the SMSF directly. This does not happen automatically. A transfer has to be prepared, the right evidence assembled, and the dealing lodged — and if it isn’t handled correctly, you can lose access to the concessional duty treatment and face full stamp duty on a property your fund effectively already owns.

Unaffected by the 2026 changes This service is unaffected by the 2026 ban on new residential SMSF borrowing. It applies to existing and grandfathered LRBAs — residential and commercial alike — which continue for years and still end with the property being transferred into the fund once the loan is repaid.

At Corporate Legal, we manage this transfer end-to-end: confirming the structure, preparing the statutory declarations that establish there is no change in beneficial ownership, and lodging the dealing with Revenue NSW so the property lands in your fund cleanly and concessionally.

Loan paid off? Let’s move it into your fund properly.Call Us Now

Transferring property from a bare trust to your SMSF once the loan is repaid

Please note: Corporate Legal provides legal and conveyancing services only — not financial, taxation or superannuation advice. Duty and CGT outcomes depend on your circumstances and current legislation; please also consult your accountant or licensed adviser.

The key advantage

The NSW duty concession that makes this possible

A transfer of property in NSW would normally attract full ad valorem (value-based) stamp duty. But where property is simply moving from a custodian / bare trustee back to the SMSF that was the beneficial owner all along, NSW duty law allows the transfer to proceed at concessional (nominal) duty rather than full duty — because nothing is really changing hands beneficially.

Accessing that treatment is not automatic. Revenue NSW requires the right evidence — including a statutory declaration confirming there is no change in beneficial ownership and that the property was held under the LRBA for the fund. We make sure the structure genuinely qualifies and that the supporting evidence is complete before we lodge.

To support the concession, we confirm and evidence:

That the property was acquired and held under a complying LRBA / bare trust.
That the SMSF was the beneficial owner throughout the arrangement.
That the loan has been repaid and the bare trust has come to an end.
That there is no change in beneficial ownership on the transfer.
That the documentation and statutory declarations meet Revenue NSW requirements.

Stamp duty law and revenue-office practice change, and the exact provision and amount that apply depend on your circumstances and the legislation current at the time. We confirm the position applicable to your matter before lodging.

A common worry

What about capital gains tax?

Clients often assume that moving the property from the bare trust to the SMSF must be a taxable event. In most properly structured cases it is not. Because your SMSF was the beneficial owner of the property throughout the LRBA, the transfer from the custodian to the fund generally involves no change in beneficial ownership — and so, from a CGT perspective, there is generally no CGT event on the transfer itself.

That said, CGT depends entirely on how your fund and the arrangement were set up and operated. The correct treatment for your fund is a question for your accountant or tax adviser, and we coordinate with them so the legal transfer and the tax position line up.

This is general information, not taxation advice. Corporate Legal does not provide tax advice — please confirm the CGT position with your accountant or licensed tax adviser.

SMSF transfer duty and CGT advice with your accountant

End to end

What we manage on the transfer

Confirm the Loan Is Discharged

We confirm the LRBA has been fully repaid and the lender’s security (mortgage) is ready to be discharged, so the property is genuinely free to move into the fund.

Review the Original Structure

We review the bare trust deed and the original purchase to confirm the arrangement qualifies for concessional treatment — and flag anything that needs fixing before lodgement.

Prepare the Transfer

We prepare the transfer of the property from the custodian / bare trustee to the trustee of the SMSF, naming the correct parties for the fund.

Statutory Declarations & Evidence

We prepare the statutory declaration confirming no change in beneficial ownership, and assemble the evidence Revenue NSW requires to assess the transfer concessionally.

Duty Assessment & Lodgement

We lodge the dealing and the duties application with Revenue NSW, obtain the concessional assessment, and attend to stamping.

Registration & Confirmation

We register the transfer so the title is held by your SMSF, discharge the mortgage, and confirm the moment your fund owns the property outright.

One clean transfer, handled end-to-end

Who we help

Who needs this service

Trustees Who’ve Repaid the Loan

If your fund has finished paying off its LRBA, the property can — and generally should — be moved out of the custodian and into the fund. We make that final step clean, concessional and correctly documented.

Funds Refinancing or Restructuring

Sometimes the bare trust needs to be unwound as part of a refinance or a restructure rather than a full repayment. We advise on the legal steps and duty implications of moving the property at the right time.

Advisers & Accountants

We regularly act for accountants and advisers who want a specialist lawyer to handle the title transfer and Revenue NSW lodgement for their SMSF clients, while they manage the tax and super side.

Why Corporate Legal

Why choose us for your transfer

SMSF & Bare Trust Specialists

We set these structures up and unwind them regularly — we know exactly what Revenue NSW needs to assess the transfer concessionally.

A Lawyer, Not Just a Conveyancer

Your transfer is handled by a qualified property lawyer who understands the duty and trust law behind it.

Concession Protection

We confirm the arrangement qualifies and assemble the evidence properly — protecting you from an unexpected full-duty assessment.

Fixed-Fee Pricing

A clear, upfront fee so you know your cost before we start.

Coordinated With Your Team

We line the transfer up with your accountant’s tax and CGT advice so the legal and tax positions match.

End-to-End Handling

From mortgage discharge to registration, we manage every step so the property lands in your fund cleanly.

Part of a complete SMSF service

The final chapter of an SMSF property journey

This transfer is the final chapter of a journey we can support from the very start. If you’re only now buying, our SMSF Bare Trust & Custodian Setup service establishes the structure correctly, and our SMSF conveyancing team can manage the whole purchase through to settlement.

SMSF Conveyancing SMSF Bare Trust & Custodian Setup Commercial Conveyancing

FAQs

Transferring property into your SMSF — your questions

Does the 2026 residential LRBA ban affect transferring my property into my fund?

No. The 2026 change only stops SMSFs entering new residential borrowing arrangements. Existing and grandfathered LRBAs are unaffected and still need this transfer when the loan is repaid — so if anything, it makes getting the unwind right more important.

Does the property transfer to my SMSF automatically when the loan is repaid?

No. Even though your fund was the beneficial owner all along, the legal title stays in the custodian’s name until a transfer is prepared, assessed by Revenue NSW and registered. We handle that final step for you.

Will I have to pay full stamp duty on the transfer?

Generally no. Where the property is simply moving from the custodian / bare trustee back to the SMSF that was the beneficial owner, NSW allows the transfer to proceed at concessional (nominal) duty rather than full ad valorem duty — provided the arrangement qualifies and the evidence is in order.

Is there capital gains tax on the transfer?

In most properly structured cases there is no CGT event on the transfer, because there is no change in beneficial ownership — your SMSF owned the property beneficially throughout. The exact position depends on your fund and should be confirmed with your accountant.

What evidence does Revenue NSW need?

Typically a statutory declaration confirming there is no change in beneficial ownership, together with the bare trust deed and evidence of the LRBA and its repayment. We prepare and lodge all of it.

Do I need to do this straight after repaying the loan?

There’s no need to leave the property sitting in the custodian once the loan is gone. Transferring it into the fund tidies up the structure and avoids complications later — we can advise on the right timing for your situation.

Do you provide financial or tax advice?

No — legal and conveyancing services only. Whether and when to transfer, and the tax consequences, should be discussed with your accountant or licensed adviser, and we coordinate with them.

How much does the transfer cost?

We work on fixed-fee pricing and confirm it upfront. The fee covers preparing the transfer, the statutory declarations, and the Revenue NSW lodgement; duty and registration fees are separate.

Loan repaid? Let’s finish the job

Moving the property into your fund is the last — and easily overlooked — step in the journey. Corporate Legal handles it end-to-end: confirming the structure, evidencing that nothing changes beneficially, and lodging the transfer with Revenue NSW so your fund owns the property outright, concessionally and correctly.

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