If you have received bonus units on or after 20 September 1985, you may make a capital gain when you dispose of them.
The CGT rules for bonus units are similar to those for bonus shares. However, the rules do not apply if the bonus units are issued by a corporate unit trust or a public trading trust.
When the unit trust issues the bonus units, they will generally tell you what amount (if any) you have to include in your assessable income. You need to keep a record of that information to work out your CGT obligation when you dispose of them.
Flowchart 3.2 in appendix 3 summarises the rules applying to bonus units issued on or after 20 September 1985.
Bonus units issued where no amount is included in assessable income
Original units acquired on or after 20 September 1985
If your bonus units relate to other units that you acquired on or after 20 September 1985, your bonus units are taken to have been acquired on the date you acquired your original units. If you have original units that you acquired at different times, you will have to work out how many of your bonus units are taken to have been acquired at each of those times.
Calculate the cost base and reduced cost base of the bonus units by apportioning the cost base and reduced cost base of the original units over the original units and the bonus units. Effectively, this results in a reduction of the cost base and reduced cost base of the original units. You also apportion any calls paid on partly paid bonus units between the cost bases (and reduced cost bases) of the original units and the bonus units.
Original units acquired before 20 September 1985
The rules that apply if you acquired your original units before 20 September 1985 depend on when the bonus units were issued and whether they were partly paid or fully paid. For more details, see flowchart 3.2 in appendix 3.
Example 38: Unit trusts
Sarah is a unit holder in the CPA Unit Trust. She bought 1,000 units on 1 September 1985 for $1 each and 1,000 units on 1 July 1996 for $2 each. On 1 March 1997, the unit trust made a one-for-one bonus unit issue to all unit holders. Sarah received 2,000 new units. She did not include any amount in her assessable income as a result.
The 1,000 new units issued for the original units she acquired on 1 September 1985 are also treated as having been acquired on that date and are therefore not subject to CGT.
However, the 1,000 new units issued for the original units she acquired on 1 July 1996 are subject to CGT. Their cost base is worked out by spreading the cost of the original units ($2,000) acquired on that date over both the original units and the bonus units. Each of the units therefore has a cost base of $1.
End of exampleBonus units issued where an amount is included in assessable income
If you include any amount in your assessable income as a result of the issue of bonus units, their acquisition date is the date they were issued, regardless of when you acquired the original units.
The cost base and reduced cost base of the bonus units is the amount included in your assessable income as a result of the issue of those units, plus any calls you made if they were only partly paid.
If the bonus units were issued before 20 September 1985, any capital gain or capital loss is disregarded, as they are pre-CGT assets.