Private ruling: Assessable income
Date of advice: 2 August 2024
Published: 16 September 2024
Ruling period: Year ended 30 June 2024
Date scheme commenced: 1 July 2023

Ruling: Q1: Is the interest earned from the term deposit account included in your assessable income? | A1: No. Based on the information provided to the Commissioner you are not the beneficial owner of the account and the interest is not assessable to you. The interest is included in the assessable income of Company Z being the beneficial owner of the account.

Relevant facts and circumstances: You are the director and shareholder of Company Z. Company Z holds an amount in cash which was invested in a term deposit. You arranged for the money to be placed into a term deposit online with the bank. The bank mistakenly invested the money under your name rather than Company Z. The funds went directly from Company Z into the term deposit account and from the term deposit account back to Company Z on completion of the term, including interest earned. You were unaware of the bank's mistake. You did not use any of the funds or interest for your personal use.

Relevant legislative provisions: Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 section 6-5