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Who is assessed on interest on bank accounts?

As a general proposition, for income tax purposes, interest income on a bank account is assessable to the account holders in proportion to their beneficial ownership of the money in the account.

The ATO will assume, unless there is evidence to the contrary, that joint account holders beneficially own the money in equal shares.

However, this is a rebuttable presumption, if there is evidence to show that joint account holders hold money in the account on trust for other persons. Examples include:

• Joint Signatory: but no beneficial ownership of account

• Child Savings Account: parents operates as trustee