u/Abject-Presence4689

Hi all

I have a bit of a question about EPA and if any money held under it effects any income/asset tests for either myself or my brother

• My brother owns a unit left to him through inheritance when my father passed, with the intention that one day it would be sold and developed
• I have EPA for my brother as he cannot manage himself financially at all
• He is on a disability pension and I receive his payments as EPA currently where it doesn't reflect as income as it is a government benefit I receive on his behalf (I allocate money into his sub accounts for bills then direct transfer the remainder).
• Developers are finally poking around and the prices being mentioned indicate he will have enough to buy another unit and about another 200K leftover
• We have discussed and agree in the event there is residual, I would hold it for future spending and also to pay body corp fees directly from that account annually
• I understand as EPA i can derive no benefit so it is going into a non-interest accruing account
• He does not want to invest or anything like that as the regular known amount of disability pension he gets fortnightly is comforting

So question is, for all legal purposes the money is still considered his but being held by me? Therefore the ATO wouldn't consider it my income, but obviously centerlink could consider it against their needs as his income. Also if we did put it in an interest accruing account, the interest would be his for centerlink/tax purposes and not mine (yet i have no idea how that plays out tax return time).

Thanks