create a written family loan agreement and track every repayment in minutes<\/a> with Chipkie, so the balance is never in doubt. For anything involving a company, a self-managed super fund, or a deposit for a regulated home loan, speak to a licensed adviser or solicitor before the money moves.<\/p>\nDisclaimer:<\/strong> The information provided in this article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or tax advice. Australian laws and lending criteria vary by state and territory and may change. Always consult a licensed financial adviser, solicitor, or conveyancer before entering into any financial arrangement or property purchase with another party.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Keep family lending clear with a family loan tracker: what to record, how to log repayments, and why it matters for deposits and lenders. See how.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3525,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_chipkie_hreflang":"[{\"hreflang\":\"en-AU\",\"href\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chipkie.com\\\/au\\\/?p=3526\"},{\"hreflang\":\"en-GB\",\"href\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chipkie.com\\\/uk\\\/?p=3753\"},{\"hreflang\":\"en-US\",\"href\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chipkie.com\\\/?p=3998\"},{\"hreflang\":\"x-default\",\"href\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chipkie.com\\\/au\\\/?p=3526\"}]","_yoast_wpseo_focuskw":"family loan tracker","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Keep family lending clear with a family loan tracker: what to record, how to log repayments, and why it matters for deposits and lenders. See how.","_yoast_wpseo_title":"Family Loan Tracker: How to Record Loans in 2026 - Chipkie","_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"family loan tracker","_seopress_titles_desc":"Keep family lending clear with a family loan tracker: what to record, how to log repayments, and why it matters for deposits and lenders. See how.","_seopress_titles_title":"Family Loan Tracker: How to Record Loans in 2026 - Chipkie","rank_math_focus_keyword":"family loan tracker","rank_math_description":"Keep family lending clear with a family loan tracker: what to record, how to log repayments, and why it matters for deposits and lenders. See how.","rank_math_title":"Family Loan Tracker: How to Record Loans in 2026 - Chipkie","_chipkie_jsonld":"{\n \"@context\": \"https:\/\/schema.org\",\n \"@graph\": [\n {\n \"@type\": \"Article\",\n \"@id\": \"https:\/\/chipkie.com\/au\/?p=3526#article\",\n \"headline\": \"Family Loan Tracker: How to Record Loans in 2026\",\n \"description\": \"Keep family lending clear with a family loan tracker: what to record, how to log repayments, and why it matters for deposits and lenders. See how.\",\n \"keywords\": \"family loan tracker\",\n \"inLanguage\": \"en-AU\",\n \"url\": \"https:\/\/chipkie.com\/au\/?p=3526\",\n \"image\": \"https:\/\/chipkie.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2026\/10\/family-loan-tracker.jpg\",\n \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n \"@id\": \"https:\/\/chipkie.com\/au\/?p=3526\"\n },\n \"wordCount\": 1820,\n \"datePublished\": \"2026-10-03T06:28:44+00:00\",\n \"dateModified\": \"2026-10-03T06:28:44+00:00\",\n \"author\": {\n \"@type\": \"Person\",\n \"name\": \"The Chipkie Team\",\n \"jobTitle\": \"Personal Finance Editorial Team\",\n \"url\": \"https:\/\/chipkie.com\/about\",\n \"worksFor\": {\n \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n \"name\": \"Chipkie\",\n \"url\": \"https:\/\/chipkie.com\"\n }\n },\n \"publisher\": {\n \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n \"@id\": \"https:\/\/chipkie.com#organization\",\n \"name\": \"Chipkie\",\n \"url\": \"https:\/\/chipkie.com\",\n \"logo\": {\n \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n \"url\": \"https:\/\/chipkie.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/chipkie-logo.png\"\n }\n }\n },\n {\n \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n \"itemListElement\": [\n {\n \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n \"position\": 1,\n \"name\": \"Home\",\n \"item\": \"https:\/\/chipkie.com\/au\/\"\n },\n {\n \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n \"position\": 2,\n \"name\": \"Family Loan Tracker: How to Record Loans in 2026\",\n \"item\": \"https:\/\/chipkie.com\/au\/?p=3526\"\n }\n ]\n },\n {\n \"@type\": \"FAQPage\",\n \"mainEntity\": [\n {\n \"@type\": \"Question\",\n \"name\": \"Key Takeaways\\n\\nAustralia has no gift tax and no inheritance tax, so the main risks in family lending are evidentiary, Centrelink-related and lender-related \u2014 not a tax bill on the transfer itself.\\nA loan is only a loan if you can prove it: a written agreement plus an ongoing ledger of advances and repayments is the evidence that survives a dispute, a divorce or a death.\\nFor Age Pension recipients, gifting is limited to $10,000 per financial year and $30,000 over five financial years before the excess is treated as a deprived asset for five years \u2014 a social security rule, not a tax rule.\\nIf family money is going toward a home deposit, lenders treat a repayable loan very differently from a gift, and signing a gift letter or statutory declaration for money you intend to repay is fraud.\\nEvery state and territory has a limitation period after which an unenforced debt can no longer be pursued through the courts \u2014 a tracker with dated acknowledgements helps protect the lender's position.\\n\\n\\nWhat is a family loan tracker and why does it matter in 2026?\",\n \"acceptedAnswer\": {\n \"@type\": \"Answer\",\n \"text\": \"A family loan tracker is a running record of money lent between family members: the principal advanced, the dates, any interest agreed, each repayment received, and the balance outstanding. It converts a vague family understanding into documented evidence. Combined with a signed agreement, it is what turns \\\"we helped them out\\\" into an enforceable, provable debt.\"\n }\n },\n {\n \"@type\": \"Question\",\n \"name\": \"What should a family loan record actually contain?\",\n \"acceptedAnswer\": {\n \"@type\": \"Answer\",\n \"text\": \"At minimum, record the parties, the total facility, each advance with its date and amount, the interest rate (including zero), the repayment schedule, each repayment received, and the running balance. Pair this with a signed agreement covering default, hardship, early repayment and what happens if the lender dies before the loan is repaid.\"\n }\n },\n {\n \"@type\": \"Question\",\n \"name\": \"How does a documented family loan affect Centrelink, tax and lenders?\",\n \"acceptedAnswer\": {\n \"@type\": \"Answer\",\n \"text\": \"A properly documented loan remains an asset of the lender and is assessed by Centrelink as such. An undocumented transfer looks like a gift, and gifting is capped at $10,000 per financial year and $30,000 across five financial years before the excess is treated as a deprived asset for five years. Interest earned is assessable income; the capital itself is not taxed.\"\n }\n },\n {\n \"@type\": \"Question\",\n \"name\": \"What if the money is going toward a home deposit?\",\n \"acceptedAnswer\": {\n \"@type\": \"Answer\",\n \"text\": \"This is where the stakes rise sharply. Australian lenders require a gift letter or statutory declaration confirming gifted deposit funds are non-repayable, and they typically want the money seasoned in the borrower's account as genuine savings. A family loan that is repayable must be disclosed and will normally be assessed as a liability.\"\n }\n },\n {\n \"@type\": \"Question\",\n \"name\": \"How do you set up a family loan tracker step by step?\",\n \"acceptedAnswer\": {\n \"@type\": \"Answer\",\n \"text\": \"Start with a written agreement, then open a dedicated record and update it at every transaction. Keep the loan funds moving through traceable bank transfers with clear references, confirm the balance in writing at least annually, and store the agreement, ledger and correspondence together where an executor could find them.\"\n }\n },\n {\n \"@type\": \"Question\",\n \"name\": \"What else do families most often ask?\",\n \"acceptedAnswer\": {\n \"@type\": \"Answer\",\n \"text\": \"The questions below come up in almost every family lending conversation: whether interest is compulsory, how the loan affects a bank application, what happens when the lender dies, and how Centrelink views the arrangement.\"\n }\n },\n {\n \"@type\": \"Question\",\n \"name\": \"Do we have to charge interest on a family loan?\",\n \"acceptedAnswer\": {\n \"@type\": \"Answer\",\n \"text\": \"No. Interest-free family loans are perfectly legal in Australia, and there is no minimum rate you must apply \u2014 Australia has no equivalent of the US Applicable Federal Rate. Just state the rate expressly, including zero, so there is no later argument that interest was implied or owing.\"\n }\n },\n {\n \"@type\": \"Question\",\n \"name\": \"Will a family loan reduce my child's borrowing capacity?\",\n \"acceptedAnswer\": {\n \"@type\": \"Answer\",\n \"text\": \"Yes. Once disclosed, a repayable family loan is assessed as a liability and its repayments are included in the lender's servicing calculation. That reduces the maximum a bank will advance. Concealing it to improve servicing is loan application fraud and can void the mortgage.\"\n }\n },\n {\n \"@type\": \"Question\",\n \"name\": \"What happens to the loan if the lender dies?\",\n \"acceptedAnswer\": {\n \"@type\": \"Answer\",\n \"text\": \"Unless the agreement or will says otherwise, the outstanding balance becomes an asset of the deceased estate, and the executor is obliged to collect it. Saying explicitly in both the agreement and the will whether the debt is forgiven or offset avoids painful disputes between siblings.\"\n }\n },\n {\n \"@type\": \"Question\",\n \"name\": \"Can Centrelink treat our loan as a gift anyway?\",\n \"acceptedAnswer\": {\n \"@type\": \"Answer\",\n \"text\": \"It can, if the arrangement lacks substance \u2014 no documentation, no repayments ever made, no realistic prospect of recovery. A signed agreement backed by an updated ledger showing actual repayments is the strongest evidence the money remains a recoverable asset rather than a deprived one.\"\n }\n },\n {\n \"@type\": \"Question\",\n \"name\": \"Where should you go from here?\",\n \"acceptedAnswer\": {\n \"@type\": \"Answer\",\n \"text\": \"A family loan tracker is only as good as the agreement sitting behind it. Get the terms down in writing first \u2014 amount, interest, repayments, security, what happens on death or default \u2014 then keep the ledger current. That combination protects the lender's capital, the borrower's credibility with their bank, and the relationship between them.\"\n }\n }\n ]\n }\n ]\n}","footnotes":""},"categories":[6,33],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3526","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-money-relationships"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chipkie.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3526","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chipkie.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chipkie.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chipkie.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chipkie.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3526"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/chipkie.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3526\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3527,"href":"https:\/\/chipkie.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3526\/revisions\/3527"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chipkie.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3525"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chipkie.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3526"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chipkie.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3526"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chipkie.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3526"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}