How to Use BDIT Trusts To Reduce Taxes on Carried Interest

Unlock Your Personalized Path To Wealth
Savvy combines advanced technology with real-world financial expertise to help you live the life you’ve always aspired to live.
Unlock Your Personalized Path To Wealth
Savvy combines advanced technology with real-world financial expertise to help you live the life you’ve always aspired to live.
If you're a high net worth individual or professional looking for ways to reduce taxes on your carried interest, one potentially beneficial financial product to look into is the Beneficiary Defective Inheritor’s Trust (BDIT). This financial product takes advantage of tax laws and exemptions to minimize taxes on the trust's total assets and income.
Here's how it works:
Set up the trust
Someone (other than you) can set up a BDIT in a no-tax state like Nevada and fund it with a nominal amount. The trust will be the owner of the assets, while you will be the beneficiary.
Transfer the assets
Next, you would sell your carried interest to the trust at its current fair market valuation (usually around when the fund is formed or before portfolio assets have been marked up significantly). It is common for a BDIT trust to purchase assets with a structured loan from the original owner (the trust will typically pay 10% down).
Eliminate state taxes
When income is realized inside the trust, it only pays federal taxes!
Distribute Trust Assets
As the named beneficiary of the BDIT, you receive distributions when needed.
The Bottom Line
While there are benefits to using BDIT trusts, such as preserving more carry for future generations and providing for beneficiaries in a tax-efficient manner, it's important to seek professional advice before setting one up. Once an asset is transferred into a BDIT trust, its terms cannot be altered without permission from the court.
Savvy is here to help with any questions you may have about BDIT trusts or other financial planning strategies.