Trust Registration Service (‘TRS’)

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Please note that this is information only and does not constitute legal advice. If you would like legal advice in relation to your matter, please contact us and we can discuss if we can help. Please see our website policy for more information.

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Introduction

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Since 2017, any trusts which incur a UK mainstream tax liability (e.g. a tax levied on income, capital gains, inheritances, or property transactions) have had to register with HMRC’s Trust Registration Service (TRS).

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The scope of the TRS regime has, however, recently been extended. Now, by no later than 1st September 2022, nearly all trusts will have to be registered on the TRS.

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Trusts that must be registered on the TRS

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For the purposes of the TRS, the definition of ‘trust’ is extremely wide. For example, all “express trusts” will need to be registered (unless they fall within one of the very small number of exclusions).

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For information on the types of trusts that need to be registered on the TRS see: https://www.gov.uk/trusts-taxes/registering-a-trust

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Examples of registerable “express trusts”

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If any of the following apply to you, you may well be a trustee of a trust that should now register the trust with the TRS (even if the trust is non-taxable):

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• If you own property (either alone or jointly) for the benefit of persons other than you and your co-owner(s) (for example if you have signed a “declaration of trust” involving others)

• If you are an executor of an estate where the deceased died more than two years ago, but the estate administration is ongoing

• If you are looking after money or other assets for a minor (perhaps as a parent or grandparent)

• If you are a trustee of a trust where the premium was paid out on the death of the policyholder

• If you are a trustee of a trust which was set up to receive, e.g., a payment(s) from a pension or asset(s) under a Will

• If you are a trustee of a trust created by the Will of the first of a couple to die, even where all assets in the trust were left to (or are otherwise used exclusively by) the surviving spouse and the trustees currently have little or no regular administrative duties

 

The above list is not exhaustive.

 

Please see below under the heading: 'What trustees need to do'.

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Registration deadlines

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Non-taxable trusts

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Registerable non-taxable express trusts that were in existence on or after 6 October 2020 must register within 90 days of becoming registerable, or on or before 1 September 2022 (whichever is later).

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Where a trust is set up or otherwise becomes registerable in the 90 days immediately prior to 1 September 2022 the trust must instead register within 90 days of the date of creation.

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Taxable trusts created on or after 6 April 2021

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Registerable taxable trusts created on or after 6 April 2021 must register within 90 days of the trustees becoming liable to tax, or on or before 1 September 2022 (whichever is later).

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Taxable trusts created before 6 April 2021

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Registerable taxable trusts created before 6 April 2021 are required to register by 31 January (or 5 October in some cases) following the end of the tax year in which the trust had a liability to UK taxation.

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There are also deadlines for reporting any changes to a trust. See here for more information: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/manage-your-trusts-registration-service#deadlines

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What trustees need to do

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If you are a trustee, you should obtain legal advice to check whether or not any trust(s) that you are a trustee of need to be registered with the TRS.

 

If you are unsure as to whether you are a trustee, you should also obtain legal advice to confirm your status in this regard.

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The obligation for registering trusts rests with the trustees. Trustees may be subject to penalties if a trust is not registered by the relevant deadline or if information is not reported or updated on time.

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If you are the trustee of a trust which is subject to registration, you can choose to register the trust yourself using the gov.uk portal (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/register-a-trust-as-a-trustee).

 

We may also, however, be able to assist with trust registration.

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Vermeylen Law – Trust Registration Service

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If you would like to instruct us, please contact us by email at support@vermeylen-law.com or by phone on 0117 251 0175 and we can discuss your requirements and confirm whether we will be able to assist you.

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Please note that we are a small team: even if we can confirm that we can assist you, we cannot guarantee that your trust will be registered before 1st September 2022.

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We appreciate that there may be instances where you are not sure whether a trust must be registered with the TRS. Assuming we are able to advise you in this issue we would need to open a file for you and make an appropriate charge for our time in relation to the advice given. 

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If we do register a trust on your behalf, once the trust has been registered, you can instruct us on an open retainer to deal with trust registration matters going forward. Unless you specifically instruct us otherwise, our retainer will be limited to the initial registration of the trust.

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