Trust Registration Service – Important information for all Trustees

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From October 2020 HM Revenue & Customs extended the requirement for all eligible Trusts to be registered with their Trust Registration Service (TRS).

The TRS is a register which contains the details of the beneficial ownership of Trusts. The TRS will hold details of Trusts whether the Trust is liable to pay tax or not.

If you are a Trustee of an Existing Trust then you need to be aware of these new rules as they may be applicable to your Trust.

Trust Registration Service

What do the new rules say?

These new rules now require the majority of all new and existing UK Express Trusts and some Non-UK Express Trusts to be registered with TRS by 1 September 2022.

Any Trusts which have been in existence on or after 6 October 2020 are required to be registered, even if the Trust has already come to an end before the 1 September 2022 deadline.

Please be mindful that if the Trustees fail to register the Trust they can be at risk of financial penalties imposed by HM Revenue & Customs.

What about Trusts created after 1 September 2022?

The Trustees of any new eligible Trusts which are set up from 1 September 2022 must register them with the TRS within 90 days from the date of their creation.

If there are any changes made to any registered Trust (for example – changes of Trustees or the end of the Trust) then these changes must be registered within 90 days of the date the changes were made.

Does my Trust need to be registered?

The Trust Registration service has set out the types of Trusts which need to be registered and some examples are as follows:

– Any Trusts in a Will must be registered if the Trust continues for more than 2 years after the date of death, these include:

A Property Right to Reside Trust
A Life Interest Trust of a Property or any other Asset
A Discretionary Trust

– A Trust of a Property (set up by way of a Declaration of Trust) where the legal ownership is different to the beneficial ownership

The full list of Trusts which are required to be registered with the TRS can be found here.

Which Trusts are excluded from registration with the TRS?

The TRS has set out details of the types of Trusts which are excluded from the requirement to register – some examples are below:

Trusts for pension schemes
Charitable Trusts
Personal Injury Trusts
Trusts in Wills which are wound up within two years of the date of death
Existing “Pilot” Trusts with a value of less than £100 created prior to 6 October 2020

The full list of the types of Trusts which are not required to be registered with the TRS can be found here on GOV.UK.

Who is responsible for registering the Trust?

The Trustees are legally responsible for the registration of a Trust. The Trustees can appoint an agent (an accountant for example) to assist with the registration of the Trust on their behalf.

If you are a Trustee of a new or existing Trust and have any doubts as to whether your Trust needs to be registered with the TRS, then please contact us.

We can assist even if we have not prepared the Will or the Trust document which the Trust refers to. We can provide any additional advice with regard to your role as a Trustee.