If you are a trustee of a trust and the details of the trust have not been reported on HMRC’s Trust Registration Service, you may need to take advice and action before 1 September 2022.
HMRC’s Trust Registration Service (TRS) is a register of the beneficial ownership of trusts.
Previously, only trusts that were liable to pay taxes had to be registered; however, under the new Money Laundering Directive (5MLD), the scope of the type of trusts requiring registration has been expanded. Many more trusts will now need to be registered. For example, where the trust was set up within a Will after a person died, giving someone (maybe the surviving spouse) the right to continue living in the home.
All Trustees now have an obligation to maintain and provide information about the trusts and their beneficiaries to the TRS. There are some exclusions to this rule which may mean that some trusts are not required to be registered, but trustees will have to assess whether or not their trust falls into an excluded category.
The deadline for registering existing trusts is 1 September 2022, and for new trusts, within 90 days of creation. There will also be an obligation that the TRS is continuously maintained and updated with any changes. The deadline for updating the register is within 90 days of the trustees becoming aware of any changes. There may be penalties for failure to register on time or failing to update the register going forward.
In light of the above, if you are a trustee of a trust which is still ‘live’ or of a trust that was established on or after 6 October 2020 but was later terminated, please get in contact with us and we will confirm if the trust is registerable and provide our Fee Proposal Guide for registering and/or maintaining the trust.
For further information, please contact Mary Shaw in our private client team on 01732 770660 or email [email protected]
This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal or professional advice. Please note that the law may have changed since this article was published.