HMRC’s Trust Registration Service (‘TRS’)

IMPORTANT UPDATE – Trustees need to act promptly to avoid financial penalties

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New rules have been introduced as part of the UK’s implementation of the Fifth Money Laundering Directive (5MLD), which extend the scope of the Trust register to all UK and some non-UK trusts, whether or not the Trust has to pay any tax. There are only a few specific exclusions and therefore if you have any form of Trust structure in place then it is really important to check what needs to be registered as such Trusts must be registered by 1st September 2022.

This could include Trusts set up during your lifetime e.g. Family Protection Trusts or Trusts contained in a Will of someone who has already died. 

Where there was a Trust in a Will of someone who has already died the Trust will then have begun and it may need to be registered. These can include, but are not limited to:

• Property Trust giving a right of occupation e.g. where a now deceased spouse or partner has provided to the survivor the right to live in a property for the rest of their life or a life interest where someone is entitled to a right to income. These types of Trusts are sometimes set up for things like care fee protection and remarriage.

• Discretionary Trust or a Flexible Life Interest Trust. These type of Trusts may have been set up to protect certain assets being used to pay for care fees, to ensure certain assets go to your intended beneficiaries if your spouse were to remarry after your death or to protect an inheritance being left to a reckless beneficiary. 

• Trusts which impose age stipulations of beneficiaries, even these may need to be registered. 

• If you were named as an Executor in a Will you are also likely to have been named as a Trustee in their Will too. Here is a helpful information sheet which also includes some useful links to the gov.uk website [INFORMATION SHEET].