Support with registering a trust with HMRC
Trustee Support Services Limited was established to assist trustees with registering their trusts on HMRC’s Trust Registration Service (TRS). Following the introduction of new rules, effective from 1 September 2021, most trusts are now required to register on the TRS. Existing trusts had a deadline of 1 September 2022 to be registered and any new trusts created after 4 June 2022 have 90 days from the date of the trust’s creation to be registered on the TRS.
Trustees of trusts who have failed to register their trusts by the relevant deadline should still consider registering their trusts sooner rather than later. From 1 September 2022, trustees will be asked to provide proof of the trust’s registration on the TRS (or its exemption from registration) when establishing a new business relationship with an ‘obliged entity’ (also known as a UK relevant person). Obliged entities include financial institutions, such as banks, building societies, insurance companies and investment providers, and other intermediaries, such as solicitors, accountants, tax advisers and estate agents.
Many obliged entities are also likely to require proof of the trust’s registration (or exemption, if appropriate) on the TRS from trustees with whom they have an existing business relationship. Trustees who are unable to provide such proof may then find that they are unable to administer the trust or undertake transactions until the trust has been registered. Any such periods of limbo could disadvantage the trust’s beneficiaries who could then, potentially, take action against the trustees for failing to meet their duties and responsibilities and to administer the trust properly. If trustees were to refuse to register a trust requiring registration, the obliged entity is obliged to inform HMRC of the existence of the trust.
We have written a blog that discusses the implications if trusts have not been registered and the actions that trustees should consider taking now.
At some stage in the future, HMRC will start enforcement action against trustees who have either failed to register their trust or, where they have registered it, failed to ensure that the registered details remain accurate and are kept up to date. If trustees are found to have failed in their duties, they could be subject to penalties from HMRC. It is important to remember that any penalties are levied against the trustees personally and not the trust, so such trustees are personally liable to pay the penalty. Further details on the penalties that can be applied are detailed here.
Many trustees may not find the registration process straightforward – we are here to help. We are happy to work directly with trustees or in conjunction with their current advisers.
Our site contains further information on the TRS and options for registering trusts, as well as other useful information for trustees covering the general day-to-day administration of a trust.
Trustees may find the TRS registration process complex, time-consuming and daunting; we have designed our Trustee Questionnaire to simplify the provision of the required information by trustees and we will then register the trust on their behalf. We are also available to provide bespoke, and other, consultancy services to trustees and their advisers, if required.
Trustee Support Services
Nick Edwards and John Woolley, who established Trustee Support Services, have over 80 years of combined experience in financial services and both have dealt with trusts and financial planning for many years. John is also the co-author of Financial Planning with Trusts, which is updated annually. Nick and John also run their own consultancy businesses, Consultniks Limited and Wooltech Limited.