Government trust registers: the UK regime explained

What the register records

The Trust Registration Service, or TRS, records beneficial ownership of trusts. HM Revenue & Customs, or HMRC, describes registration as requiring information about both the trust and the people associated with it.^[2]

In this register, the term "beneficial owners" includes individuals and legal persons, such as companies. HMRC uses the term collectively for the persons involved in the trust, including the settlor, trustees, beneficiaries and certain people with control over it.^[2]

The roles within a trust

The settlor establishes the trust and supplies its property. Trustees hold that property in their own names for the beneficiaries, whose benefit is the purpose of that holding.^[2]

A trust deed can give another person a role alongside those participants. HMRC gives the example of a protector whose powers may include appointing and removing trustees.^[2]

Registration therefore involves information about several roles within the arrangement.

When registration applies

HMRC's general guidance states that most trusts require registration, while recognizing exceptions. It also states that registration can be required even where the trust has no UK tax liability, subject to the exceptions described in that guidance.^[1]

For a non-resident trust, HMRC identifies liability for tax on UK income or UK assets as a registration trigger. The guidance also requires registration where a trust claims tax relief.^[1]

The registration process depends on whether the person registering acts as a trustee or as an agent for a client. HMRC describes registration of a deceased person's estate as a separate process.^[1]

Information provided at registration

Every trust registering on TRS provides information about the trust and its beneficial owners. Trustees of trusts with UK tax liabilities also supply extra information specified by HMRC's manual.^[2]

HMRC acknowledges that obtaining all the required information can be difficult in some situations. Its manual expects reasonable efforts to obtain the information and describes registration using the information obtained, with a record of steps taken to obtain missing details.^[2]

The register's coverage extends to beneficial owners from the point when the trust became liable for registration. HMRC describes this as a record of everyone who has held that status during the relevant period.^[2]

Keeping the record accurate

New registrations and updates generally have a 90-day deadline. The online service permits additions, amendments and deletions to the recorded details.^[3]

Changes submitted through the service have to include all changes to the trust details. The service does not permit a partly completed update to be saved for completion later.^[3]

Asset details cannot be changed through TRS. HMRC directs changes to asset details after the declaration through Self Assessment online or the Trust and Estate Tax Return, form SA900.^[3]

Declarations and changes in tax status

A trust liable to tax for a tax year requires a declaration that the recorded details of associated persons are accurate. That declaration applies even when none of those details has changed.^[3]

For trusts liable to Income Tax or Capital Gains Tax, HMRC also requires confirmation on form SA900 that register details were updated or that no changes occurred. A trust without a tax liability does not require an annual declaration.^[3]

A trust registered as non-taxable requires notification to HMRC if it becomes taxable and needs a Unique Taxpayer Reference. HMRC requests extra information and replaces the original unique reference number with that taxpayer reference.^[3]

Access and proof of registration

A trustee who registered the trust accesses its record using the registration credentials and answers questions about associated people. Those answers have to match the information recorded at registration or at the last update.^[3]

An agent requires authorization before viewing or changing trust details. The service also supplies a downloadable proof of registration PDF showing the trust's registration and its listed beneficial owners.^[3]

Questions and answers

Related pages

• Trust basics
• FATCA and the structure of U.S. reporting rules
• Grantor trust rules in sections 671 to 679
• How income tax treaties are structured
• How the IRS classifies trusts for U.S. tax purposes