Get Ready for the Trust Registration Service
April 26, 2022 - 2 minutes read
Posted by Claire Parker
If you have wealth secured in a non-taxable express Trust, then you need to know about a change in reporting rules which is due to come into effect later this year.
From September 1st, the Trust Registration Service will require anyone who holds an ‘express’ Trust to register and maintain records ongoing.
Unfortunately, only registered agents such as accountants can complete the process on your behalf. If you have an accountant, we will be able to liaise with them or we can support you to complete the registration yourself.
What do you need to do?
By 1 September 2022, all non-taxable ‘express’ Trusts in existence at 20 October 2020 must register unless ‘excluded’. Express Trusts created after 3 June 2022 will have 90 days to register. It’s worth noting that a majority of Trusts are non-taxable as the Trust investment will be in life policies, including investment bonds, which do not produce a natural income.
If you already have a taxable Trust, this should have already been registered.
Taxable Trusts established after 5 April 2021 have until the later of 1 September 2022 or 90 days after first becoming liable for tax in which to register.
There are a few Trusts that don’t need to be registered including protection policies, historic pilot trusts such as those created to accept death benefits from a pension scheme, and Will Trusts.
Who should complete registration?
Trustees are legally responsible for registering and providing details such as the name and date of the Trust, the personal details of the trustees and beneficiaries (names and dates of birth), plus information on any deceased settlors. A lead trustee must also be appointed with their contact details and NI number.
Each named beneficiary must be reported but where this is not possible the class can be reported rather than individual names.
What to do now
The upcoming deadline is a good opportunity to review your trust arrangements to ensure they remain fit for purpose. As family circumstances change over time, it may be that the arrangements for trustees and beneficiaries need to be adjusted before registering. We will be in touch to review your Trust records to ensure you have all the information to hand to complete the registration in good time.
If you were considering winding up the Trust you will still need to complete registration along with additional reporting if the Trust triggers a tax charge.
Once registered, there are ongoing duties with regards to keeping the register up to date.