Trust Registration Service

The following information relates primarily to trusts used to hold investment bonds. Most trusts related to protection products, for example those in our Group insurance policies, will not need to register. 

HMRC's Trust Registration Service has changed - have you registered your trust?

 

What is the Trust Registration Service?

The Trust Registration Service (TRS) is a register of the beneficial ownership of trusts. It was set up in 2017, requiring trustees to register if their trust was liable to pay the following taxes: income tax, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, Stamp Duty Land Tax (Land and Buildings Transaction Tax in Scotland) or Stamp Duty Reserve Tax.

Further legislation came into force, requiring the majority of UK resident non-taxable trusts in existence on or after 6 October 2020 to be registered by the trustees on the HMRC Trust Registration Service.

Trusts created from the 1 September 2022 must register within 90 days.

We (along with all the other investment providers) have a requirement to collect evidence of the trust’s registration on TRS and check the beneficial ownership information on the trust record matches our own records.  Where we find material discrepancies between the two or come across cases which have not been registered on TRS, we have an obligation to report these to HMRC.

 

The regulations are changing

From 1 April 2023, we will have to collect details of the Unique Reference number (URN) of the trust, together with evidence of the TRS trust record of beneficial ownership and record it on the policy record for both new business and existing business set up before 1 September 2022.

We aim to do this whenever an “event” occurs in the Trust or on the policy, such as a change of trustee, appointment of or to a beneficiary, a deferral request, withdrawal or surrender request. If the evidence of registration is sent to us with any request, this will help prevent any delays.  

We’ll be regularly updating this page with further advice provided by HMRC.

 

What information do HMRC require?

As a trustee, you’ll need to provide HMRC with the details of:

  • The trust
  • Settlor
  • Trustees
  • Beneficiaries
  • Any individual who has control over the trust, in some instances referred to as protectors.

You can find out more and register your trust here.

Information hub 

Here you can find important information and documents relating to changes to the Trust registration Service. This section will be regularly updated as we receive more information from HMRC.

TRS guide

We've produced a helpful step-by-step guide with a supporting example to help you register your Trust

Read now

TRS Bulletin

This Technical Bulletin will detail the key requirements of the Trust Registration Services in the UK & Ireland and the impact of the 5th Anti-Money Laundering Directive (5AMLD)

Read now

TRS Webinar

Watch the latest webinar with our technical expert Chris Kneen, explaining the change to TRS on 1 April.

Watch now

FAQs

What if I have a Canada Life International Assurance (Ireland) DAC (CLIAI) policy?

Where a policy is issued in trust from CLIAI, there is dual registration requirement to not only register the trust with TRS but also the Central Register of Beneficial Ownership of Trusts (CRBOT).  

However, for most advisers and trustees it is not currently possible to register trusts on the Irish Revenue website, as the Revenue are not issuing unique identification numbers (known as TAINs) to applicants who are non-Irish residents.  

The Irish Revenue are working to simplify the CRBOT registration process for non-Irish residents, and in the meantime penalties will not be levied for trustees who don’t complete a CRBOT registration.

 

Where can I find further information on CRBOT?

For further information you can visit the CRBOT website https://www.revenue.ie/en/crbot/index.aspx 

 

TRS information request

To be kept up to date with any changes to the Trust Registration Service or new information relating to registering your trust, please complete the form below:

Next steps

Trustee duties and TRS

View our on-demand webinar

Webinar

Trust Register and Trustees’ Obligations

Find out more below

Briefing Note