The HMRC Trust Registration Service (TRS): Which UK Trusts Must Register and What Trustees Must Record

Historically, trustees only needed to register a trust with HM Revenue & Customs if the trust generated a liability to Income Tax, Capital Gains Tax, Inheritance Tax or Stamp Duty Land Tax. Following the expansion of the UK's anti-money-laundering rules, the scope of the Trust Registration Service (TRS) widened dramatically.

Today, all UK express trusts — arrangements deliberately created by a settlor, whether by lifetime deed or by will — are required to register on the TRS unless they fall into a specific category of 'excluded express trusts' set out in Schedule 3A to the Money Laundering Regulations.

This means a dormant family trust that holds a share in a family home for a surviving spouse under a life-interest arrangement and generates zero taxable income still requires TRS registration once any statutory grace period expires.

For newly created registrable non-taxable trusts, trustees must register the trust on the TRS within 90 days of the trust being created. Where an excluded trust later becomes registrable, the 90-day clock runs from the date it ceases to be excluded.

One of the most important practical exemptions covers trusts created by a will on death. Under Schedule 3A, a non-taxable will trust is excluded from TRS registration for the first two years following the date of the testator's death. If the estate is wound up and all assets are distributed out of the trust within that two-year window without incurring a trust tax liability, registration is not required.

However, if the will trust continues to hold property or investments beyond the second anniversary of death — as is typical with a Property Protection / Life Interest Will Trust or a long-term discretionary family trust — the trustees must register the trust on the TRS within 90 days of that two-year anniversary.

Certain everyday arrangements are excluded from TRS registration unless they become liable to pay UK tax. Key examples include statutory trusts arising automatically under the rules of intestacy; co-ownership trusts of jointly held land where the legal trustees and the beneficial owners are the exact same individuals; UK-registered charitable trusts; trusts for bereaved minors and 18-to-25 trusts under the Inheritance Tax Act 1984; and certain life insurance policies that only pay out on death, terminal illness or critical illness.

To complete TRS registration via a Government Gateway organisation account for the trust, the lead trustee must record the trust's name, creation date, and whether it is an express trust, along with identifying details (full name, date of birth, nationality, country of residence, and National Insurance number for the lead trustee) for the settlor, all trustees, and named beneficiaries (or a description of the class of beneficiaries).

Registration is not a one-off task: if a trustee moves house, a new trustee is appointed, or a beneficiary changes, the lead trustee must update the TRS record within 90 days of becoming aware of the change.