HMRC has launched a new Trusts Registration Service (TRS), so that trustees can register their trust online and provide information on the beneficial owners of the trust. The new service launched in early July for trustees and replaces the 41G (Trust) paper form, which was withdrawn at the end of April.
Under existing self-assessment rules, the trustees (or their agents) must register details of a trust with HMRC by 5 October of the year after a liability to Income Tax or Capital Gains Tax (CGT) first arises. The registration process, which will need completing via TRS, will include providing information about the beneficial owners of the trust. In subsequent years, or where the trust is already registered for self-assessment, the trustees (or their agent) of either a UK or non-UK (express) trust that incur a UK tax liability are required to provide beneficial ownership information about the trust, using the TRS, by 31 January after the end of the tax year.
Key dates
| April 2017 | Form CT41G withdrawn. New trusts and complex estates must register via the TRS |
| June 2017 | TRS opened for trusts not represented by an agent |
| 5 October 2017 | Deadline for registering a new trust for self-assessment for 2016/17 |
| 5 January 2018 | Extended deadline for new trust registrations for 2016/17 |
| 31 January 2018 | Deadline for providing information about the beneficial owners of the trust |
In this first year of TRS, to allow sufficient time to complete the registration of a trust for self-assessment and provide beneficial ownership information there will be no penalty imposed where registration is completed after 5 October but before 5 January 2018.
The new service will provide a single online service for trusts to comply with their registration obligations, will improve the processes around the administration of trusts, and allow HMRC to collect, hold and retrieve up to date information in a central electronic register.
This content is published on www.gov.uk/hmrc-trusts-&-estates-newsletter