TSEM1402 | Introduction to trusts/introduction to trusts: new trusts/Trusts Registration Service

The Trusts Registration Service (TRS) provides a single point of access for trustees and their agents to register and update trust records online, replacing form 41G(Trust), which was decommissioned on 30 April 2017.

The service provides a single online route for trusts to comply with their tax obligations as well as implement the requirements of the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017.

At first set up in 2017, trustees were required to register on TRS if the trust was liable to pay any of the following taxes: income tax, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, Stamp Duty Land Tax(Buildings Transaction Tax in Scotland) or Stamp Duty Reserve Tax.

New rules introduced on 6 October 2020 extend the scope of the trust register to UK and some non-UK trusts, with some specific exclusions, regardless of whether or not the trust is liable to pay any tax.

Though estates are not themselves subject to registration under the Money Laundering Regulations, some estates also need to register if the personal representatives need to complete a Self Assessment Trust & Estate tax return, because TRS is the mechanism for estates to acquire a unique taxpayers reference (UTR).

See the Trust Registration Service manual TRSM10000 for further information on trustees obligations towards TRS.