Trust registration service: benefits and challenges

The government introduced the trust registration service (TRS) in 2017 under the fourth EU Anti Money Laundering Directive. At that time trustees were required to register if a trust was liable to pay certain taxes: income tax capital gains tax inheritance tax stamp duty land tax (land and buildings transaction tax in Scotland) or stamp duty reserve tax.

The scope of the trust register was extended in October 2020 to include UK and some non-UK trusts whether or not the trust is liable to pay any tax with some specific exclusions. These registrations needed to be made by September 2022.

What the latest figures show

New figures (tinyurl.com/hmrctruststats) released by HMRC show that the total number of trusts registered rose significantly in the tax year to 31 March 2023 while the total number of trusts and estates that have submitted tax returns has continued...