The Trust Registration Requirement
By 1 September 2022, the EU 5th Anti-Money Laundering Directive (5AML), required virtually all express Trusts, (a trust created deliberately by a settlor, either during lifetime or on death), whether taxable or not, to be registered on the HMRC’s Trust Registration Service, (TRS) and for some on the Irish tax authorities Central Register of Beneficial Ownership of Trusts, (CRBOT), Service. New trusts have 90 days to register from the creation of the trust.
The registration process is not necessarily straightforward, with a number of steps involved to undertake the registration as well as a need to have a familiarity with the trust deed and trust terminology. This can make the process difficult to navigate, time consuming and even daunting. So, while trustees can register the trust themselves, it is also possible and sometimes advisable to delegate this to an agent.
Crusader Trust and Tax Services Ltd can help trustees to understand and meet their registration responsibilities by undertaking the registration on behalf of trustees.
For those trustees holding an Irish based asset registration on the Irish Trust register can also be undertaken.
To enquire about the TRUST REGISTRATION service please complete the Contact form to arrange an initial 45-minute free consultation to discuss your needs.
The service is offered on a Fixed Fee basis.
£350 with no VAT or other charges for registration of one trust on the TRS - subject to completion of the Trustee Questionnaire providing full trust details and a copy of the trust document/s. If a trust also requires registration on the Irish Trust register this would be an additional fee of £175.
As part of these Anti Money Laundering requirements regulated businesses such as financial advisers, accountants, solicitors and investment providers require proof that a trust has been correctly registered. The Proof of Registration document will be checked by the regulated business to the trust records they hold.
This will mean if a copy of the Proof of Registration document, the Obliged Entity Letter, (OEL), cannot be provided or if the copy provided has discrepancies there may be delays in undertaking transactions, this could impact the trust beneficiaries.
The trustees are responsible for ensuring the trust is registered and for keeping the record up to date. If this is not completed on a timely basis this may lead to a report being made to HMRC. HMRC can impose penalties of up to £5,000 on the trustees if the trust is not registered or the record is not up to date. The penalties will be a personal liability of the individual trustee and not the trust.
Further information on the registration requirement, proof of registration provision and checking for regulated businesses and reporting to HMRC and penalties can be found in the HMRC manuals here.