TRSM32010 - Registration: contents: information required: contents: introduction

TRSM20000 sets out which trusts are required to register on the Trust Registration Service (TRS).

For all trusts required to register, the trustees need to provide certain information on the trust, as listed in the following pages. In addition to information on the trust itself, the trustees need to provide information on the persons involved in the trust.

The persons involved in a trust are the:

  • settlor
  • trustees
  • beneficiaries
  • any individual who has control over the trust, in some instances referred to as protectors (this is less common).

The settlor sets up the trust and provides property for the trust. The trustees hold the trust property in their name for the benefit of the beneficiaries. Sometimes, the trust deed provides for other persons to be associated with the trust, such as a protector who may be given the power to remove and appoint trustees.

These persons may be individuals or legal persons such as companies. Together, they are known as the “beneficial owners” of the trust.

All trusts registering on TRS must provide information on the trust and the beneficial owners of the trust, as listed in the following pages.

In addition, trustees of trusts which have a liability to UK taxation must provide extra information as specified at TRSM32080.

Practicalities of gathering the required information

In certain situations (for example if a trust was settled many years ago) it may prove difficult for trustees to obtain all the required information for all beneficial owners at the point of registration on TRS. HMRC would expect trustees to undertake all reasonable efforts to obtain the required information. Trustees should register the trust on TRS with the information they have obtained and keep a record of the steps they had taken to attempt to obtain any missing information.

Requirement to provide information on previous beneficial owners

TRS is a register of beneficial ownership of trusts and as such should contain information on all beneficial owners of the trust since the time that the trust became liable for registration.

For registrable express trusts that were in existence on or after 6 October 2020 (see TRSM22010), this means that all individuals who have been beneficial owners for any period of time on or after 6 October 2020 should be recorded on TRS at the point of registration. Those individuals who have since ceased to be beneficial owners can be immediately removed from the record. This is to ensure that TRS contains a record of all beneficial owners from the point that the trust became liable for registration.