TRSM32030 - Registration: contents: information required: contents: trustee details

The trustees are the persons who hold the property in the trust for the benefit of the beneficiaries and are responsible for the administration of the trust.

When a trust has multiple trustees then the trustees must nominate one of the trustees to act as the lead trustee. That trustee is then responsible for the administrative duties in relation to the tax affairs of the trust and is the main contact point that HMRC will use.

Each trust needs to be registered with details of a lead trustee. If the trust only has one trustee, then that trustee must be registered as the lead trustee.

For all trusts registering on the Trust Registration Service (TRS), the information required at registration relating to each trustee is as follows:

Trustees that are individuals:

  • Full name

  • Date of birth

  • Contact details (Lead trustee only)
    • Address, email address and telephone number

  • Country of nationality
    • This is the country of which the individual is a national. In most cases, this is where the individual was born and where their passport is issued.
    • Some individuals may have dual nationality. If so, selecting either country of nationality is acceptable. However, if one of the countries of nationality is the UK, trustees must select the UK and not the other country.

  • Country of residence 
    • This is usually the country where the individual lives and works most of the time during the tax year. If there is any doubt, trustees can check whether an individual is UK resident through the Statutory Residence Test (SRT).
    • For more complicated cases where the residency of the individual changes between tax years, HMRC will expect TRS to be updated with that change once the position for that tax year has been established as part of that individual’s ongoing tax obligations.
    • Some individuals may have more than one country of residence, as defined by the laws of each of those countries. If so, selecting any country of residence is acceptable. However, if one of the countries of residence is the UK, trustees must select UK and not any other country.
  • National Insurance number (lead trustee only)
    • If the lead trustee does not have a National Insurance number, passport or ID card details are required to verify the identity of the lead trustee.

  • Mental capacity
    • An individual does not have mental capacity if they cannot understand, retain use or weigh information to make decisions about their role in the trust because of an impairment or disturbance in the functioning of their mind, such as they have a mental illness, learning disability, dementia, acquired brain injury, or they cannot communicate. See TRSM32100 for further information on mental capacity.

Trustees that are businesses or organisations (for example, charities):

  • Business/organisation name
  • Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR)
    • If the business is registered in the UK and has a UTR

  • Contact details (lead trustee only)
    • Address, email address and telephone number

  • Country of residence
    • This is where the business is registered or incorporated. A company is treated as having UK residency for TRS purposes if it registered with Companies House. For other businesses or organisations, select the country where the principal or main office is located.