TSEM6273 - Legal background to trusts and estates: charitable trust

To be regarded as a charity, a trust must have ‘charitable purposes’ that help the public, this is known as being ‘for public benefit’.

There is a list of ‘charitable purposes’ at, https://www.gov.uk/setting-up-charity/charitable-purposes

The Taxes Acts set out 4 conditions for ‘a body of persons or trust’ to be a charity for tax purposes. These are that the organisation:

• is established for charitable purposes only
• meets the jurisdiction condition
• meets the registration condition
• meets the management condition

For a trust with charitable purposes to be able to take advantage of the charitable tax exemptions, the trustees must register online and submit supporting documents for HMRC to decide whether it satisfies all the conditions in the Taxes Act-see Applications for recognition as a charity for tax purposes

The main statutory exemptions from tax for the income of charitable trusts are contained in sections 521 to 536 Income Tax Act 2007. These exemptions relate to all charitable tax exemptions and are subject to the condition that Trust’s income is applied to charitable purposes.

Charitable trusts are not subject to the usual rules of perpetuity (TSEM6240). They do not fail for uncertainty of object. There are special rules for their regulation, variation and enforcement.