HMRC has released updated guidance for the Trusts Registration Service (TRS), revising when trustees need to disclose the identities of beneficiaries to the revenue authority.
Under the revised guidance, in cases where a beneficiary is unnamed and part of a class of beneficiaries, trustees will be required to disclose the identities of a beneficiary only when the beneficiary receives a benefit – financial or non-financial – from the trust. In addition, in cases where named individuals will only become potential beneficiaries contingent on another event (e.g. the death of a named beneficiary), the individual can remain listed as a class of beneficiaries, until the event occurs, at which point they should be named.
CIOT and ATT welcomed the decision and said that the change should “reduce the volume of information trustees and their agents need to gather on reportable trusts”.
CIOT and ATT said that they were continuing to lobby for additional time for trustees and agents to comply with the TRS requirements following concerns raised by members.
The TRS will enable trusts and complex estates to comply with registration regulations and receive their self-assessment unique tax payer reference through one online route. The service will replace the current paper form (41G (Trust)). HMRC said in the guidance that the current system requires trusts to register with HMRC on an “ad hoc” basis.
The TRS has been introduced in response to increasing demands for transparency following the EU Money Laundering regulations.