The new online trusts register – what do trustees need to do?

Lead trustees and personal representatives should be able to register and update their trust details this month. Agents should be able to use the service by October this year.

I’m a trustee – what do I need to do?

• All new trusts with a UK tax consequence must be registered online by the trustees.
• Trustees will need to make sure the Trust Register is accurate and up to date for trusts that have already registered with HMRC (using the old paper forms).
• Trustees will need to update the register each year that the trust generates a UK tax consequence.

Can my tax and trusts solicitor help?

Initially, only lead trustees and personal representatives will be able to use this service to register and update HMRC with their trust information. Those clients that use our trust corporation, Withy King Trustees Limited, as a professional trustee for their trusts already benefit from our team taking the lead on this.

From the Autumn, the registry service is being expanded so that our tax and trusts specialists will be able to carry out these requirements for all our clients. In the meantime we are very happy to take you through what you need to do.

Withy King Trustees Limited (WKTL)

The responsibilities of a trustee are significant and are steadily becoming more onerous. Many of our clients have elected to have a professional trustee to make sure their trust is compliant with any new regulations and run responsibly. We offer a professional trustee service through our trust corporation, WKTL.

Not only does WKTL provide greater continuity for the trust, because there is no risk of an individual trustee retiring or dying, having a corporate trustee also relieves individuals from the numerous burdens of being a trustee. The online trusts register is the latest in a number of moves to put heavy disclosure obligations on trustees, where non-compliance can lead to unintended adverse consequences.