In this IIL financial services webinar, Barbara Gardener and Niki Patel talk about the challenge that is the extension of the HMRC Trust Registration Service (TRS) to almost all trusts, regardless of any tax liabilities, especially the trusts holding life insurance investment bonds, which until now had little contact with HMRC.
Money Laundering Regulations 2017 as amended in 2020 and 2022 now require almost all express trusts, unless they are specifically excluded, to register with HMRC using its online TRS. The deadline for existing trusts is 1 September 2022 and new trusts from 4 June 2022 will have 90 days to register.
Although it is the responsibility of the trustees to register, professional advisers are expected to assist with this task. It is therefore important to know which trusts have to register and how it is done. Given that investment bonds are frequently marketed as IHT plans involving trusts, life offices have found themselves having to explain the TRS rules to their clients. In addition, from 1 September 2022, trustees of trusts which are required to register will not be able to enter into business relationships unless their trust is registered and checking this will be another part of due diligence.