Article by Phil
The deadline for registration with the Trustee Registration Service (TRS) is looming, the cut-off date to register Inheritance Tax Planning Trusts is 1st September 2022.
After that date HMRC will be able to impose fines for failure to register. There may also be more serious consequences if investment companies stop investments from non-registered trusts.
The requirement to register trusts has arisen from changes to the money laundering directives and affects everyone. However, it seems that the message is not getting through.
Although the number of Inheritance Tax Planning Trusts registrations has increased to over 60,000 in the first six months of the year it is estimated that there may be up to one million trusts in existence. With only 220,000 Trusts currently registered with the TRS, that’s almost 800,000 to go. Many of these Trusts will have been set up many years ago and the Trustees have probably not heard about the requirement to register. There has been little in the way of a major publicity campaign from either the TS or HMRC. It’s likely that only those Trustees with a relation with an Independent Financial Adviser or Wealth Management Advisor who would know about the need to register their Inheritance Tax Planning Trusts.
It’s not clear how HMRC are going to approach the registration issue. The new rules allow 90 days for registration. But if you don’t know about it, then t might be some way down the line before any implications come to light.
If you know someone who has an Inheritance Tax Planning Trust, it is probably worth mentioning the requirement to them.
If you need any help with registration, you can give us a call.
