TRSM94020 - How to: contents: Maintain a trust: contents: Changing a trust from taxable to non-taxable
TRSM94020 - How to: contents: Maintain a trust: contents: Changing a trust from taxable to non- taxable
This guidance provides information on how to change a trust from taxable to non-taxable using the Trust Registration Service.
The trustee or agent must notify HMRC if the trust was initially registered as a taxable trust and is no longer taxable. This will mean that they no longer need to submit a tax return and will need to close their taxable registration on the Trust Registration Service and re-register as a non-taxable trust on the Trusts Registration Service.
Trusts that have ceased to be taxable and expected to remain non-taxable must re-register as a non-taxable trust by the 31 January following the year they cease to be taxable.
A trustee must close the taxable trust before re-registering as a non-taxable trust. See TRSM95000 for information on how to close a trust.
A trustee must change a trust from taxable to non-taxable by completing the following
1. Go to /guidance/manage-your-trusts-registration-service
Alternatively, go to www.gov.uk and search āManage your trustās detailsā.
2. Read the guidance on the page about closing a trust.
3. Select the green āStart nowā button to access the āSign in using Government Gatewayā page. The green āStart nowā button can be found in the āUsing the online serviceā section of the guidance near the bottom of the page.
4. Enter the trustās Government Gateway user ID and password and select āSign inā.
5. Confirm if an agent is managing the trustās online register for the trustees by answering āYesā or āNoā and then select āC“DzԳپ±²Ō³Ü±šā.
6. Answer the security questions shown on screen.
7. Check that the information has been entered correctly and select āSubmitā. The trustee will be notified on screen if they have successfully answered the trustās security questions.
8. Read the information on screen and select āStart maintaining this trustā.
9. Confirm if the trustee wants to view the trustās last declaration by answering āYesā or āNoā and select āC“DzԳپ±²Ō³Ü±šā.
10. Select āClose the trust and declareā when asked what the trustee wants to do next, then select
11. Confirm if the trustee knows the date that the last asset in the trust was shared out by answering āYesā or āNoā. It is also called the trust closed date or date of termination. This will be the date given on the final Trust and Estate (SA900) tax return or Self Assessment Online for trusts.
12. Enter the end date for the trust when prompted.
13. The trustee will then be advised on screen that they need to provide the most up to date information about the trust to HMRC. Read the information on screen then select āC“DzԳپ±²Ō³Ü±šā.
14. Confirm if the details about the trust need updating before closing the trust by answering āYesā or āNoā and then select āC“DzԳپ±²Ō³Ü±šā.
The trustee will be presented will options to update if they select āYesā.
15. Complete the declaration and then select āConfirm and sendā
Your taxable trust registration is now completed and closed; you will now need to re-register your trust as a nonātaxable trust with a new government gateway ID.
You can use the steps below for how to register your trust or See TRSM91010 for information on how to register a trust.
Registering a trust as a trustee
A trustee can register a trust online by completing the following steps:
1.ĢżSelect the following link /guidance/register-a-trust-as-a-trustee.
Alternatively, go to and search āRegister a trust as a trusteeā.
2.ĢżRead the guidance on the page. This page includes details on what information is required to register a trust. It may be useful to gather this information before continuing.
3.ĢżSelect the green āRegister nowā button to access
the āSign in using Government Gatewayā page. The green āRegister nowā button
can be found in the āHow to registerā section of the guidance.
4.ĢżSelect āCreate sign in detailsā to set up a new
Government Gateway account for the trust. This link is located below the green
āSign inā button.
5.ĢżFollow the instructions on screen to get a Government Gateway user ID for the trust. The trustee should make a note of the Government Gateway user ID and store it securely. They will be asked to enter the trustās user ID and password each time they sign in to the service.
Before the trustee receives the Government Gateway user ID for the trust they will need to:
- Enter their email address
- Enter a code emailed to them by Government Gateway to confirm their email address
- Enter their full name
-
Create a password
6.ĢżFollow the instructions on screen to set up additional security for the account. An access code will be sent to the trustee each time they sign in to the service.
To set up additional security, the trustee will need to:
- Confirm how they want to receive access codes (for example by text message, voice call)
- Enter a mobile phone number if they have selected to receive access codes by text message. You can add an international phone number by selecting āNoā to the question āAre you entering a UK phone number.ā
-
Enter the 6-digit access code sent from 60551
and select āC“DzԳپ±²Ō³Ü±šā. The code will expire within 15 minutes.
7.ĢżConfirm if the trust has already been registered
online. If the trustee is registering the trust for the first time, they should
select āNoā.
8.ĢżConfirm if the trust already has a Unique
Taxpayer Reference (UTR) by selecting āYesā or āNoā. A UTR is a 10-digit
number. The trustee will be asked to enter the trustās UTR if the trust has
one.
9.ĢżConfirm if an express trust is being registered
by selecting āYesā or āNoā. An express trust is a trust created deliberately by
a settlor, usually in the form of a document such as a written trust deed of
trust. For more information, see TRSM22010.
10.ĢżConfirm
if the trust has any tax liability for the current tax year by selecting āYesā
or āNoā. For more information, see Register a
trust, who should register
11.ĢżConfirm
if the trust has had any UK tax liability in the last four tax years by
selecting āYesā or āNoā.
12.ĢżĢż
Complete each section of the registration. All
questions in each section should be answered to the best of the trusteeās
knowledge. However ,mandatory questions must be updated within 90 days of your
completed registration.
Mandatory questions
The following
information is mandatory and you may receive a penalty if it is missing or out
of date:
- For all people listed on the TRS
- Current first and Last name
- Month and year of birth
- Country of residence
- Nationality
- Trustees
- A correct lead trustee
- The current trustees only ā this must be the same as your trust deed
- Current contact addresses where requested
- Beneficiaries
- The list of beneficiaries as set out in your trust deed
- All relevant classes of beneficiary i.e. all grandchildren of the settlor
- Any organisations listed on TRS
- The organisations name
-
The organisations full address
including country if requested
Example
Jeremy has decided to register his trust, he doesnāt have up to date information for the country of residence of some of the beneficiaries, so he answers NO to the question ādo you know the country of residence?ā. TRS will allow Jeremy to continue with his registration, but he must update this information within 90 days of the completion of the registration.
13.ĢżThe trustee can save the registration to come back to later if they need to gather more information about the trust - see TRSM91030. The data will be stored for 28 days, after which you will need to start the registration process again.
14.ĢżCheck the information entered after completing each section. Select āChangeā to amend details or āSave and continueā if all the details are correct.
15.ĢżThe
registration progress screen will be displayed after completing each section.
This will show the status of all sections of the registration, for example not
started, in progress or completed.
16.ĢżSelect
āContinue to declarationā once all the sections of the registration are
complete. This is a green button at the bottom of the registration progress
page.
17.ĢżThe
trustee should provide their full name before selecting āConfirm and sendā.
18.ĢżPrint or save a declared copy of the trustās registration. Please note this document is not proof of registration.
This document is a summary of the answers provided by the trustee and includes the trustās declaration reference at the top of the first page. The declaration reference is a 15-character reference which is in a similar format to XC TRN 000 000 0000. The trustee may be required to quote the trustās declaration reference if they need to contact HMRC about the registration.
19.ĢżFollow any additional instructions shown on screen. For example, if the trust is non-taxable the trustee will be advised to sign out of the service and sign in again to view the trustās Unique Reference Number.
To view the trustās URN online after registering the trust, the trustee will need to sign out of the service, then sign back in again using the trustās Government Gateway user ID and password.
If an agent has registered the trust on behalf of a trustee, HMRC will send the URN to the lead trustee by post within 15 working days. It may take longer if the lead trusteeās address is outside the UK.
Information for agents
Agents can access the Trust Registration Service (TRS) to register a trust via their agent services account.
To register a trust online an agent will need to:
- be registered as an agent with HMRC
- create an agent services account if they donāt already have one
- access the TRS using their agent services account Government Gateway user ID and password.