Trust Registration Service: Penalties for Non-Registration Explained

Q: Which trusts have to register with the Trust Registration Service?

Most UK express trusts, trusts deliberately created by a settlor rather than arising by operation of law, must register, along with many non-UK trusts that have UK assets or UK-resident trustees. A trust must generally register within 90 days of being created, or within 30 days of first becoming liable to UK tax, whichever regime applies to its circumstances. Some categories, including certain trusts holding only small life insurance policies or specific pension-related trusts, are excluded, but the default position now is registration is required unless a specific exclusion clearly applies.

Q: What is the penalty for not registering a trust?

HMRC applies a fixed penalty of £5,000 where a trust fails to register or fails to keep its registered details up to date. Because the Trust Registration Service is still a relatively new and unfamiliar obligation for many trustees, HMRC has said it will not automatically apply the penalty where it considers the non-compliance was not deliberate and the trustees correct the position within the timeframe HMRC allows once the failure is identified.

Q: Is there a separate penalty for reporting financial institution trusts?

Yes. Trusts that qualify as Reporting Financial Institutions, or Trustee-Documented Trusts, under the automatic exchange of information (AEOI) rules face a distinct registration requirement, with a £1,000 penalty for late registration and further daily penalties of £300 for each day the failure continues after HMRC has issued a penalty notice, though penalties are not automatic and a reasonable excuse defence is available.

Q: I've just realised my trust should have registered years ago, what should I do?

Register as soon as possible rather than waiting to be found. HMRC's stated approach not to apply the £5,000 penalty for genuinely non-deliberate failures corrected promptly is considerably more likely to apply to a trust that comes forward and registers voluntarily than to one HMRC identifies as unregistered through its own compliance activity. Keep a clear record of when the failure was identified and how quickly it was remedied, since this evidences the absence of deliberate non-compliance HMRC's guidance looks for.

Updated July 2026. Written by Tax Dispute Consultants, specialist ex-HMRC tax investigation team. Read time: 9 minutes.

The Trust Registration Service caught a great many family trusts, and their trustees, by surprise: an obligation created to satisfy international anti-money-laundering requirements now applies to a far wider range of ordinary family and estate-planning trusts than most people expect, many of which have never had to file a tax return or engage with HMRC in any other way.

What the Trust Registration Service actually requires

The Trust Registration Service (TRS) requires most UK express trusts, trusts a settlor has deliberately set up, as opposed to trusts arising automatically by operation of law such as certain statutory trusts, to register with HMRC and provide details of the trust, its trustees, settlor and beneficiaries. The requirement extends beyond trusts with a UK tax liability: since the rules were widened, the great majority of UK express trusts must register on the TRS regardless of whether they generate any taxable income or gains, a significant departure from the old position where only trusts with an actual tax liability needed to engage with HMRC at all. Many non-UK trusts are also caught, where they hold UK assets such as land or property, or have at least one UK-resident trustee.

The registration deadline depends on how the obligation first arises: generally 90 days from the trust being created, or 30 days from the point the trust first becomes liable to pay UK tax, whichever regime governs the specific circumstances. Once registered, trustees must also keep the trust's details up to date, updating the register whenever there is a relevant change, a new trustee, a change of beneficiary, or other material information.

Why so many family trusts were caught unaware: before the rules were widened, plenty of straightforward family trusts, holding a share of a house, a modest investment portfolio for grandchildren, a life interest arrangement, had no tax liability requiring any engagement with HMRC at all, and their trustees, often family members rather than professionals, had no reason to think a registration obligation might apply. The current default is registration unless a specific, narrow exclusion applies, the reverse of the old assumption that no tax liability meant no HMRC involvement.

The £5,000 non-registration penalty

Where a trust fails to register, or fails to keep its registered details current, HMRC can apply a fixed penalty of £5,000. Because the TRS obligation is still relatively new and genuinely unfamiliar to many lay trustees, particularly family members acting as trustees without professional support, HMRC's stated approach is not to apply the penalty automatically where it considers the failure was not deliberate and the trustees correct the position within whatever period HMRC allows once the omission comes to light. This is a materially more forgiving approach than the strict, largely automatic penalty regimes that apply to some other filing obligations, but it depends on HMRC being satisfied the failure was genuinely non-deliberate, not simply on the passage of time or the trustees' good intentions.

The separate AEOI registration penalty

A distinct and separate obligation applies to trusts that qualify as Reporting Financial Institutions or Trustee-Documented Trusts under the automatic exchange of information (AEOI) framework, the international regime (encompassing both the Common Reporting Standard and, for US connections, FATCA) requiring financial account information to be reported across borders. Trusts falling within this category must register separately, and late registration attracts its own penalty structure: an initial £1,000 penalty, with further penalties of £300 for each day the failure continues once HMRC has issued a penalty notice. As with the standard TRS penalty, these are not applied automatically, and a reasonable excuse defence is available, but the daily-accrual structure means a delay in addressing a missed AEOI registration can become expensive considerably faster than the flat TRS penalty.

How this typically plays out

A family sets up a modest discretionary trust years ago to hold a portion of a deceased relative's estate for grandchildren, administered by a lay family member as trustee with no ongoing professional involvement since the initial estate administration concluded. The trust has never generated taxable income requiring a return, and the trustee has genuinely never heard of the Trust Registration Service. On preparing to distribute trust assets as the beneficiaries reach the relevant age, the family's solicitor identifies that the trust should have registered years earlier. Rather than waiting, the trustee registers immediately on discovering the omission, providing a clear account of when and how the gap was identified, and HMRC, applying its stated approach to genuinely non-deliberate, promptly corrected failures, does not impose the £5,000 penalty.

Fixing a missed registration

Where a trust should have registered and has not, the priority is registering promptly once the omission is identified, rather than waiting or hoping the position goes unnoticed. A trust that comes forward and registers voluntarily, before HMRC identifies the gap through its own compliance activity, is in a considerably stronger position to benefit from HMRC's stated tolerance for genuinely non-deliberate, promptly corrected failures than one HMRC finds unregistered of its own accord. Keeping a clear, contemporaneous record of exactly when the failure was identified and how quickly it was remedied supports that position if HMRC does later query the delay.

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Frequently asked questions

Which trusts have to register with the Trust Registration Service?

Most UK express trusts, and many non-UK trusts with UK assets or UK-resident trustees, must register, generally within 90 days of creation or 30 days of first becoming tax-liable. The default is registration required unless a specific exclusion applies.

What is the penalty for not registering a trust?

A fixed £5,000 penalty. HMRC has said it won't automatically apply this where the failure was not deliberate and is corrected promptly once identified.

Is there a separate penalty for reporting financial institution trusts?

Yes. AEOI Reporting Financial Institutions and Trustee-Documented Trusts face a separate £1,000 penalty for late registration, plus £300 per day the failure continues after a penalty notice, subject to a reasonable excuse defence.

I've just realised my trust should have registered years ago, what should I do?

Register immediately rather than waiting. HMRC's tolerance for non-deliberate, promptly corrected failures applies far more readily to voluntary registration than to a gap HMRC identifies itself. Keep a record of when the issue was found and how fast it was fixed.