By Gill Steel, Director of Lawskills
I hardly dare comment on the Trust Registration Service (TRS). Many of you will remember tearing your hair out to register all your existing trusts on the system by the 5 March 2018 deadline.
The TRS was necessary because of the coming into force of The Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing & Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 (4AMLR) on 26 June 2017. In theory, TRS went live on 10 July 2017 but it was not available to professionals acting as agents for the trustees, only for trustees themselves.
Timelines
9 October 2017: Guidance in the form of answers to Frequently Asked Questions were made available by HMRC to STEP and gradually other professional bodies. There is still no guidance on the .gov.uk web site.
17 October 2017: The gates were opened for Agents to access the TRS but in fact Agents could not access the system without an Agent Services Account.
22 November 2017: The guidance was updated to provide some workaround tools for dealing with classes of beneficiaries and deceased settlers but yet still complete a registration. These changes, particularly regarding classes of beneficiaries, has caused unnecessary work for firms which some feel they cannot charge to clients. In one example I have been told over £30,000 of workin-progress is looking as though it will have to be written off.
Difficulties with Agent Services Accounts
It quickly became apparent that agents with no ‘digital footprint’ with HMRC struggled to get an Agent Services Account set up. Obviously, accountants used to filing clients’ tax returns on line already did have a digital footprint but solicitors who had not previously filed online had to create a new Government Gateway account first in order to register for an Agent Services Account.
HMRC announced on 20 December 2017 that where new trusts needed to be registered by 5 January 2018 they would accept a paper registration and asked practitioners to request (via the trust and estate helpline on 0300 123 1072) a ‘data capture sheet’. Some firms did not receive this in time to submit registrations of new trusts and complex estates by 5 January 2018. On 4 January 2018 HMRC conceded that those who had failed to register online could continue to use the data capture sheet until the matter was resolved.
On 8 January 2018 HMRC said the problem had been resolved and any agent who had previously had problems should try again. The problems still seem to exist if you have never had an agent code before or you have never acted as an agent before. You will still need to use the data capture form which will eventually result in you receiving a Unique Tax Payer’s reference (UTR).
2017/18
The leeway on registration for 2016/17 will not apply. So the still to be finalised penalty regime will apply if you fail to register new trusts & estates by 5 January 2019 and update existing trusts.
Trusts are a muddle
If you need help with any aspects of Trust administration whether it be learning more training for the department in-house or just needing someone who can mentor you as you get to grips with the intricacies of Trusts, just call on LawSkills, we’re specialists in Private Client training and consultancy.
This article was written by Gill Steel, the director of LawSkills and a solicitor of high standing in the legal community. Gill is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) UK Practice Committee and the Association of Taxation Technicians. Her website provides articles and technical 'know-how' dedicated to the Private Client practitioner.
This blog is featured in the Spring Edition of the quarterly news digest, Entitlement. Download your free copy of Entitlement for more informative articles and interesting case studies.
Topics: Entitlement, Legislation, Trusts
