Additional registration of trusts for 31 December

If you have trusts - including age 25 trusts for children in wills coming out of executries - you have a 31 December deadline this year to register those trusts on the Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) portal. This is separate and additional to the TRS. 

This previously only applied to trusts with foreign persons connected. It now applies to those with no foreign connections, if the trust is a Financial Institution (FI). For example, a trust making most of its income from an investment portfolio, and it has a discretionary manager or a corporate trustee appointed (e.g. your firm’s trustee company).

Sarah Bell, our Trust Compliance Officer, highlights the key changes.

What is HMRC’s AEOI portal?

This portal enables the automatic exchange of information between the UK and other tax authorities under two regimes; the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) and the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA).

Mandatory registration for trusts

Previously, only trusts classified as FIs for CRS and/or FATCA purposes, which had non-UK connections to declare, were required to register on HMRC’s AEOI portal to carry out the reporting.

Under the new rules, trusts that are FIs, including those that do not have any non-UK connections to report, must register as a Reporting FI. The deadline for registration is 31 December 2025 (or 31 January following the calendar year in which a trust qualifies as a Reporting FI).

Trustee Documented Trusts brought into scope

Trustee Documented Trusts are trusts classified as FIs that have a trustee that is also classified as a FI.

Previously, the FI trustee could register and submit the AEOI reports on behalf of the trust. Now, Trustee Documented Trusts must register directly with HMRC. The registration requirement extends to Trustee Documented Trusts that don’t have any non-UK connections to report.

Failure to register Reporting FIs and Trustee Documented Trusts with HMRC can lead to a penalty of £1,000, followed by £300 for every day after the initial penalty is applied until the trust is registered.

Exemption for Qualified Non-Profit Entities

From 1 January 2026, charities that meet the criteria of ‘Qualified Non-Profit Entities’ are exempt from registration. These charities, if previously registered, can be de-registered from 1 January 2026.

Enhanced due diligence requirements

Trusts classified as FIs must keep a record of the steps taken to comply with the due diligence rules. The rules refer to obtaining self-certification forms from the persons connected to the trust, which can include the settlor(s), trustee(s) and certain beneficiaries.

HMRC can request to review the documentation. Failure to comply with the various due diligence procedures and record keeping rules can result in penalties ranging from £100 to £5,000.

What steps should you be taking?

Trusts that are FIs must complete the one-off registration on HMRC’s AEOI portal and comply with the due diligence rules. Where there are no reportable accounts, nil returns are not required however the one-off registration is mandatory.

A trust’s AEOI classification should be monitored, as a change of trust activity or assets can change a trust’s classification, which will affect the trust’s responsibilities under the new rules.

Brodies can assist with the mandatory registrations and due diligence processes. For more information on how we can help, please get in touch with one of our trust lawyers.