Trust Registration Service: the 90-day deadline for a new trust, the will-trust exclusion and a diary table

A client says: "I am putting the house into a trust for the children. Is there anything I have to tell HMRC?" Often there is, and the clock is short. The answer sits on one GOV.UK page, and the date is easy to miss because it runs from the day the trust is created or becomes liable for tax, not from the day the paperwork is tidied up.

What the GOV.UK page says

As summarised from the page on 26 October 2026, the main rules for registering a trust on the Trust Registration Service (TRS) are:

• Newer trusts. A non-taxable trust created after 6 October 2020, or a taxable trust created on or after 6 April 2021, must be registered within 90 days of being created or of becoming liable for tax (or by 1 September 2022, whichever is later, which only matters for trusts that old).
• Older taxable trusts. A taxable trust created before 6 April 2021 registers by 5 October of the tax year after the one in which it first received income or gains and became liable for Income Tax or Capital Gains Tax.
• Trusts that were already liable. A trust previously liable for Income Tax or Capital Gains Tax registers by 31 January after the tax year in which the income or gains arose. A trust liable for other taxes, such as Inheritance Tax, follows the same 31 January rule from the year the liability arose.
• Penalty. The page says failing to register may mean a £5,000 penalty.
• Will trusts. A will trust, set up on death to take assets from the estate, is excluded from registration if it closes within 2 years of the death, unless it is liable to UK tax.

The 90-day table

The arithmetic is calendar days from the trust date, then calendar days from 26 October 2026 to that last day.

Checks. From 1 August, 30 days reach 31 August, 60 reach 30 September and 90 reach 30 October. From 15 September, 15 days reach 30 September, 46 reach 31 October, 76 reach 30 November and 90 reach 14 December; 26 October to 14 December is 5 (to 31 Oct) + 30 + 14 = 49. From 1 October, 30 days reach 31 October, 60 reach 30 November and 90 reach 30 December; 26 October to 30 December is 5 + 30 + 30 = 65. From 26 October, 5 days reach 31 October, 35 reach 30 November, 66 reach 31 December and 90 reach 24 January 2027. The 14-day column is a diary rule for a firm to set, not a legal one. A firm that had registered by the 14-day mark in the first three rows has 76 days or more in hand in each; 90 minus 14 is 76.

I did not read how HMRC counts the first and last day, so treat the last day in the table as the date to beat, not a date to aim for.

The will-trust exclusion

If a will creates a trust, and the trust closes within 2 years of the death with no UK tax liability, the GOV.UK page says it is excluded. For a death on 30 November 2024, two years runs to 30 November 2026, which is 35 days from 26 October 2026 (5 to 31 October plus 30). A trust still open after that date, or one that has become liable for UK tax, is outside the exclusion. The executors' distribution guide covers when money can safely move, which is what usually decides whether a will trust closes in time.

Putting it into practice

• Ask at instruction. Add a line to the new-matter checklist: is a trust being created, by lifetime deed or by will? The client care letter checklist is the natural place.
• Diary the date at signing. Put 90 days from the trust date in the diary at once, with a reminder 14 days after signing.
• Check the tax side. A trust that becomes liable for Inheritance Tax follows a different date. The ten-yearly instalment guide and the estate tax return deadlines show the other dates in a trust or estate file.
• Keep the estate timeline in view. The probate timeline and key dates shows where this sits among the rest.

What I did not read

I did not read the detailed TRS guidance on what data to enter, the list of excluded trusts beyond the will-trust line, the rules on updating the register, how HMRC decides whether to charge the £5,000, or the legislation behind the regulations. Check each with a primary source before you advise.

Overlyft builds AI staff who join your firm's team, read the trust date from the file, work out the last registration day and draft the diary entry and the checklist, with a person approving each one.

This is general information, not legal advice. Check the current legislation and your own obligations for each client.