TRSM94020 - How to: contents: Maintain a trust: contents: Changing a trust from taxable to non-taxable
Source: gov.uk (2025-09-09)


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 expect to remain non-taxable for the foreseeable future must re-register as a non-taxable trust by the 31 January following the year they cease to be taxable. Trusts that have ceased to be taxable and no longer meet any other registration requirements should close their trust on TRS.

A trustee must close the taxable trust before re-registering as a non-taxable trust. See TRSM95000 (https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/trust-registration-service-manual/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 https://www.gov.uk/guidance/manage-your-trusts-registration-service

Alternatively, go to www.gov.uk (https://www.gov.uk/) and search ‘Manage your trust’s details’.

2. Read the guidance on the page about closing a trust.

3. Select the green ‘Start now’ button to access the ‘Sign in using Government Gateway’ page. The green ‘Start now’ button can be found in the ‘Using the online service’ section of the guidance near the bottom of the page.

4. Enter the trust’s Government Gateway user ID and password and select ‘Sign in’.

5. Confirm if an agent is managing the trust’s online register for the trustees by answering ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ and then select ‘Continue’.

6. Answer the security questions shown on screen.

7. Check that the information has been entered correctly and select ‘Submit’. The trustee will be notified on screen if they have successfully answered the trust’s security questions.

8. Read the information on screen and select ‘Start maintaining this trust’.

9. Confirm if the trustee wants to view the trust’s last declaration b‘No’ and select ‘Continue’.

10. Select ‘Close the trust and declare’ 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 ‘Yes’ or ‘No’. 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

14. Confirm if the details about the trust need updating before closing the trust by answering ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ and then select ‘Continue’.

The trustee will be presented will options to update if they select ‘Yes’.

15. Complete the declaration and then select ‘Confirm and send’

Your taxable trust registration is now completed and closed; you will now need to re-register your trust as a non–taxable trust with a new government gateway ID.

You can use the steps below for how to register your trust or See TRSM91010 (https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/trust-registration-service-manual/trsm95000) 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. Select the following link https://www.gov.uk/guidance/register-a-trust-as-a-trustee.

Alternatively, go to www.gov.uk (http://www.gov.uk/) and search ‘Register a trust as a trustee’.

2. Read the guidance on the page. This page includes details on what information is requ

3. Select the green ‘Register now’ button to access the ‘Sign in using Government Gateway’ page. The green ‘Register now’ button can be found in the ‘How to register’ section of the guidance.

4. Select ‘Create sign in details’ to set up a new Government Gateway account for the trust. This link is located below the green ‘Sign in’ button.

5. Follow 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 trust’s 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. Follow 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 ‘No’ to the question ‘Are you entering a UK phone number.’
- Enter the 6-digit access code sent from 60551 and select ‘Continue’. The code will expire within 15 minutes.
7. Confirm if the trust has already been registered online. If the trustee is registering the trust for the first time, they should select ‘No’.

8. Confirm if the trust already has a Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) by selecting ‘Yes’ or ‘No’. A UTR is a 10-digit number. The trustee will be asked to enter the trust’s UTR if the trust has one.

9. Confirm if an express trust is being registered by selecting ‘Yes’ or ‘No’. 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 (https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/trust-registration-service-manual/trsm22010).

10. Confirm if the trust has any tax liability for the current tax year by selecting ‘Yes’ or ‘No’. For more information, see Register a trust, who should register (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/register-a-trust-as-a-trustee)

11. Confirm if the trust has had any UK tax liability in the last four tax years by selecting ‘Yes’ or ‘No’.

12. Complete each section of the registration. Mandatory questionsThe 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 – 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 requestedExampleJeremy has decided to register his trust, he doesn’t have up to date information for the country of residence of some of the beneficiaries, so he answers NO to the question “do you know the country of residence?”. 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. The trustee can save the registration to come back to later if they need to gather more information about the trust - see TRSM91030 (https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/trust-registration-service-manual/trsm91030). The data will be stored for 28 days, after which you will need to start the registration process again.

14. Check the information entered after completing each section. Select ‘Change’ to amend details or ‘Save and continue’ if all the details are correct.

15. The 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. Select ‘Continue to declaration’ once all the sections of the registration are complete. This is a green button at the bottom of the registration progress page.

17. The trustee should provide their full name before selecting ‘Confirm and send’.

18. Print or save a declared copy of the trust’s 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 trust’s 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 trust’s declaration reference if they need to contact HMRC about the registration.

19. Follow 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 trust’s Unique Reference Number.

To view the trust’s URN online after registering the trust, the trustee will need to sign out of the service, then sign back in again using the trust’s 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 trustee’s 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 (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/register-with-hmrc-to-use-an-agent-services-account) with HMRC
- create an agent services account (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/get-an-hmrc-agent-services-account) if they don’t already have one
- access the TRS using their agent services account Government Gateway user ID and password.