Services for UK and offshore trusts

Tax compliance reporting

We help trustees meet UK trust tax reporting obligations accurately and on time. This includes ongoing compliance, event-based filings and, where needed, review of historic records and trust activity.

Our focus is on ensuring that reporting is accurate, consistent and supported by the relevant information and calculations, while helping trustees understand the implications of historic records, trust activity and available data.

For offshore trusts with UK‑resident settlors and/or beneficiaries, the UK tax outcome of a distribution often depends on the trust’s historic pools of income and gains.

A Stockpiled Gains Summary (SPG summary) is a practical schedule that brings together the relevant historic information (including realised gains/losses and prior distributions) so that both trustees and recipient beneficiaries can understand the potential UK tax impact before a trust distribution is made or a trust benefit is conferred.

We prepare SPG summaries and work with trustees to identify information gaps, agree a robust methodology where records are incomplete, and present the results in a form that can be used for distribution planning and beneficiary reporting.

We assist trustees with the preparation of IHT reporting for relevant property trusts, including principal (at each 10-year anniversary) and exit charge returns.

This includes identifying the information and valuations required, calculating the position on the basis of the available records, and ensuring filings are completed consistently and on time.

We help trustees register non-UK trusts with the UK Trust Registration Service where registration is required, including reviewing whether the trust is in scope and preparing the necessary information for submission.

We can also assist with ongoing updates to the TRS record when there are changes to trustees, beneficiaries or other relevant details.

Tax Advisory

We provide UK tax advisory support to trustees, settlors and beneficiaries on matters relating to trust structures, distributions and longer-term planning.

Our advice is tailored to the specific circumstances of the trust and the individuals involved, with a focus on clarity, practical implementation and careful management of UK tax exposure across the wider structure.

We help trustees understand how the 2024 and 2025 Autumn Budget reforms may affect their trusts and the UK resident settlors and beneficiaries.

This includes reviewing the trust’s facts and historic position, identifying key risk areas and decision points, setting out practical options (such as adjustments to investment strategy, asset ownership and distribution timing/approach), together with a clear list of actions and information needed to implement the chosen option.

We advise settlors and beneficiaries on how the 2024 and 2025 Autumn Budget changes may apply to their personal circumstances, particularly where there are trust connections and cross-border elements.

The focus is on clarifying likely UK tax outcomes, identifying planning opportunities and timelines, and ensuring decisions are made with a clear understanding of the UK tax position.

We advise trustees on the UK tax implications of proposed distributions or other trust benefits (e.g. interest-free loans, rental-free occupation of properties) to UK resident beneficiaries and/or settlors and steps trustees may take to minimise potential tax exposure for the UK resident settlor and beneficiaries.

Where a trust benefits more than one family (or beneficiary group) with differing circumstances, we help trustees evaluate restructuring options to achieve a workable balance across those groups.

This includes setting out the UK tax implications of different approaches, governance considerations and a practical plan so that trustees can make informed decisions consistent with the trust’s objectives.

We advise trustees on the UK tax and practical considerations of winding up a trust, whether the trust holds assets directly or through underlying companies.

The advice typically covers planning the sequencing of steps, assessing UK tax consequences for UK resident settlors and beneficiaries and providing a step-by-step implementation plan.

After a trust is wound up, we advise UK-resident settlors and beneficiaries on the resulting personal UK tax position, including any ongoing reporting implications and planning considerations.

We also provide UK follow-on estate and succession planning so that the post-distribution position remains coherent and tax-efficient.

We review existing trust structures and advise trustees on whether continuing the current structure remains appropriate in light of the family’s objectives, the assets held, and the UK tax environment.

We set out the practical options available (retain, simplify, restructure or wind up), their likely UK tax consequences for trustees/settlor/beneficiaries and the key decision points and actions required.

Where a trust contains a qualifying life interest (pre-22 March 2006) and it is desirable to terminate that interest during the life tenant’s lifetime, we advise trustees on the UK tax and practical implications.

This includes reviewing the trust terms and history, identifying the relevant UK tax implications and the associated reporting requirements.

When trustees meet settlors and beneficiaries, a fair amount of matters discussed during the meeting relate to various tax.

We attend trustee meetings to help answer UK-tax-related questions, by settlors and beneficiaries, on matters under discussion, help identify potential issues in the structure in question (for example, how the nature of assets/investments and proposed actions may affect UK-resident settlors and beneficiaries), and explore practical options to improve the position.

We then follow up with clear technical notes summarising the UK tax analysis, assumptions, and recommended next steps.

Get in touch

If you would like to discuss a matter, you can contact us with a brief outline of your circumstances and any relevant deadlines.

We will confirm whether we are able to assist and outline the next steps.

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