In this section:
- Tax returns for trustees
- Completing the Trust and Estate return (trustees)
- Record keeping (trustees)
- Tax returns for charities
Tax returns for trustees
As a trustee you'll have to complete a Trust and Estate Tax Return - form SA900. You might also have to fill in some supplementary pages, depending on the trust's income and gains.
On this page:
- Who is liable for tax on trusts
- Getting help and advice
- Registering as a trustee
- Tax rules on different types of trust
- Completing a Trustee Self Assessment tax return
- Completing the Trust and Estate tax return online
- Record keeping
- Self Assessment return deadlines
- When a trust ceases
Who is liable for tax on trusts
The trustees of the trust are taxed in their own right. Any tax due is normally paid out of the funds the trustees hold. The trustees are the legal owners of trust property and they pay out the tax on behalf of the trust. If a tax penalty is charged, the trustees pay this on behalf of the trust.
As a trustee you're not personally liable for the tax due to be paid by the trust. You don't include the trust income on your personal tax return. But if you are also a beneficiary and entitled to receive income or capital from the trust, you may have to pay tax on what's paid to you.
For some types of trust the person who put the funds into the trust - called the settlor - can be liable to pay the tax due on the income received or the gains made by the trust. If the trust is what's known as a 'bare trust' the beneficiary is liable for the tax.
Getting help and advice
Completing a Trust and Estate return can be difficult. You might like to get professional advice from a tax adviser or solicitor to help complete the return and to help run the trust. Members of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) are experts who can give you help with any trusts related problem.
Find a trusts expert on the STEP website
Find a solicitor on the Law Society website
Find a tax adviser at the Chartered Institute of Taxation website
Find a chartered accountant on the ICAEW website
Registering as a trustee
When you first become a trustee for a trust that is expected to pay Income Tax or Capital Gains Tax you'll need to tell us about the trust. You can do this by completing form 41G (Trust) Trust Details and sending it back to the HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) Trusts Office that deals with your area.
Read form 41G (Trust) Trust Details
Find your local HMRC Trusts Office
Tax rules on different types of trust
There are many different types of trust. You'll need to understand what category your trust falls into, as there are specific tax rules that apply to different trusts. For example your trust may be set up:
- under the terms of a will for family members
- for a vulnerable person
- for someone who may receive the income only for their lifetime
- to be administered overseas
Family trusts - read an introduction on the Directgov website
Trusts - read detailed guidance
Completing a Trustee Self Assessment tax return
You'll need to complete the core pages of the Trust and Estate Tax Return - form SA900 - for every tax year as long as the trust exists although in some circumstances you may have to complete a return only once every few years. Depending on the type of income and gains of the trust you may have to also complete supplementary pages. For example:
- land and property pages to report rents received
- foreign income pages for overseas income or gains
Completing the Trust and Estate return
Completing the Trust and Estate tax return online
You can complete and file a Trust and Estate return online using commercial software.
Filing online has many advantages - for example the software will automatically calculate any tax payable. You'll also have three months longer to file the return than if you use a paper form - you'll have until 31 January following the end of the tax year instead of until 31 October.
You'll need to register for Online Services on our website if you want to submit the Trust and Estate return online.
File your tax return online - find out more about the benefits and how to register
Software you can use for your tax return - learn more
Record keeping
You'll have to keep records of the income and gains of the trust so that you can fully and accurately complete the Trust and Estate return. You'll also need to record the expenses the trust incurs and the amounts paid to beneficiaries during the tax year.
Self Assessment return deadlines
The tax year runs from 6 April to 5 April in the following year. We normally send out Self Assessment tax returns soon after 5 April to be completed for the tax year that's just ended. The return must be sent back to us by one of the following dates:
- if you fill in a paper return it must reach us by 31 October following the tax year it relates to
- if you submit the return online it must reach us by 31 January following the tax year it relates to
The tax due must be paid by 31 January following the tax year it relates to. However, we may ask you to make tax payments on account on 31 January within the tax year and 31 July after the end of the tax year.
Tax return deadlines and penalties
When a trust ceases
You'll need to tell us when all the trust assets have been paid out and the trust ceases to exist. You'll usually have to complete a Trust and Estate return from the end of the last tax year to the date the trust ceased. There may be tax to pay for this period so you'll need to keep back enough of the trust funds to pay it.
