Trusts, companies and partnerships which fall within the Automatic Exchange of Information (‘AEOI’) rules may be required to take action before 31 May to register with HMRC and submit the annual declaration. 

The various UK regulations for AEOI imposes obligations on UK trusts and companies that fall within the definition of being a ‘financial institution’. Financial institutions which registered on HMRC’s AEOI system before 31 December 2025 must submit their annual declaration, where required, by 31 May 2026. 

Below we explain more about what the AEOI is, who needs to register, and how to know if reporting is required.  

What is the AEOI? 

The AEOI is a global initiative led by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development through its Common Reporting Standard, aimed at combatting tax evasion. The AEOI framework requires ‘financial institutions’ to report account information to relevant tax authorities, which is then automatically exchanged across jurisdictions. This international cooperation enables tax authorities to identify potential cases of non-compliance and cross-border tax avoidance. 

Who needs to register? 

The definition of ‘financial institution’ can be found here, but broadly speaking, this is likely to affect: 

• Trusts that have an investment portfolio, and either the portfolio is managed on a discretionary basis, or the trust has a corporate trustee. If a trust has more than 50% of its income from investments, it needs to register with HMRC under AEOI rules. This is separate to Trust Registration Service or Self-Assessment requirements. 
• Partnerships and companies with investment portfolios managed on a discretionary basis, where investment income represents at least 50% of the total income. This will be the case with many family investment companies (‘FICs’). 
• Employee benefit trusts that hold shares as custodian for particular employees.  

Trusts, partnerships and companies that qualified as a FI before 31 December 2025 should have registered on HMRC’s AEOI system by that date, even if they do not meet the requirements to submit annual AEOI declarations (see below).  If they have not, then this should be done as soon as possible. 

Any trust, partnership or company that has become an FI since 31 December 2025 (such as those that have recently invested funds on a discretionary managed basis) will have to register on the AEOI system by 31 January following the calendar year in which they became an FI.  For example, an entity that becomes a FI in the 2026 calendar year will have until 31 January 2027 to register. 

Who has reporting obligations? 

Where a trust, partnership or company is associated with an individual or entity which resides outside the UK for UK tax purposes (such as a non-UK resident beneficiary) they will usually also be required to submit an annual declaration. In this case, they will have until 31 May following the end of the calendar year to which the requirement applies to submit the declaration. 

Actions to take 

You should contact the investment broker to confirm if the portfolio held by the trust, partnership or company is ‘discretionary managed’ in the first instance, and whether more than 50% of income is derived from this source. If so, the entity should look to register on the AEOI system by clicking this link.

For trusts that have a Johnston Carmichael corporate trustee, we will have registered the trust with HMRC.    

For other corporate trustees, we would suggest checking with the trustees whether they have registered the trust in the first instance. 

If you believe there is a reporting requirement for the annual submission (i.e. a beneficiary, partner or shareholder is non-resident) please get in touch with us to discuss. 

Get in touch

If you have any further questions, please reach out to myself, or to another member of our Private Client Tax team.