More than 120,000 new trusts were registered in 2024/25, pushing the total number of active trusts to about 835,000 - a move some experts suggest is being inspired by fears about the impending levying of Inheritance Tax on unused pensions from April next year.

HMRC data reveals that one in seven of all live trusts were set up in the 2024/25 tax year.

The number of new trusts registered in 2024/25 was 121,000, according to the Trust Registration Service (TRS), analysis by wealth manager Utmost Wealth Solutions reveals.

Utmost said: “Demand for trusts from financial advisers and high-net worth individuals is growing amid a changing policy landscape.”

Trusts are playing an “increasingly important” role in estate and succession planning, according to Utmost's analysis of the latest HMRC statistics on Trusts in the UK*.

The Trust Registration Service data shows that there were around 835,000 trusts and estates registered up to 31 March 2025 and that remain open as of 29 August 2025.

Around one in seven were registered in the period between 2024/25 Financial Year, when there were 121,000 new registrations.

More families are set to be drawn into the Inheritance Tax (IHT) net by the freeze to thresholds, with the nil-rate band remaining frozen at £325,000 since 2009.

Rising property values and asset growth have steadily increased the proportion of estates exposed to the tax with IHT receipts forecast to reach £14.5 billion in 2030-31, with an estimated one in 10 estates expected to be liable by that point, Utmost said.

Utmost predicted that recent policy changes, such as the U-turn on agricultural and business property reliefs as well as proposals to bring unused pension funds within the scope of IHT on death, were “likely” to have further increased interest in trusts among high-net-worth families and financial advisers.

Marc Acheson, global wealth specialist at Utmost Wealth Solutions, said: “The continued growth in trust registrations is entirely understandable. With the IHT nil-rate band frozen for more than 15 years and the tax base being widened through successive policy changes, more families are finding themselves exposed to IHT and are turning to trusts as a well-established way of organising succession and mitigating long-term liabilities.

“What is becoming increasingly apparent, however, is that while trust usage is rising, so too is the complexity that comes with acting as a trustee.”

In addition to TRS requirements, trustees are now facing expanded automatic exchange of information (AEOI) obligations.

In December, mandatory rules were extended to trusts that meet the financial assets test because they are considered ‘Managed Investment Entities’ – a trust that has engaged a discretionary manager to manage the trust’s assets directly rather than through a structure like an international unit linked life assurance policy, Utmost said.

Mr Acheson added: “With the regulatory burden growing, fulfilling fiduciary duties has become significantly more demanding. Therefore, who to appoint as trustee – and whether they have the expertise, systems and regulatory resilience to cope with today’s requirements – has never been more critical.”

Meanwhile, a HMRC Freedom of Information request from retirement specialist Just Group reveals that property makes up nearly half (47%) of the wealth in estates paying Inheritance Tax (IHT) in London, with the majority of regions being around a third and above. In 2022-23 (the latest financial year of data available), property accounted for 47% of the wealth in estates paying IHT in London, with the average property value exceeding £862,000. The average estate value in the capital was over £1.6 million, nearly £400,000 higher than the East of England which held joint second highest average estate value with the South East.

* HMRC, Statistics on trusts in the UK December 2025: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statistics-on-trusts-in-the-uk/statistics-on-trusts-in-the-uk-december-2025