My wife and I have a discretionary trust for our son with learning difficulties, and two other children. We have been paying small amounts in each year for the last 11 years, and a proportion of our estate will go to the trust on the second death. The trust uses Hargreaves Lansdown to hold investments for the trust and all income has been accumulated to date. We make yearly tax returns and pay what is required; last year, the tax payable was £23.50. This year, we used the trust to pay for a specialist bed costing around £3,000. On form R185, should I only include the income that was generated for the current tax year up to the date of the payment? 

Arthur Weller replies:  

Form R185 is given to the beneficiaries by the trustees of the trust. It details three elements: the gross amount of the income earned by the trustees and sent out to the beneficiaries; the precise amount of tax that was paid over to HMRC by the trustees on behalf of the beneficiaries; and the net amount that was paid to the beneficiaries. Generally, an R185 form is made for the whole tax year.