Gibraltar trusts for international families

Gibraltar trusts follow English-based law with useful additions: registrable asset protection trusts, non-charitable purpose trusts, private trust companies, a 250-year perpetuity period and firewall rules against foreign heirship claims. A trust with no Gibraltar-resident beneficiaries pays no Gibraltar tax except on Gibraltar-source income. Since December 2025, trustees must report trust details to the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission (GFSC).

At a glance

What kinds of trust can you set up in Gibraltar?

The main options are:

• Discretionary trusts. Trustees decide who among a class of beneficiaries receives what and when, guided by a non-binding letter of wishes. This is the most common family trust.
• Interest in possession and fixed interest trusts. A beneficiary has a right to income (for life or a period), with capital passing to others afterwards.
• Accumulation and maintenance trusts. Assets are held until beneficiaries reach a set age.
• Asset protection trusts. A trust whose settlement is registered to secure statutory protection from the settlor’s creditors (see below).
• Non-charitable purpose trusts. Trusts for a purpose rather than people, such as holding shares in a family company.
• Charitable trusts for philanthropic aims.

Professional trustees must be licensed by the GFSC. Many families instead use a private trust company, discussed in our family offices guide.

How do Gibraltar asset protection trusts work?

Section 419A of the Insolvency Act 2011 protects assets transferred into a trust from later challenge by the settlor’s creditors, if four conditions are met: the settlor is an individual, was not insolvent when making the transfer, did not become insolvent because of it, and the transfer is registered under the regulations.

Registration runs under the Bankruptcy (Register of Dispositions) Regulations 1990. Key requirements in the current text:

1. Only the trustee can apply, and it must be the sole corporate trustee, with a permanent place of business in Gibraltar and the relevant authorisation.
2. The trustee needs prior approval of its settlor enquiry forms, adequate resources and professional indemnity cover of at least £1,000,000.
3. The application confirms that enquiries and public-record checks were made and that the trustee holds the settlor’s affidavit of solvency.
4. The application fee is £766.50, with an annual notification fee of £156 due within 28 days of each anniversary.

The register is confidential, and unauthorised disclosure is an offence. Practitioners describe the Gibraltar regime as more measured than some offshore jurisdictions, because it protects only solvent settlors. A trust can still fail if the settlor keeps effective control or the trustees simply follow instructions.

What is a Gibraltar purpose trust?

The Purpose Trusts Act 2015 allows trusts for non-charitable purposes that are possible, certain, lawful and not against public policy. The trust document must name an enforcer, who must be independent of the trustees and has full access to trust information. At least one trustee must be a licensed trustee, which includes Gibraltar lawyers, licensed fiduciary firms and banks.

Purpose trusts are not subject to the rule against perpetuities, so they suit long-term holdings such as owning the shares of a private trust company. A purpose trust cannot be used to hold Gibraltar real property.

How long can a Gibraltar trust last?

Since a 2014 amendment to the Perpetuities and Accumulations Act 1986, the perpetuity period for ordinary trusts is 250 years, up from 100. Trusts created before October 2014 can adopt the longer period by a deed made by the trustees, where the instrument permits. Purpose trusts have no perpetuity limit.

How does Gibraltar protect trusts from foreign claims?

The Trusts (Private International Law) Act 2015 is Gibraltar’s firewall. It provides that Gibraltar law governs the validity and interpretation of a Gibraltar trust, transfers into it, and the capacity of those involved. It prevents claims based on foreign forced heirship rules or foreign matrimonial and personal relationship law, and restricts recognition of foreign judgments that applied materially different law.

This matters for families from Spain, France, Italy, the Middle East or Latin America, where forced heirship can otherwise reach assets given away in life. Firewall protection is not absolute: transfers can still be challenged on other grounds, so the trust should be properly funded and documented.

How are Gibraltar trusts taxed?

As of October 2026, the position is:

• Non-resident trusts. The Income Tax Office registration form treats a trust as resident only if at least one beneficiary is ordinarily resident in Gibraltar. A trust without such a beneficiary is taxed only on Gibraltar-source income. Category 2 individuals are treated as non-resident for this purpose.
• Resident trusts. A resident trust in receipt of taxable income registers with the Income Tax Office and pays tax at the standard rate, 15% since 1 July 2024, on income accruing in or derived from Gibraltar.
• What is not taxable. Dividends received from companies and most interest are generally outside the charge, and Gibraltar has no capital gains tax.
• Beneficiaries. Only ordinarily resident beneficiaries are taxed on distributions. Distributions are matched first to taxed income of the year, then earlier taxed income, then untaxed income, then capital, and credit is limited to tax the trust paid. Use of trust assets and loans to beneficiaries can also count as distributions. Trustees report distributions on Form ITT-C.
• No capital taxes. There is no inheritance, estate, gift or wealth tax, and no stamp duty on transfers except Gibraltar real property.

Your home country’s tax rules usually matter more than Gibraltar’s. UK, Spanish and US settlors and beneficiaries can be taxed on trust income or gains regardless of the trust’s Gibraltar position. For residence planning, see Category 2 residency explained.

What must trustees report, and to whom?

The Trusts (Information) Regulations 2025 came into force on 1 December 2025. Each trustee of an express trust governed by Gibraltar law, or administered in or from Gibraltar, must give the GFSC:

• the trust’s name and date of establishment;
• the identities of the settlors, other trustees, protectors, beneficiaries and anyone else with ultimate control;
• the trust’s CRS classification and, if not Gibraltar, its CRS jurisdiction of residence.

New appointments and changes must be reported within 10 working days, and the end of a trusteeship within 10 days. Trustees already acting on 1 December 2025 had 28 working days to report. The GFSC keeps the information confidential but may share it with Gibraltar law enforcement and overseas counterparts. Providing false information knowingly or recklessly is a criminal offence.

Where a trust owns a Gibraltar company, the company’s filing with the Register of Ultimate Beneficial Owners now only needs the trust’s name and its trustees’ details, because the full data sits with the GFSC. Separately, the optional Registered Trust Act 1999 index records only basic particulars. The 2025 amendment deleted the “registered trust” definition only from the UBO Regulations; the 1999 Act itself is still on the statute book and Companies House guidance still describes how to register under it, with a £100 fee.

Families with Spanish links should note that the UK–Spain tax agreement gives Spain access to information on Gibraltar trusts with a Spanish-resident settlor, trustee, protector or beneficiary, or Spanish assets.

What changed with the 2026 UK–EU treaty?

The treaty mainly governs the border, people and goods. It does include commitments on tax transparency, anti-money laundering standards and cooperation against tax evasion, according to ISOLAS and Sovereign summaries, but those summaries report no direct change to Gibraltar trust law, trust taxation or the GFSC reporting regime. Any future change would come through new Gibraltar legislation, which your trustee will track. The more significant recent change for trustees is the December 2025 reporting regime above.

To compare trusts with foundations, read private foundations vs trusts in Gibraltar, or return to the wealth and family office hub.