Tag: tax residency

South Africa’s tax base continues to evolve in striking ways. Recent South African Revenue Service (SARS) figures show a growing trend. The number of individuals registered for tax increased from 25.9 million in 2023 to 27.1 million in 2024. Yet, only 7.6 million of these individuals were expected to file a return.

Investing in an offshore retirement fund is one way of growing your wealth in a stable economy over the longer term, or even gaining residency in a foreign country. However, for South Africans, this scenario presents as many challenges as it does opportunities and should only be considered after consulting with a financial adviser and tax expert.

Locally, as trust compliance becomes more complex and trusts become more costly to administer, their value is increasingly being questioned. However, a trust’s worth extends beyond its financial benefits, and as such, they are still very relevant tools to use in a well-crafted estate plan, especially for high-net-worth families. 

Expatriate tax is complex, intricate and can be challenging to understand – especially if one does not have the basics, such as what is an expat, down pat. Simply, an expatriate, or expat, is an individual who has relocated from their home country to another, either temporarily or permanently.

To be released from their local tax obligations in relation to foreign income, emigrating South Africans must be able to prove to the South African Revenue Service (SARS) that they have permanently left the country.

The Budget Review 2022 was far from a 'good news' budget for South Africans working abroad (expats). For the 5th consecutive year, there has been changes proposed that clearly indicate that SARS is still targeting expats and view them as low-hanging fruit to boost revenue collection.

The transition from the old emigration regime to the current regime - ceasing of tax residency, came with some relief. However, there were some silent changes that went unnoticed. The most notable change has been the requirement of a SARS Tax Compliance Status (TCS PIN) for every capital transfer a Non-Resident/Non-Tax Resident makes to offshore.

The President has given effect to the 2021 tax proposals by signing three tax Acts into law. On 14 January 2022, the President gave his assent to the Rates and Monetary Amounts and Amendment of Revenue Laws Act No. 19 of 2021 (Rates Act), the Taxation Laws Amendment Act No. 20 of 2021 (TLAA) and the Tax Administration Laws Amendment Act No. 21 of 2021 (TALAA). These Acts were promulgated on 19 January 2021.

Expatriates and those with plans to emigrate will be relieved to learn that the proposal to impose an exit tax on retirement interests will be withdrawn. In presenting their Draft Response Document on the 2021 Draft Tax Bills, National Treasury and SARS confirmed that the proposal will not be included in final Taxation Laws Amendment Bill that will be tabled in tomorrow’s Medium Term Budget.

South Africa’s exchange control regime has relaxed considerably over the last few years, but the most recent amendments have created widespread confusion around the definition of non-residency for exchange control purposes. In particular: When is a person non-resident for exchange control in South Africa? How do they cease to be resident for exchange control purposes? And what does all this mean?