In terms of section 25 of the Tax Administration Act, 2011, the South African Revenue Service requires that the persons, as specified in the Schedule of the Government Gazette on the 3rd of July, must submit returns for the 2020 year of assessment, within the periods specified in the Schedule.
This Government Gazette confirms who must and must not file tax returns. It specifically states that people earning under 500k do not need to, based on certainsome requirements, however in section 3(2)(c) it is says that this exemption to not file a tax return does not apply to people earning income outside of SA.
This means that every South African tax resident MUST file a tax return in SA declaring foreign earnings. It clearly shows that expats are on the radar and that SARS wants to know exactly what income they are earning abroad.