As the year draws to a close, many South Africans begin preparing for international relocation at the start of the new year, yet the administrative side of emigration, particularly ceasing South African tax residency is often more complex than anticipated. If you intend to finalise your tax residency cessation early in 2026, the window to…
The South African Revenue Service (SARS) is about to gain unprecedented visibility into your offshore life. A new global tax agreement means SARS will soon automatically receive detailed information about every foreign immovable property owned by South African taxpayers across more than 20 countries. Delano Abdoll Legal Manager: Cross Border Taxation Tasmin Kotze Tax Legal…
At the end of October 2025, the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) introduced material changes to the processing of cross-border income transfers. While intended to reinforce compliance and enhance alignment between SARB and the South African Revenue Service (SARS), these measures mean that no South African-sourced income may be remitted abroad until SARS has verified…
The National Treasury has for now abandoned its highly contested proposal to remove the tax exemption for foreign pensions applied to South African tax residents. This follows a robust public participation process where several role players warned of the unintended consequences of scrapping the tax exemption by 1 March 2026. During a virtual meeting of…
With the 2025 tax submission season now behind us, many South Africans living abroad may believe their tax obligations are settled for the year. However, for expatriates whose records at the South African Revenue Service (SARS) still reflect them as South African tax residents, the work may not be over just yet. Lovemore Ndlovu Head…
The proposed removal of the tax exemption on foreign retirement funds for South African tax residents could have far-reaching negative consequences, including deterring wealthy foreigners and expatriates from choosing South Africa as a retirement destination, discouraging return migration, and scare off global investors from starting businesses in South Africa. This was the central message by…
“In terms of the Tax Administration Act, the accused is obliged to submit tax returns for assessment by a specific return date. The accused failed to submit 4 Personal Income Tax returns. Now, therefore the accused is guilty on 4 counts of failure to submit a Personal Income Tax return.” Mbalenhle Mahlaba Expatriate Tax Specialist…
Many South Africans living abroad do not realise that outdated contact information such as old mobile numbers or inactive email addresses on the South African Revenue Service (SARS) system, can block access to their eFiling profile, often with serious consequences. Alex Mahundla SARS Compliance Specialist Without access, you risk missing submission deadlines, critical login One-Time…
According to the 2025 Henley Private Wealth Migration Report, South Africa is projected to lose approximately 250 dollar-millionaires this year alone. Despite this continued outward migration of high-income individuals, the number of taxpayers formally ceasing tax residency with the South African Revenue Service (SARS) to protect their worldwide income from local taxation, appears to be…
With the 2025 annual tax filing season deadline fast approaching, the South African Revenue Service (SARS) has quickly tightened its verification processes for taxpayers requesting to update their tax residency status to that of non-resident on a more urgent basis than they would have liked. John-Paul Fraser Team Lead: Cross-Border Taxation Bronwyn Jacob Process Specialist:…
