South African legislation governing expatriate tax exemption is set to change dramatically from 1st March 2020, affecting South Africans worldwide. This includes anyone who has permanently settled in another country. Those who do not comply with the new requirements face stiff penalties and risk up to two years in prison. To help expatriates understand their…
Thousands of South Africans will be impacted by new amendments to the Income Tax Act which will come into effect from 1 March 2020, says Nicolas Botha, a senior financial emigration specialist at Tax Consulting SA. Speaking in an interview with 702, Botha said that South African tax residents who render services outside the country…
An amendment to the Income Tax Act will bring considerable change to the expat landscape as from March 1, 2020. Jean du Toit and Jonty Leon are the technical editors of the publication “Expatriate Tax – South African Citizens Working Abroad and Foreigners in South Africa”. Amendments to the Income Tax Act are due to…
HOW MUCH WILL I BE TAXED? A Fin24 user planning to use their provident fund to emigrate wants to know whether they will be taxed after the first R22 500. They write: I will resign from my current company in four months. My provident fund value is currently sitting at R201 150. I would like…
SARS Views – Not a Law Unto Itself It is an unfortunate sight when tax advisors from varied backgrounds, but more so those who do not have a legal background, turn a blind eye to South African tax legislation and rather submit to the ever-dominating “views” of SARS. Arguing with such an advisor who uses…
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW A recent amendment to section 10(1)(o)(ii) of the Income Tax Act, affecting South Africans working abroad, has resulted in major panic and concern. South African tax residents working abroad will now find themselves having to pay tax on their income insofar as it exceeds R1 million. The section 10(1)(o)(ii) exemption…
The impact of the future tax treatment of income earned by South Africans while they are living and working abroad has been widely publicised. It has also contributed to the first publication of its kind that deals with the tax considerations of South Africans abroad or those with international interests, and foreigners working and living…
There is some confusion over how SARS determines whether someone is liable for local tax. In light of the uproar over the so-called “expat tax”, Mark Bechard unpacks the concept of tax residency and what financial emigration involves. The capping of the “expat tax” exemption on 28 February next year has become a hot topic…
THE COUNTDOWN BEGINS There are extremely good reasons for South African expatriates and their employers to be deeply confused and uncertain on “the expat tax”. There are simply too many differentiating views in the market, often punted from a conflicted business perspective. What aggravates this the vast number of professionals, and even expatriates themselves, who…
With the effective date drawing closer, South African expatriates and their employers have little time to come to grips with the looming “expat tax” and how it will affect them when it comes into effect on 1 March 2020. Those who fail to understand this tax amendment that will bring considerable change to the South…
