Living Abroad? Keep Your South African Affairs in Order

Either way, the deadlines continue while you’re overseas. We handle them for you.

1. Annual SARS filings

• Your South African tax return, prepared with the correct residency treatment.

• If you are still a resident and claim the foreign employment exemption, we check the conditions and assemble the supporting documents. The exemption applies only to employees, not contractors or the self-employed, and requires more than 183 days outside South Africa in a 12-month period, with at least 60 days continuous.

2. South African income and withholding

• Rental income: generally taxable in South Africa, and we prepare the returns.

• Dividends and interest: dividends tax is 20%, often reduced by treaty, and interest paid to non-residents carries 15% withholding, subject to a day test. We handle treaty declarations and refund claims where they apply.

3. Your dormant South African company, kept compliant

• CIPC annual return filed with your beneficial ownership declaration. Since 1 July 2024, CIPC has required a beneficial ownership declaration with each annual return.

• Beneficial ownership updates: for foreign beneficial owners a certified passport copy is needed, and certification older than three months invalidates the filing. We tell you what to certify and when.

• A South African public officer and SARS eFiling representation.

4. Property, when you’re ready to sell

• When a non-resident sells South African property, the buyer withholds 7.5% for an individual, 10% for a company and 15% for a trust. We coordinate the withholding and the final tax return.

5. Retirement fund and transfer support

• An RA can be withdrawn early only after three uninterrupted years as a non-resident, with a Non-Resident Confirmation Letter. The fund administrator submits the tax directive application, and we prepare your side of the file.

• Exchange control paperwork for transfers through your authorised dealer.

• Full Cover includes support for one retirement fund and one transfer application per year. Additional ones are quoted separately.

6. A yearly compliance calendar

• Reminders for each deadline, and a short annual summary of what was filed and what is coming.

I’m not sure whether I’m still a South African tax resident.

We start with a residency check, which is included in every plan. If you should formally cease residency, we can do that as a separate service — see Leaving South Africa & residency cessation.

I work for myself abroad. Can I use the R1.25 million exemption?

Probably not. It’s limited to employees, so we’d assess your position before filing.

My company is trading, not dormant.

Then Full Cover doesn’t apply as priced, because a trading company carries more obligations (income tax on income, provisional tax and more). We’ll quote it separately.

Can you work across time zones?

Yes. Our clients in Australia, the Netherlands, Mauritius and Seychelles use us remotely, through WhatsApp, email and booked calls.

What if I’ve missed some years?

We can review your history and help bring it up to date. If you have undeclared foreign income, we can also discuss a voluntary disclosure approach where it applies.