SARS warning for South African expats

  • Thread starter Thread starter Kirsten Minnaar
  • Start date Start date
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Kirsten Minnaar

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SARS warning for South African expats

South Africa’s 2026 Budget left expats exposed, as the unchanged R1.25 million foreign income exemption and tighter SARS scrutiny could mean higher tax liabilities and challenges to previously granted non-resident status.
 
If your move overseas does not include an attempt to get permanent foreign citizenship you are doing it wrong. South Africa is never going to be a place you want to raise a family in.
 
The R1.25m cap hasn't moved since 2020 but the actual amount you owe depends a lot on the apportionment. Someone on R2m with 200 of 220 work days abroad, the exempt portion is (200/220) x R2m = R1.82m, cap catches R1.25m, you're taxed on R750k which works out to about R188k after rebate.

Where it really hurts is zero tax countries like UAE. No income tax there means no foreign tax credit, so the R188k is your final number. In the UK the DTA credit can wipe most of that out.

Disclaimer, I created https://taxroamer.com, it does the full calc for most destination countries. I aim to keep it updated with the latest rates and brackets so you can get easier answers going forward.
 
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