How to deregister as a tax payer?

[Saltex]

Alright, so I am leaving the country soon, and won't be in SA anymore, I am registered as a provisional tax payer, but now I want know how do I deregisters, I am finding it hard to come accross any info on this matter, as I want to leave the country "criminal" free.

 

[HavocXphere]

There are like 2-3 paragraphs in the income tax act that regulate this. I forget the exact paragraph numbers, but essentially you want to read up on what constitutes a "resident". The stuff overlaps though so its a bit of a mission.

Unless my memory fails me though if you formally emigrate & don't set foot in SA again any time soon then you should be all good.

You won't easily catch anything "criminal" though - worse case is you pay extra.

If unsure then just go to SARS office & ask them to pls explain...wait for tax season rush to be over though.

 

[minty203]

You cant deregister. It is like your ID number. Till death do we part. Like that.
And why would you want to deregister for income tax. The day you decide to come back
to the great South of Africa and you want to get your taxes up to date, and you were not a resident
in the Republic for SARS purposes, you submit zero returns (or you pay me to do it for you).

Maar in elkgeval.

Dont think that you can go make some millions in Dubai for a couple of months and not pay
South African tax on it. South Africans are taxed on worldwide income. You really have to be
genuinely emigrated lock stock and barrel to not be taxed
on that income. Read up about the physical presence test that will define where you will be taxed.

 

[Saltex]

Thing is I am a holder of a EU passport, I just want to know what I must do when it comes to August and I have to pay tax, but I am then no longer in the country?

 

[HavocXphere]

SA residents are taxed on world wide income regardless of where they are. Hence...read up on not being a "resident" per tax laws.

 

[Hamish McPanji]

Someone at my office was asking me about this, they earn less than R250,000 a year, so now they don't have to submit a tax return apparently.

Their question was : Do they have to submit a tax return to prove that they are earning less than R250,000 to ensure that they dont have to submit a tax return?

 

[Dimpie (COMPUTEK)]

Someone at my office was asking me about this, they earn less than R250,000 a year, so now they don't have to submit a tax return apparently.

Their question was : Do they have to submit a tax return to prove that they are earning less than R250,000 to ensure that they dont have to submit a tax return?

lol

for them >

SARS says this year the threshold below which you do not have to file a return has been raised from from R120 000 to R250 000 a year. This means you don’t need to submit a return if your salary for the year before tax is less than R250 000 and:

* You earn only a salary and it is paid by only one employer;

* You don’t have any other income, such as taxable interest or rent income; and

* You don’t have any tax deductions, such as medical expenses, retirement annuity contributions or travel expenses, to claim.

If you are unsure whether or not to submit a return, use the “Wizard on the Tax Season” page of the SARS website, www.sars.gov.za, or call its contact centre on 0800 00 7277.

 

[nfbs]

I am sure people who earn 250K will have other income e.g. a saving account or unit trust or shares or even some freelance work.

 

[Hamster]

I am sure people who earn 250K will have other income e.g. a saving account or unit trust or shares or even some freelance work.

Or they are just plain fekking poor and in debt/starting out.

 

[minty203]

sars is confusing the people with this 250k story. 250 is not the threshold.

 

[Alton Turner Blackwood]

sars is confusing the people with this 250k story. 250 is not the threshold.

250k and less, you pay tax and don't have to submit a tax return.

63k and less, you don't have to pay tax at all.

 

[Celine]

You cant deregister. It is like your ID number. Till death do we part. Like that.
And why would you want to deregister for income tax. The day you decide to come back
to the great South of Africa and you want to get your taxes up to date, and you were not a resident
in the Republic for SARS purposes, you submit zero returns (or you pay me to do it for you).

Maar in elkgeval.

Dont think that you can go make some millions in Dubai for a couple of months and not pay
South African tax on it. South Africans are taxed on worldwide income. You really have to be
genuinely emigrated lock stock and barrel to not be taxed
on that income. Read up about the physical presence test that will define where you will be taxed.

i'm sorry have you heard of the 183 days?

 

[Swa]

http://www.moneywebtax.co.za/moneywebtax/view/moneywebtax/en/page269?oid=606&sn=Detail

You will still have to fulfill your tax obligation for this year including any foreign income earned till Feb 2014 if you're not out of the country for more than 6 months by then. However there are double taxation agreements between the major countries that prevent you from having to pay tax twice. It does not let you off the hook for still declaring your foreign income though. This is for South African citizens with work foreign permits of course.

If you're emigrating permanently by acquiring citizenship of another country and don't plan on returning except for vacation it would be best to inform SARS and if you ever earn a taxable income in South Africa again you'll have to follow the same procedures. You could also inform home affairs that you give up your South African citizenship. That's how you technically deregister from SARS beyond death stranglehold.

Also see this: http://www.thesouthafrican.com/news/dont-lose-your-citizenship.htm

 

[MKFrost]

...if you're not out of the country for more than 6 months by then...[/URL]

Just remember that the 6 months out of the country does not apply if you are self-employed. If you work for yourself you can be out of the country for a full year and it will make no difference, you still have to pay tax. The 6 months only apply if your employer sends you out of the country for more than the 183 days a year.

 

[Icarium]

I am sure people who earn 250K will have other income e.g. a saving account or unit trust or shares or even some freelance work.

You'd be amazed at how little people grossing R20k/pm actually save/invest in this country.

 

[Celine]

if all your tax affairs are in order and SARS are happy that everything is ok and that you are not going to return for X years, then they will place your tax reference number in suspense.

 

[fredgr]

http://www.moneywebtax.co.za/moneywebtax/view/moneywebtax/en/page269?oid=606&sn=Detail


If you're emigrating permanently by acquiring citizenship of another country and don't plan on returning except for vacation it would be best to inform SARS and if you ever earn a taxable income in South Africa again you'll have to follow the same procedures. You could also inform home affairs that you give up your South African citizenship. That's how you technically deregister from SARS beyond death stranglehold.

Also see this: http://www.thesouthafrican.com/news/dont-lose-your-citizenship.htm

Tax registration/deregistration has NOTHING TO SEE with citizenship but with residency.

When you emigrate, you are not relinquishing your citizenship, but you just change your residential status, which determines your tax compliance.

You can de-register as a tax payer as soon as you do not comply with the residence test anymore.

You might of course get a vicious assessment of your real residential situation from SARS by doing this application.

They might check that your application is based on real facts, and might ask any relevant documents proving that you are really becoming a non resident.

This is in line with rules in most countries btw, so SA whiners do not blame SARS.

 

[Greg C]

There are like 2-3 paragraphs in the income tax act that regulate this. I forget the exact paragraph numbers, but essentially you want to read up on what constitutes a "resident". The stuff overlaps though so its a bit of a mission.

Unless my memory fails me though if you formally emigrate & don't set foot in SA again any time soon then you should be all good.

You won't easily catch anything "criminal" though - worse case is you pay extra.

If unsure then just go to SARS office & ask them to pls explain...wait for tax season rush to be over though.

What defines a person who is a non-resident?
Let’s start by defining what we mean by resident. Understanding that, you will know whether you meet the criteria or not and whether you can be regarded as a resident or a non-resident.
Under South African law there are different types of residents, for example a resident defined by the Income Tax Act, 1962 in terms of the so called physical presence test and an ordinary resident defined in terms of South African common law.

Any natural person who is not ordinarily resident (common law concept) in South Africa during the year of assessment but meets with all three requirements of the physical presence test, will be treated as being a resident.

A person will be considered to be ordinarily resident in South Africa, if South Africa is the country to which that person will naturally and as a matter of course return to after his or her wanderings. It could be described as that person’s usual or principal residence, or his or her real home.

If the person is not ordinarily resident, or does not meet the requirements of the physical presence test, that person will be seen as a non-resident.

To meet the requirements of the physical presence test that person must be physically present in South Africa for a period or periods exceeding –
•91 days in total during the year of assessment under consideration, as well as 91 days in total during each of the five years of assessment preceding the year of assessment; and
•915 days in total during those five preceding years of assessment.
An individual who fails to meet any one of these three requirements will not satisfy the physical presence test.