SARS Non-Residency Verification Risk For Expats Filing 2024 Tax Returns
Financial Emigration South Africa
Financial Emigration and Relocation From South Africa To Abroad.
As a South African living abroad, you might assume that your tax affairs are in order. However, recent changes by the South African Revenue Service (SARS) require immediate attention to your non-resident tax status.
Before submitting your 2024 tax return, it is crucial to ensure that your non-resident tax status is correctly aligned with SARS. Where your tax affairs are not in order, the consequences can range from a full SARS audit, SARS additional tax assessments being raised without prior knowledge, SARS penalties, issues with any South African banking and just a whole range of other problems which can be avoided.
The Challenge to give “Proof” of your Tax Non-Residency
Many expats who are eager to update their tax status to non-resident have reached out to our firm after receiving an unexpected letter from SARS. This letter is a request for relevant supporting documents as proof of their change in tax status. These SARS requests have stemmed from a prior declaration on their SARS eFiling profile, highlighting the importance of the need for up-to-date and relevant supporting documentation.
The question arises: Will your “Emigration Confirmation Letter” issued by South African Reserve Bank (SARB) prior to March 2021 suffice as proof of tax non-residency? Unfortunately, this will not. SARS has introduced stricter verification processes, requiring more thorough documentation. This “Emigration Confirmation Letter” alone is no longer sufficient supporting evidence for expats to file their tax returns on a non-resident basis.
SARS Shifting the Goalposts for Expats