You’ve moved abroad, started your new life, and gone through the tax emigration process. You’ve waved goodbye to the South African Revenue Service (SARS), or so you thought. But it’s not that easy. The big question still on your mind now: Do I still need to file a tax return in South Africa?
Spoiler alert: Yes. Even if you’ve ceased tax residency, it might still be in your best interest to submit a tax return in South Africa. Here’s why it’s important, and why it’s worth handling it all the smart way.
Expats, SARS might already be watching your foreign income
Leaving South Africa doesn’t mean SARS has forgotten about you. Thanks to the OECD’s Common Reporting Standard (CRS), tax authorities around the world share information about bank accounts and investments. This means SARS could already know about your overseas income, even if you haven’t set foot in South Africa for years.
If you haven’t already formally ceased your South African tax residency, SARS might continue to see you as a tax resident. That could mean your worldwide income is considered taxable in South Africa, possibly going back to the day you left. Continuing to file your tax return in South Africa, even as a non-resident, is the safest way to stay on the right side of the law and avoid surprises.
Read more: Left South Africa without informing SARS? What now for your tax resident status?
Filing your tax returns after emigration = peace of mind
Skipping your tax returns doesn’t mean you’re free from SARS—it can actually raise red flags. Continuing to file a SARS tax return after you cease tax residency in South Africa helps in a few key ways. It confirms the change in your status, notifies SARS that your South African tax residency has officially ended, and shields you from unexpected penalties or backdated tax liabilities—especially if you ever plan to return home.
Read more: How to handle your final South African tax return as an emigrating resident.
You might still need to file a tax return in SA because you may still owe tax locally.
Guess what? Ceasing residency doesn’t make you invisible. If you still earn South African-sourced income, like rental income, dividends, pensions, or consulting work, you’re still on the hook. That’s counted as tax non-resident in South Africa, and SARS expects to see it declared. So even if your main life and job are taxed abroad, any SA-sourced income must be reported via your ITR12 tax return.
Read more: What happens when I do not declare foreign income if I have yet to cease SA tax residency?
Not filing your tax return in South Africa can come back to bite you.
Imagine returning home after years abroad and discovering that SARS has flagged you as a resident retroactively. Suddenly, your overseas earnings are in the crosshairs for taxation, and you could face penalties, interest, and an administrative headache. Filing your taxes consistently keeps your record clean and shows you’ve been compliant. This makes it possible to return to SA at the end of your travels, without worrying about your arrival being ambushed by the taxman.
Read more: Warning – SARS is monitoring South African expats abroad who want to return home.
Tax residency isn’t automatic and neither is tax emigration.
A common misconception: “Once I leave South Africa, I’m no longer a tax resident.” Not quite. Ending tax residency requires a formal declaration to SARS (a process that kicks off with the RAV01 form on eFiling) and supporting documents like a tax residency certificate from your new country. It doesn’t happen automatically, and you remain on the hook until you tick the boxes and complete all the steps of tax emigration from South Africa.
Once SARS acknowledges the change in your status, you’re treated as a non-resident for tax purposes, and you will only be taxed on SA-sourced income. But until then, they may still consider you a resident. This makes submitting a tax return in South Africa the starting point for cleaning up your status.
Read more: Emigration essentials – top tips from the experts for filing your final South African tax return.
FinGlobal: tax compliance specialists for expats
Leaving SA doesn’t mean you’ve escaped SARS. This is why submitting your South African tax return is a good idea, even after you’ve completed tax emigration. At FinGlobal, we help South African expats with managing their SARS compliance, strategising on the tax implications of emigrating from South Africa, and staying ahead of any surprises. We offer a full suite of convenient financial services for South Africans living abroad, including tax emigration, retirement annuity withdrawal and international money transfers.
To learn more about how we can simplify your expat tax compliance and streamline your cross-border transactions, leave your contact details in the form below, and we’ll be in touch to answer your questions.
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