Tax emigration is the SARS process of formally ceasing your South African tax residency. Once you have ceased residency, South Africa taxes you only on your South African sourced income.
Every step in the timeline counts from one date: the day you ceased to be a South African tax resident.
Tax emigration: your cessation date anchors everything
The date you cease tax residency depends on which basis applies to you.
You stopped being ordinarily resident. South Africa is no longer your real home. SARS treats this as a factual enquiry, weighing your intention to leave permanently against the facts of where you live, work and keep your belongings. There is no fixed waiting period. Your cessation date is the date the facts show your home moved abroad.
You no longer meet the physical presence test. This applies if you were a tax resident only because of the time you spent in South Africa. You cease to be a resident once you have been outside the country for a continuous period of at least 330 full days, and your non-residence then runs from the day you left. You can only rely on this basis after day 330.
A double tax agreement makes you resident elsewhere. If a DTA’s tie-breaker rules make you a tax resident of another country, you also cease to be a South African tax resident.
Read more: Tax emigration: how to become a non-tax resident of South Africa
The timeline at a glance
| State | When | What happens |
| Planning | Before you leave | List your assets, gather documents, use your resident allowances |
| Deemed disposal | The day before you cease residency | Exit tax is calculated on your worldwide assets |
| Year of departure | The calendar and tax year you leave | Split tax year, once-off R2 million travel allowance, export of household effects |
| Declaration | After you cease residency | RAV01, supporting documents, SARS review, confirmation letter |
| Moving money | Each time you transfer funds | AIT application to SARS |
| Retirement annuity | Three uninterrupted years after your cessation date | Lump sum withdrawal becomes available |
Phase 1: before you leave
Take stock of your worldwide assets. When you cease tax residency, SARS treats you as having sold your worldwide assets at market value on the day before your cessation date. This is the exit tax under section 9H of the Income Tax Act. South African immovable property is excluded, because it stays within South Africa’s tax net after you leave. For individuals, 40% of the net capital gain is included in taxable income, so you need accurate base cost figures for each asset.
Start collecting documents. SARS asks for full passport copies showing your entry and exit stamps, and may also request items such as a foreign tax residence certificate.
Use your allowances while you are still a resident. South African tax residents aged 18 and older have a R2 million single discretionary allowance per calendar year, which needs no SARS tax clearance. The R10 million foreign capital allowance is also available per calendar year, but requires an Approval International Transfer (AIT) TCS PIN from SARS.
Read more: Your R2 million global opportunity: making the most of the new SDA limit
Phase 2: the day before you cease residency
Two things happen on this date. Your deemed disposal takes place, and your tax year as a resident ends. Your new tax year as a non-resident starts the next day.
Phase 3: the year you leave
South Africa’s tax year runs from 1 March to the end of February. In the year you leave, it splits in two. If you cease residency on 1 June 2026, your first period runs from 1 March 2026 to 31 May 2026, and your second period starts on 1 June 2026. The exit tax is declared in your final resident return, which covers the first period.
The calendar year you cease residency also brings two once-off allowances:
- You can transfer up to R2 million as a travel allowance through an authorised dealer without a TCS PIN. It is available only in the calendar year you cease residency, and any unused portion falls away at the end of that year.
- You can export household and personal effects worth up to R2 million per family unit under a SARS Customs Declaration, provided the assets have been declared on the relevant forms.
Phase 4: telling SARS
- Capture your cessation date on the RAV01. Log in to eFiling and enter the date in the Income Tax Liability Details section. SARS regards this as the day you became a non-resident.
- Wait for SARS to open a case. SARS sends you a letter asking for supporting documents.
- Submit your declaration and evidence. Every declaration needs a signed declaration stating the basis on which you qualify, a letter of motivation setting out your facts and circumstances in detail, and a copy of your passport or travel diary showing all relevant entry and exit stamps. SARS may ask for more, depending on your basis.
- Receive your confirmation. Once SARS is satisfied, it issues a letter confirming your non-resident status and pre-populates your cessation date on future ITR12 returns.
SARS review times vary. Incomplete passport copies, thin letters of motivation and missing foreign tax certificates are common causes of delay.
If you moved abroad some time ago, the same process applies. The date you capture on the RAV01 is the date you actually ceased to be a resident, and your evidence needs to support that date.
Read more: How to prove to SARS that you are no longer a South African tax resident
Phase 5: moving money after you have ceased residency
Once you are a non-resident, you need an AIT TCS PIN from SARS before your bank can transfer funds abroad. As a tax-compliant individual who has ceased residency, you can transfer up to R10 million per calendar year. Transfers above R10 million go through a stricter verification process that checks your tax status and source of funds.
SARS works to a guideline of 21 business days for AIT applications. The Tax Administration Act allows SARS a longer period where it reasonably needs more time to confirm your compliance, so build this into any transfer with a deadline.
Read more: Why non-residents with South African property now need a SARS AIT PIN
Phase 6: three years later, your retirement annuity
You can withdraw a lump sum from your retirement annuity once you have been a non-resident for tax purposes for an uninterrupted period of three years. If you ceased residency on 1 June 2026, you would reach three uninterrupted years in June 2029.
Get your timeline right from the start
FinGlobal has guided South African expats through tax emigration, exit tax and cross-border transfers for years. Contact us for an assessment of your position and a clear plan for each phase of your move.
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