The South African Revenue Service (SARS) is increasing its scrutiny of South Africans living abroad who claim non-resident tax status, with a growing focus on taxpayers’ personal and economic ties rather than relying solely on formal documentation.
According to Delano Abdoll, Legal Manager for Cross-Border Taxation at Tax Consulting South Africa, SARS is now conducting more detailed assessments to determine whether individuals have genuinely ceased being South African tax residents.
The shift marks a departure from the revenue service’s traditional reliance on documents such as tax residency certificates and departure records. Instead, SARS is examining the broader circumstances of a taxpayer’s life to establish where their true centre of interests lies.
Abdoll said recent information requests issued by SARS indicate that the revenue service is assessing factors including family relationships, employment arrangements, financial interests, immigration status and the location of personal belongings when evaluating non-residency claims.
In one recent case, SARS reportedly issued a comprehensive questionnaire containing 17 detailed questions designed to determine whether a taxpayer’s life is genuinely established outside South Africa.
Among the issues being examined are a taxpayer’s intentions when leaving South Africa, their most permanent place of residence, habitual living arrangements, business and personal interests, family connections, banking relationships, and immigration status in their country of residence.
The revenue service is also seeking information about where taxpayers keep their personal belongings, their social and community ties, and whether they have applied for permanent residence or citizenship in another country.
According to Abdoll, the questions suggest SARS is increasingly applying international tax treaty principles when determining residency status. These principles, often referred to as “tie-breaker” rules, are commonly used in double taxation agreements to establish which country has the stronger claim to tax a person who may have connections to more than one jurisdiction.
He noted that the significance lies not in any single answer, but in the overall picture created by a taxpayer’s personal, economic and family circumstances.
The approach indicates that SARS is moving towards a more rigorous, fact-based assessment of tax residency, particularly in cases involving expatriates who may still maintain substantial ties to South Africa despite living abroad.
Abdoll warned that many South Africans working overseas mistakenly assume their tax residency automatically ends once they leave the country.
While physical departure remains an important consideration, he said it is only one element of a broader analysis. Taxpayers who continue to maintain strong family, financial or personal connections to South Africa may still be regarded as South African tax residents, even if they have relocated abroad.
The latest developments signal a tougher stance from SARS as it seeks to ensure that claims of non-residency are supported by both legal documentation and the realities of where a person’s life is centred.
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