South African citizens (over the age of 18) – including those living abroad and who are still tax residents – are eligible to certain allowances for transferring money offshore – that reset each year on 1 January:

• The Single Discretionary Allowance (SDA) which allows you to take up to R1 million out of the country in a calendar year without a tax clearance certificateor permission from the South African Reserve Bank (SARB).
• The Foreign Investment Allowance (FIA) which allows you to take up to an additional R10 million out of the country in a calendar year, however, requires a Foreign Tax Clearance Certificate (FTCC). 
• A special clearance dispensation for any offshore transfers greater than R11 millionper calendar year. These applications can be made to the SARB on behalf of our clients and in most instances are approved by the SARB within 30-days

Funds that require a Foreign Tax Clearance Certificate (FTCC):

For clients still looking to utilise their foreign investment allowance and who require a foreign tax clearance certificate*, our team of tax and exchange control specialists are available to assist. We would however like to urge our clients to send us their applications as soon as possible due to the slow turnaround time we are currently experiencing at SARS. It’s also worth bearing in mind that SARS generally operates on skeleton staff over the December holiday period, so we suggest getting your applications in by 15 November at the very latest.

For access to the updated SARS AIT Application pack click here.

Final trading dates for 2023 allowances: 

In order for your annual allowances to be allocated within 2023’s calendar year, exchange rates will need to be booked by our trading desk by close of business of 27 December 2023 (Wednesday). Any bookings made after this will be deemed as part of next years’ annual allocation. 
 Important Contact Details: 

If you have any questions, need to book a rate or require any assistance with an application, please do not hesitate to reach out to any of our team members below on the following email addresses below:

Christopher Van Der Berg: christopher@captafx.com
Zelieka Wainwright: zelieka@captafx.com
Charl Hoffman: charl@captawealth.com
Nicole Renswick: nicole@captafx.com

Alternatively we encourage you to contact us via our landline on 011 568 4446 whereby one of the team members will be available to assist immediately.

Thank you for choosing CAPTA FX as your trusted global currency trading partner. 

The post Personal Offshore Allowances: Don’t Miss The December Deadline appeared first on CAPTA FOREX.

CAPTA Forex Onboarding Platform:
Don’t forget about our exclusive 100% paperless online registration portal available to individuals and corporates needing to register for currency transfers or tax clearances from anywhere across the globe. These can be found on our website or by following the following links below:

https://staging.staging.captafx.co.za/personal-registration/
https://staging.staging.captafx.co.za/corporate-registration/

Important Contact Details:
If you have any questions, need to book a rate or require any assistance with any of our new systems, please do not hesitate to reach out to any of our team members below on the following email addresses:
 
Christopher Van Der Berg: christopher@captafx.com
Zelieka Wainwright: zelieka@captafx.com
Charl Hoffman: charl@captawealth.com
Nicole Renswick: nicole@captafx.com
 
Alternatively we encourage you to contact us via our landline on 011 568 4446 whereby one of the team members will be available to assist immediately.

Thank you for choosing CAPTA FX as your trusted global currency trading partner. We look forward to delivering an even better service offering to you going forward.

The post ANNOUNCEMENT: EXCITING NEW CHANGES AT CAPTA FOREX appeared first on CAPTA FOREX.

What exactly has SARS changed?

Previously, SARS made provision for two types of TCS pins, namely an “Emigration” and a “Foreign Investment Allowance” (“FIA”) TCS pin. Going forward and in an endeavour to simplify the tax compliance process, these two pins are now, effectively, one and the same, called an “Approval for International Transfer” or “AIT”.

Additionally, there have also been some changes to the information requirements that must be submitted along with the AIT application. These include the following:

• First and foremost a disclosure must be made as to whether the taxpayer is considered to be a “resident” or a “non-resident” for South African tax purposes. Where a “non-resident” is selected, SARS will require that a Notice of Non-Resident Tax Status is submitted.
• Supporting documentation showing the source* of funds for the investment.
• A statement of assets and liabilities for the previous three years for both local and foreign assets.
• Applicant to declare trust beneficiary status (local or foreign), if they have more than 20% shareholding in local or foreign companies (directly or indirectly), or any loans in local or foreign trusts.
• A detailed Capital Gains Tax Calculation schedule mentioning tax payable on deemed disposal of assets on the day before the taxpayer ceased to be a tax resident (if applicable)

*Source of funds can include: cash or savings, distributions from a trust, donations, dividends from a company, inheritance, loans, sale of property, sale of shares and other securities, sale of crypto assets, transfer of listed securities

While the changes to the TCS requirements were unexpected, it is important to note that failure to comply with the new AIT application process may result in a delay of your tax clearance certificate.

As always our team of tax and exchange control specialists are on hand to help navigate the new application process with you and are available answer any other questions you may have.

For access to the updated SARS AIT Application pack click here.

The post Changes To New SARS Tax Compliance Status Process appeared first on CAPTA FOREX.

SARS processing times do stagnate towards the end of the year which could ultimately prevent you from making the most out of your current allowance limitations. In our experience, if you haven’t submitted your tax clearance application by the first week of November, the chances of getting approval are quite slim.

We would therefore like to encourage our clients wanting to still utilise their foreign investment allowance to please send us applications as soon as possible*. This is due to the current slow turn around time we are already experiencing at SARS.

* Please note that FTCC’s are usually obtainable within six weeks, however due to current delays at SARS this process time cannot be guaranteed.

Understanding your offshore allowance limitations:

As a South African resident, you are subject to certain exchange control regulations:
Every South African resident over the age of 18 years is entitled to a single discretionary allowance (SDA) of up to R1 million per calendar year. This allowance can be used for any legitimate purpose at your own discretion, including gifts to friends or family living abroad, making online purchases of goods denominated or sold in a foreign currency, or investing in offshore investments. To make use of your single discretionary allowance, all you need is a valid green bar-coded South African identity document or smart identity card. If you have a partner, you can together transfer up to R2 million (R22 million in total).
In addition to your single discretionary allowance, every South African resident over the age of 18 years is also entitled to a foreign investment allowance (FIA) of up to R10 million per calendar year. This can be used to purchase property in foreign countries, invest amounts exceeding R1 million, and for transfers for other purposes where you may have already exceeded you R1 million SDA. In order to make use of your FIA, you’re going to need a Foreign Tax Clearance (FTCC) from SARS. This certificate is valid for 12 months and it allows you to transfer up to R10 million. As part of our foreign exchange service, we are able to apply for your FTCC on our clients’ behalf free of charge, greatly reducing the amount of time you will have to wait for your certificate.

Final trading dates for 2022 allowances:

Just a reminder that in order for your annual allowances to be allocated within 2022’s calendar year, exchange rates will need to be booked by our trading desk by close of business of 27 December (Tuesday). Any bookings made after this will be deemed as part of next years’ annual allocation.

CAPTA Forex online onboarding platform:

Last year CAPTA Forex launched its 100% paperless online registration platform which now means that as an individual or a company you can now register for currency transfers or tax clearances from anywhere across the globe.

Our exclusive online portal is available for individuals or corporates via our website using the following links:

https://staging.staging.captafx.co.za/personal-registration/
https://staging.staging.captafx.co.za/corporate-registration/

Whether you are looking at moving funds into or out of South Africa, CAPTA Forex has become the solution to all your foreign exchange affairs.

The post Have you made full use of your 2022 foreign currency allowances? appeared first on CAPTA FOREX.