The small print in South Africa's automated split-year tax returns

One tax year now splits into two automated calculations when a taxpayer ends South African tax residency midyear, but the change doesn’t reduce any exit tax owed.

Two residency periods, one return

The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has applied automated split-year treatment to returns for tax years beginning March 1, 2024, onward. The ITR12 return separates income and deductions between the resident period, when worldwide income may be taxable and the nonresident period, generally limited to South African-sourced income.

Once SARS approves the cessation date, the system prepopulates it on the return and can finalize the assessment without routing it for manual processing. The same split-year structure applies to provisional IRP6 returns.

Approval still comes before automation

Taxpayers must first update their status through the RAV01 Registration, Amendments and Verification Form on eFiling, select “Non Resident” and enter the cessation date. SARS then requires a signed declaration and supporting evidence, which can include passports, travel records, foreign residence permits, tax-residency certificates and details of financial or family ties to South Africa.

The automation changes filing mechanics, not the tests described in South Africa’s residency rules. SARS must approve the application before the cessation date appears automatically.

Exit tax remains the variable cost

Ending residency can trigger capital gains tax on worldwide assets, commonly called exit tax, based on a deemed disposal immediately before cessation. Taxpayers may need to provide an asset-and-liability statement as part of the review.

For nomad budgets, there’s no fixed monthly saving or published fee reduction to calculate. The system cuts administrative handling, but it doesn’t waive exit tax or turn it into a flat charge; the liability depends on the taxpayer’s assets and gains. Temporary overseas workers who remain South African tax residents, tourists and foreign nomads who never became residents aren’t covered by the split-year process.