For many South Africans living and working abroad, the same question arises every filing season: are you still a South African tax resident? This status is not determined simply by where you live or work. Nor does obtaining foreign employment or acquiring a foreign residence permit automatically end your South African tax residency.

With the 2026 Filing Season underway, expatriates should take the opportunity to review their tax residency status before submitting their annual tax returns.

It is important because if the South African Revenue Service (SARS) still regards you as a South African tax resident, you may remain subject to South African tax on your worldwide income, subject to applicable exemptions, foreign tax credits and Double Taxation Agreements (DTAs). If you live abroad and have no immediate intention of returning to South Africa permanently, it may be time to assess whether you have correctly ceased South African tax residency.

Established a Life Abroad? Review Your Status

The cessation of South African tax residency may be relevant where you have relocated abroad on a long-term or indefinite basis and your personal, economic and residential ties have substantially shifted outside South Africa.

Your tax residency position is not determined solely by the number of days you spend outside South Africa. SARS may consider your individual circumstances, including:

• Your intention regarding permanent residence;
• The location of your permanent home;
• Your personal, family and economic ties;
• Where you have established your life; and
• The provisions of an applicable DTA.

Where the facts support cessation, your tax residency status should be formally updated with SARS, and the correct effective date of cessation should be recorded. This is important because the effective date may determine when your South African tax treatment changes from taxation on worldwide income to taxation primarily on South African-source income.

Why Formalising Your Status Matters

Living abroad does not automatically update your tax residency status on SARS eFiling. You may have lived outside South Africa for several years but still be reflected as a South African tax resident. If your circumstances support cessation, formally updating your status can help ensure that your SARS profile and future tax returns accurately reflect your current position.

It may also help prevent unnecessary disclosure of foreign income and reduce the risk of incorrect tax reporting. 

However, cessation is not automatic and should not be approached as a simple administrative formality. SARS may require supporting documentation to substantiate the change in tax residency, including evidence of foreign residence, immigration documentation, passports, travel records, foreign tax information and, where applicable, a foreign Tax Residency Certificate.

Non-Resident Does Not Mean Tax-Free

Ceasing South African tax residency does not mean that all South African tax obligations come to an end.

A non-resident may still be liable for tax on South African-source income and may still be required to submit South African tax returns, depending on their circumstances.

This may include:

• Rental income from South African property;
• Income relating to services performed in South Africa;
• Certain pension, annuity and retirement fund income;
• Certain South African investment income; and
• Other income that remains taxable in South Africa.

Cessation changes the basis on which you are taxed, but it does not necessarily remove every South African tax or filing obligation.

2026 Filing Season: Check Before You Submit

The 2026 year of assessment covers the period from 1 March 2025 to 28 February 2026.

The filing deadlines are:

• Non-provisional taxpayers: 23 October 2026
• Provisional taxpayers and trusts: 22 January 2027

Taxpayers who received an auto-assessment should not accept it without reviewing the information carefully. An auto-assessment may not fully reflect a change in tax residency, the correct cessation date, foreign income treatment or South African-source income.

Before submitting or accepting your assessment, it is important to ensure that your tax residency position and related disclosures are correct. If you are uncertain about your status, the effective date of cessation, or the treatment of South African and foreign income, engage with a tax specialist to assist with assessing your position and ensuring that all relevant tax obligations have been addressed.

Your Tax Position May Change During the Year

If you ceased South African tax residency during the relevant year of assessment, your tax position may need to be considered in two parts.

Before the effective date of cessation: You may still have been a South African tax resident and may have been required to account for worldwide income, subject to applicable exemptions, foreign tax credits and treaty provisions.

After the effective date of cessation: You may generally be treated as a non-resident and may be taxed in South Africa primarily on South African-source income.

For this reason, the effective date of cessation must be carefully established and correctly reflected on your SARS profile.

SARS Is Looking More Closely

SARS continues to scrutinise tax residency cessation applications, particularly where a taxpayer relies on a DTA. Your circumstances and supporting documents should clearly demonstrate the basis on which cessation is being claimed. A foreign Tax Residency Certificate may be particularly important where the cessation application relies on a DTA tie-breaker provision.

Proper preparation is therefore essential. An incomplete or poorly supported application may result in delays, additional information requests or an unsuccessful outcome.

Given the complexity of tax residency and expatriate tax compliance, it is advisable to seek guidance from trusted and suitably qualified tax professionals. Professional advice can help ensure that your residency position is correctly assessed, your filing obligations are understood, and unintended tax pitfalls or compliance risks are avoided.

Written by Lovemore Ndlovu, Head of SARB Engagement and Expatriate Compliance at Tax Consulting SA