South Africa
Southern Africa · ZA · 79 treaties
Tax profile
| Corporate income tax | 27% |
| Withholding — dividends | 20% |
| Withholding — interest | 15% |
| Withholding — royalties | 15% |
| VAT / GST (standard) | 15% |
| Personal income (top rate) | 45% |
| Capital gains | 18% |
| Tax system | Worldwide |
| Residency threshold | 183 days |
| Exit / departure tax | Yes |
| CFC rules | Yes |
| Transfer pricing | Strict |
| Digital nomad visa | Remote Working Visa |
| Digital services tax | none |
| Global minimum tax (Pillar 2) | Proposed |
Tax residency
ModerateWhat makes you a tax resident — and how hard it is to stop being one.
- ordinarily resident in South Africa (country regarded as real / principal home, place to which you naturally return)
- physical presence test: present in South Africa for more than 91 days in the current tax year
- physical presence test: present in South Africa for more than 91 days in each of the preceding five tax years
- physical presence test: present in South Africa for more than 915 days in aggregate during those preceding five tax years
- excluded from South African residency if deemed exclusively a resident of another country under a double tax agreement
Stopping tax residency is straightforward under the physical presence test (330 consecutive days outside South Africa), but harder where you are ordinarily resident because SARS applies a detailed factual and intent-based inquiry, and formal cessation must be processed with supporting evidence.
Source: South African Revenue Service (SARS)
Tax treaty network (81)
In-force double-tax treaty partners. Treaty-reduced withholding (dividends / interest / royalties) shown where the official source publishes a rate; otherwise the country's statutory rate applies unless the treaty text provides a reduction.