South African expatriates need not only understand the new expatriate tax law but also act on it or face dire tax consequences come 1 March 2020.

The Expat Tax Amendment

The amendment to section 10(1)(o)(ii) of the South African Income Tax Act No. 58 of 1962 formed part of the Taxation Laws Amendment Bill of 2017, which amendment was promulgated in section 16(1)(g) of Taxation Laws Amendment Act No. 17 of 2017, on 18 December 2017 under gazette number GG 41342 (“the amendment”).

Many South African expatriates believe that the law has not been legally amended and will thus not affect them. This belief is unfortunately incorrect, as the law change has been fully enacted. This new law, however, will only come into effect 1 March 2020 – the reason for this delayed effective date is to provide South African Expatriates the opportunity to lobby Parliament and further to allow expatriates and their employers to get their ducks in a row.