South Africans abroad warned about ongoing SARS tax obligations

South Africans living overseas have been warned that they may still need to submit tax returns to the South African Revenue Service (SARS)

South Africans living overseas have been warned that they may still need to submit tax returns to the South African Revenue Service (SARS), even if they have lived abroad for many years.

The warning comes from John-Paul Fraser, Team Lead: Cross-Border Taxation, and Vivian Cox, Expatriate Tax Consultant at Tax Consulting South Africa.

"Many expatriates assume that relocating overseas automatically removes them from the South African tax system, but this is often not the case.

Whether an expatriate is required, under Section 25 of the Tax Administration Act, 2011 (Act No. 28 of 2011), to submit a return depends on a range of factors.