Information on Employees’ Allowances for the 2025 Year of Assessment
The Minister of Finance has approved the new table of rates per kilometre for motor vehicles for the 2025 year of assessment (it applies to Section 8[1] of the Income Tax Act No. 58 of 1962). For the 2025 year of assessment, the Commissioner for SARS determined the daily amount for expenditure on meals and incidental costs in South Africa, and the daily amount for travel outside South Africa (governed by Section 8[1] of the Income Tax Act No. 58 of 1962). SARS has updated the external guide and annexures:
- PAYE-GEN-01-G03 — Guide for Employers in respect of Allowances — External Guide
- PAYE-GEN-01-G03-A01 — Rate per Kilometre Schedule — External Annexure
- PAYE-GEN-01-G03-A02 — Subsistence Allowance Foreign Travel — External Annexure
PAYE Employer Reconciliation BRS for the 2025 Tax Year
SARS has published the PAYE Employer Reconciliation BRS for the 2025 tax year. The changes are:
- New source code (3926) for the withdrawal from a retirement fund from the savings component/pot.
- Amendment of descriptions or validation rules for:
- Unclaimed benefits (source code 3909)
- Certificate Number (source code 3010)
- Directive Number (source code 3230)
- Directive Income Source Code (source code 3232)
- Transfer of Unclaimed Benefits (source code 3923)
- NED Directors or Audit Committee Member Fees (source code 3620/3670)
SARS Webinar on Digital Channels
SARS hosted a webinar on Digital Channels which covered:
- eFiling for organisations:
- How to register on eFiling
- How to manage your profile on eFiling
- Portfolio management
- Registered representatives
- Registering or adding a taxpayer on eFiling
- Managing groups
- Activating a SARS-registered representative
- Inviting a user and delegating rights
- Tax Compliant Status
- SARS Online Query System (SOQS):
- What is SOQS?
- Advantages of SOQS
- Services on SOQS
- Frequently asked questions.
If you missed the webinar, click here: https://youtube.com/live/CJafuxMidf8?feature=share or see the presentation.
For the latest SARS tutorials, eLearning videos, and webinars on specific tax and trade topics, see our SARS TV YouTube channel.
If you missed any of our live-streamed webinars, a complete list of all the recordings is also available on SARS TV.
Tax Directive System Enhancements Implemented (February 2024)
SARS has enhanced the Tax Directives system in line with legislative requirements. The following changes to the Tax Directives process will affect external stakeholders:
- Taxation of local and foreign income will now cater for South African citizens who earned income both locally and abroad in one Year of Assessment, but who do not qualify for 10(i)(o)(ii).
- Free portability between funds, such as with transfers to unclaimed benefit funds:
- The provisions of the Income Tax Act confirm that a deduction equal to the value of the amount transferred will be allowed as a deduction for any transfer from a pension fund and pension preservation fund (including an unclaimed-benefit pension preservation fund).
- This means that the transfer will be tax neutral.
- The update to the directives system will allow the “Transfer — Unclaimed Benefits” (code 48) to account for transfers between pension, preservation, and provident funds and unclaimed-benefit funds of each type.
- Free portability between funds: the following fund types will be added to the eFiling RT01 screen drop-down menu:
- Unclaimed Pension Preservation Fund
- Unclaimed Provident Preservation Fund
SARS has updated the Tax Directive guides: Completion Guide for IRP3(a) and IRP3(s) Forms and Guide to Complete Submit and Cancel a Recognition of Transfer. The additions are:
- New fields on the IRP3(s) form allow for the taxation of local and foreign income for South African citizens who have worked both locally and overseas who do not qualify for exemption under s10(i)(o)(ii).
- New fund types on the ROT01 form, which are “Unclaimed Pension Preservation Fund” and “Unclaimed Provident Preservation Fund”.
Tax Directives: Involuntary Transfer before Retirement
Paragraph 2(1)(c) of the Second Schedule to the Act regulates the amount to be included as gross income for any year of assessment. This amount in respect of any amount transferred for the benefit of a member of a retirement fund on, or after, normal retirement age (as defined in the rules of the fund), but before the member elects to retire from that retirement fund, minus any deductions allowed under Paragraph 6A of the Second Schedule to the Act.
Before 1 March 2022, Paragraph 6A of the Second Schedule to the Act allowed the full value of the amounts transferred for the following transfers as deductions, making such transfers tax neutral:
- Transfers from a pension fund into a pension preservation fund, provident preservation fund, or a retirement annuity fund; and
- Transfers from a provident fund into a pension preservation fund, a provident preservation fund, or a retirement annuity fund.
From 1 March 2022, Paragraph 6A of the Second Schedule to the Act also allowed for transfers into a similar fund by a member of a pension preservation or provident preservation fund (who has reached normal retirement age in terms of the fund rules, but has not yet opted to retire from the applicable preservation fund). As a result, these individual transfers would be tax neutral.
To ensure parity among members of retirement funds who are subject to an involuntary transfer — and who have reached normal retirement age in terms of the fund rules, but have not yet opted to retire from the fund — the following changes have been made in the Act:
- Such individuals can have their retirement interest in that pension fund or provident fund transferred to another pension fund or provident fund without incurring a tax liability.
- The value of the retirement interest, including any growth, will remain ring-fenced and preserved in the receiving pension or provident fund until the member retires from that fund. This means that these members will not be entitled to the payment of a withdrawal benefit in respect of the amount transferred.
If a member has reached retirement age, but has not opted to retire and is subject to an involuntary transfer, follow these application steps:
- Go to Find a Form.
- Print Forms A and D from the SARS website.
- Manually complete all required fields and select “Transfer Before Retirement (Par 2[1][c])” as a reason for the directive.
- Manually edit (scratch out) the transferee type so that the only options are either a Pension Fund or a Provident fund.
Email the completed Tax Directive application to [email protected] with the subject line, “Involuntary Transfer Before Retirement (Par 2[1][c]) Form A&D”.
The processing time is 21 business days.
