21 February 2024 – SARS plans to introduce enhancements to the Tax Directives system on Friday, 23 February 2024, in line with the IBIR-006 Tax Directives Interface Specification Version 6.601.
The following enhancements will be introduced:
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- Taxation of local and foreign income, which will 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.
Please do not submit Tax Directives files on the current form form after 16:00 on 23 February 2024. SARS will queue and process such files after we have upgraded the Tax Directive system.
SARS values your support and collaboration, as always.
