Transfer Duty exemption requirements
- No duty shall be payable in respect of any acquisition of any interest in a residence as contemplated in paragraph 51 or 51A of the Eighth Schedule to the Income Tax Act, 1962 (Act No. 58 of 1962), where that acquisition takes place as a result of a transfer or disposal contemplated in either of those paragraphs.
- This comes into operation on 1 October 2010 and applies in respect of acquisitions taking place on or after that date and before 1 January 2013.
- It might happen that a particular beneficiary of a Trust will not qualify for the relief, for example, because he or she does not meet the domestic usage requirement so it’s not used as a home. It might nevertheless be possible to transfer the residence to the beneficiary free of Transfer Duty (under section 9(4)(b) of the Transfer Duty Act). The latter provision applies when the beneficiary taking transfer is a “relative” of the Trust’s founder and does not pay any consideration e.g. rent for the residence, whether directly or indirectly. Capital Gains Tax may nevertheless be payable. When structuring these transactions sight should not be lost of section 20B of the Transfer Duty Act which applies to transactions, operations, schemes or understanding for obtaining an undue tax benefit.
Exemption Rates
Section 9 of the Transfer Duty Act prescribes the conditions that must be met to qualify for an exemption:
Nature | Rate |
1 April 1978 to 31 March 1980 (Section 9(11)) (Only applicable where natural persons acquire full ownership)
| |
Improved land by means of a habitable* dwelling, dwelling unit under the Sectional Title Unit – Section 9(11)(a) | R1 to R20 000 |
Vacant land with the intention to erect a dwelling – Section 9(11)(b) | R1 to R8 000 |
1 April 1980 to 18 March 1992 (Section 9(12)) (Only applicable where natural persons acquire full ownership) | |
Improved land by means of a habitable* dwelling, – Section 9(12)(a) dwelling unit under the Sectional Title Unit | R1 to R30 000 |
Vacant land with the intention to erect a dwelling – Section 9(12)(b) | R1 to R12 000 |
19 March 1992 to 6 April 1993 (Section 9(12A) (Only applicable where natural persons acquire full ownership) | |
Improved land by means of a habitable* dwelling, dwelling unit under the Sectional Title Unit – Section 9(12A)(a) | R1 to R50 000 |
Vacant land with the intention to erect a dwelling – Section 9(12A)(b) | R1 to R20 000 |
From 7 April 1993 to 31 March 1999 (Section 9(12B) (Only applicable where natural persons acquire full ownership)
| |
Improved land by means of a habitable* dwelling, dwelling unit under the Sectional Title Unit – Section 9(12B)(a) | R1 to R60 000 |
Vacant land with the intention to erect a dwelling – Section 9(12B)(b) | R1 to R24 000 |
From 1 April 1999 to 28 February 2002 (Section 9(12C) (Only applicable where natural persons acquire full ownership)
| |
Improved land by means of a habitable* dwelling, dwelling unit under the Sectional Title Unit Section 9(12C)(a) | R1 to R70 000 |
Vacant land with the intention to erect a dwelling Section 9(12C)(b) | R1 to R30 000 |
