by VDT Attorneys | Mar 4, 2026 | SARS, Tax, Understatement Penalties
Under the current TAA framework, taxpayers have been able to avoid understatement penalties by demonstrating that the understatement resulted from a bona fide inadvertent error, regardless of the extent of the prejudice to SARS. The term is not defined in...
by VDT Attorneys | Feb 4, 2026 | AML, Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-money Laundering Amendment Act, Beneficial Ownership, Companies, SARS
A regular review of the trust deed, the trustees and the beneficiaries of the trust is a crucial element in ensuring the trust’s compliance. Poorly drafted trust deeds can limit the trustees’ powers, with tragic and unnecessary long-term consequences for the...
by VDT Attorneys | Jan 16, 2026 | Managing your trust, SARS, Tax return, Trust compliance, Trust non-compliance, Trusts
All South African trusts must be registered for income tax with SARS to submit their tax returns yearly. It is irrelevant whether a trust is active or not. SARS will do a deep dive into the trusts’ tax return submissions, and if the trust has failed to submit its tax...
by VDT Attorneys | Dec 3, 2025 | AML, Anti-Money Laundering, Beneficial Ownership, Grey listing, SARS, Trust compliance, Trustee Duties, Trusts
With South Africa’s greylisting by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in 2023, compliance has evolved from being a peripheral consideration to a crucial element of fiduciary planning. Understanding how compliance obligations influence, and in many cases,...
by VDT Attorneys | Nov 24, 2025 | Reportable Arrangements, SARS, SARS disclosure rules, Tax, Tax Advice, Tax planning
A reportable arrangement is any transaction or structure that SARS believes could give rise to unusual or significant tax benefits. These include arrangements that result in a tax benefit of more than R5 million, the use of hybrid instruments that look like debt but...
by VDT Attorneys | Nov 12, 2025 | High-net-worth individuals, Mandatory balance sheet reporting, SARS, Tax collection efficiency, Tax planning
SARS established the High Wealth Individual Unit (HWIU) in 2021, recognising the need for a dedicated division to monitor and engage with affluent taxpayers who often possess complex financial structures, both locally and offshore. The HWIU forms part of SARS’s...
