Understanding the tax benefits and limitations of a trust or special trust is crucial to ensuring the trust beneficiaries are provided for as intended. South Africans can choose between several different trust structures, each with different purposes, benefits and limitations. Choosing the right structure for your situation is a make-or-break decision that demands professional advice.
This tax season marks an important shift for trusts, which are now subject to heightened reporting requirements, regardless of activity, as well as automated penalties for non-compliance starting on 4 May 2026.
If you have a non-compliant trust, even if it is inactive, please speak to us. SARS has taken a zero-tolerance approach to trust compliance, increasing scrutiny of trust administration and automatically applying ongoing penalties and interest that can rapidly accumulate.
“The common assumption is that trusts are some kind of tax panacea…Then, conversely, from a South African Revenue Service (SARS) perspective, trusts are viewed with a degree of suspicion and mistrust. [T]he truth lies somewhere between these positions.” (Broomberg on Tax Strategy) The legal and tax landscape in which South Read more