Deceased estates and taxes are additional troubles to deal with over and above losing a
loved one. It’s more of a burden when living abroad – making the grieving process much
more taxing. We’re here to tell you what you need to know regarding deceased estates and
taxes while living abroad.

Being classified as an emigrant after having financially emigrated and then having to access
the deceased’s estate is quite the process when doing it alone. You will need to provide
proof of emigration from South Africa. This documentation will have been received when
filing for emigration with SARS.

Don’t fret if your papers have been lost in the move though. A request may be lodged with
SARS to retrieve the necessary documentation. Once these details are received, you will
then be able to transfer your inheritance funds abroad.

In the case that you are only abroad temporarily, you will still be classified a citizen of South
Africa and are subject to the same laws and financial regulations as people living within the
country.

In the event that you still have access to your South African green barcoded or new smart
card ID, you can transfer R1 million using your annual allowance, and an additional R10
million with a tax clearance certificate from the SARS. This is something to keep in mind
when transferring funds from deceased estates – over and above the tax implications.

There may be special cases of emigration that SARS will be able to assist with. In these
cases, you can go through a belated emigration process. This involves backdating your
emigration with SARS to reflect when you left South Africa. During the belated emigration
process, your financial assets in South Africa will be assessed.

In South Africa, there is no tax payable or due on money received from an inheritance. You
also will not be subject to Capital Gains Tax (CGT) on your inheritance. All relevant taxes
would have to be paid by the estate of the deceased person as estate duty. After this has
been settled, there is no longer any tax due on your inheritance. Inheritance payments can
often be an overly complex and lengthy process – let our expert team support you.

The RandTangle team will ease you through this process and deal with the finer details so
that you don’t have to. For complete assistance with claiming and transferring your
inheritance and for any other questions you might have – contact us for a no obligation
quotation or information – https://randtangle.com/contact-us/