New requirements for Trust Compliance
A tax practitioner is now required to submit additional information to SARS when submitting a Trust tax return in South Africa.
Information that should be submitted includes:
- Trust Deed
- Resolutions
- Minutes of trustee meetings
- Trust financials
- Letters of Authority
- Beneficial Ownerships
SARS now asks additional questions in the Trust tax return, all centered around mitigating risk with trusts.
Although tax practitioners are not involved in the day to day running of a Trust, this will still put pressure on tax practitioners during tax season to ensure income tax returns meet the new standards.
SARS has sharpened its focus on Trusts and tax practitioners are required to refresh themselves on the latest developments on completing the ITR12T.
Important changes to take note of are:
- Beneficial Ownership declarations
SARS requires the beneficial ownership to be disclosed. This requirement comes after the grey listing of South Africa by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The beneficial ownership register lists those benefiting and the inter-connectedness with other entities.
Trustees are required to prepare resolutions for all transactions in the trust. This will be requested by SARS when the tax return is submitted.
- Capturing persons’ details
The capturer might in some instances be a trustee and a beneficiary. The board of trustees must ensure all information is correct and ready for the tax practitioner before submitting the income tax return. The returns of 2023 will most likely require the most information to be captured as a result of the legislative changes however future returns will be prepopulated and then only the changes need to be amended.
Do you need a Quote for our Trust Tax Services?
Contact our team via any of the following channels to get a proposal for your Trust services:
We can assist with the set up and the administration of your trust. This includes setting up of your trust deed, tax planning and compliance and the related secretarial services.
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