CAPE TOWN: South Africa revenue department issues revised tax guide for foreigners.”Guide on the Taxation of Foreigners Working in South Africa 2014/15″ deals mainly with employment income. Under the country’s income tax system, only amounts received by or accrued to non-residents from a source within South Africa are subject to South African income tax. In other word, subject to the South African ordinary residence or physical presence non-residency tests, foreigners working in South Africa are not liable to South African income tax on income earned by them outside South Africa.
Income received by such a foreigner for services rendered both inside and outside South Africa should be apportioned based on the days worked in and outside of the country, and South African-sourced income received by a foreigner from sources other than an employer (business, investment, and rental income) must also be included in the foreigner’s gross income for the year of assessment. Taxable income from all sources within South Africa is then added together, after deductions, to calculate a foreigner’s final overall tax liability.
The Guide also contains an explanation of the separate rules applying for payments to foreign entertainers or sportspersons. A resident making a payment to such an individual must deduct or withhold a final 15 percent tax from that payment, and transmit the tax withheld to SARS on behalf of the foreign entertainer or sportsperson before the end of the following month.
