SA-Source Income That Generally Stays Taxable After You Leave
Ceasing to be a South African tax resident doesn't switch off South African tax entirely. It switches you from worldwide taxation to source-based taxation — SARS stops taxing income you earn in Canada, but SA-source income that stays taxable after leaving — anything arising inside South Africa's borders — remains within its reach. That's the distinction this checklist is built around, and it's one a lot of people miss when they hear "I'm not tax resident anymore" and assume the whole relationship is over.
What the process itself involves
Cessation isn't automatic. You declare a cessation date on the RAV01 form via SARS eFiling, under "Income Tax Liability Details," and SARS opens a case requiring a signed declaration, a motivation letter, a passport copy showing entry and exit stamps, and further evidence depending on which residency test you're relying on. SARS can and does decline declarations where the documentation doesn't hold up. This isn't a form you file once and forget about.
The categories that generally keep SARS interested
The research behind this checklist points to four categories worth knowing about — in other words, what SARS still taxes once you are non-resident — as areas worth investigating:
- Rental income from SA property after emigration. If you keep a property back home and let it out, the rental income arises inside South Africa and generally stays taxable there, regardless of where you're living.
- Capital gains tax on South African immovable property. Selling the property later can trigger CGT on the SA side, separately from anything Canada might ask of you.
- Dividends withholding tax on dividends from South African companies.
- Interest withholding tax on South African-source interest, under certain conditions.
Why this checklist stops here
This is deliberately a list of categories. The specific percentages, thresholds and exemptions attached to each of those four items are not detailed in the research behind this post — they're flagged as needing verification. Quoting a withholding rate I can't confirm would be worse than not quoting one at all, especially on a tax question where getting it wrong costs real money.
There's also a treaty layer sitting on top of all of this. The South Africa-Canada double taxation agreement gives both countries taxing rights in some categories rather than handing the whole thing to one side — pensions and annuities are a documented example, where both states may tax and relief comes through a credit mechanism rather than a clean exemption. It's a reasonable bet that similar cross-border mechanics apply to rental income and withholding tax, but this post isn't the place to guess at how.
What to actually do with this list
Treat the four items above as your agenda for a conversation with a professional. A South African tax practitioner who works with emigrants can tell you the current rates, whether any apply to your specific assets, and how the SA-Canada treaty interacts with what Canada will also want to tax. Bring the list; let them fill in the numbers.
Cape2Canada's free guide, What It Really Costs, covers the budget side of the move more broadly — useful context to bring into that same conversation.