National Treasury and the South African Revenue Service have released two draft bills containing the tax measures announced in South Africa’s 2026 Budget. The proposed legislation is open for public comment until 28 August 2026.

The draft Taxation Laws Amendment Bill focuses on substantive tax policy changes. One proposal would require the minimum-value threshold applying to multiple living annuities held with the same insurer or fund to be calculated cumulatively, supporting the protection of retirement income.

Treasury also proposes restricting the donations tax exemption between spouses to transfers made to a spouse who is a South African tax resident. The measure is intended to prevent couples from staggering the termination of their tax residency to avoid donations tax and capital gains tax.

For companies operating in special economic zones, the current anti-profit-shifting provision would be replaced with an arm’s-length pricing rule for transactions between qualifying businesses taxed at 15% and related companies outside the zone. Other proposals address VAT clawbacks on leasehold improvements and clarify when carbon-tax refunds linked to compliance with carbon budgets may be claimed.

The accompanying draft Tax Administration Laws Amendment Bill concentrates on compliance and administration. Proposed changes would enable South Africa to adopt electronic customs documents for temporarily imported goods, strengthen the records required when vendors claim notional VAT inputs on second-hand goods and expressly allow banks to screen suspicious tax refunds either before or after depositing them.

Taxpayers using the voluntary disclosure programme would also be permitted to apply simultaneously for the remission of interest associated with disclosed defaults. Meanwhile, a Budget proposal concerning the supply of gold to banks has been excluded from the draft legislation pending further consultation.

Treasury and SARS have invited businesses, tax practitioners and other interested parties to submit written comments before the deadline. The consultation provides stakeholders with an opportunity to identify unintended consequences and influence the legislation before it is finalised.