Page 53 - Nexia SAB&T Trust Guide 2025

TRUSTS AND SARS COMPLIANCE

The SARS compliance landscape has been completely overhauled for trusts. This
has been brought about with the aim of enhancing the transparency and improving
compliance.
Some of the regulatory changes that have been introduced in the 2023 and 2024
tax years relating to trusts are as follows:
A new tax filing window for trusts
SARS has introduced a new filing window for trusts in South Africa. In the past,
trusts filed their tax returns during the same period as individuals. As from the
2024 filing season, the filing dates for trusts are from 16th September 2024
to 20th January 2025.
Revamp of trust tax returns (ITR12T)
SARS has completely overhauled tax returns for trusts.
Trustees, when filing a tax return for their trust, need to declare the following:
a. Beneficial Ownership
i. Who are the beneficial owners of the trust? SARS requires disclosure
of the full details of the individuals or “warm bodies” who are the
beneficial owners of the trust – these include the founder, the trustees
and the beneficiaries.
ii. This applies not only to active trusts, but also to dormant trusts.
iii. See page 13 and 14 of this guide for a full definition/description of
who the beneficial owners of a trust are.
b. Income and activities
i. Detailed reporting on all income sources and the nature of the trust’s
activities is now required, ensuring that trusts are used appropriately
and transparently.
c. Annual Financial Statements (AFS)
i. Annual Financial Statements form part of the compulsory supporting
documents required to be lodged with a trust’s tax return.

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