Page 13 - Nexia SAB&T Trust Guide 2024

■ Trustees may each individually face personal liability in the event of
recklessness or failure to exercise reasonable care and skill.
■ Charitable Trust: This is a trust set up for charitable purposes and may
qualify for exemption from income tax and Capital Gains Tax provided that:
■ It carries on an approved public benefit activity.
■ It is registered as a Public Benefit Organisation by the SARS Tax
Exemption Unit.
■ Donations to a charitable trust which fulfils the regulatory requirements
will also be exempted from donations tax.
■ Special Trust: There are two types of special trust in South Africa, as follows:
(a) Special Trust Type A – this is a testamentary or inter vivos trust created
solely for the benefit of a person(s) with a mental or physical “disability”
as defined in section 6B(1) of the Income Tax Act (no.58 of 1962).
(b) Special Trust Type B – this is a testamentary trust created in terms’s of a
deceased’s Last Will and Testament solely for the benefit of a person(s)
who is a relative of the person who died, and who are alive on the date
of death of that deceased person (including those conceived but not yet
born), and the youngest of the beneficiaries is younger than 18 years on
the last day of the year of assessment.
These trusts are treated differently for taxation purposes, as is set out in more
detail on page in the chapter on Special Trusts.

All trusts need to register with SARS, regardless of whether the trust
has any transactions and /or assets.
The trustee (if there is only one trustee), or one of the trustees (if there
is more than one trustee), will be the representative taxpayer for the
trust, and will need to be registered as such with SARS.
Trustees are now faced with reporting obligations regarding the
"beneficial ownership" of trusts to both the Master of the High Court's
Office and to the South African Revenue Service (SARS).

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