How do I make sure that my US tax id number doesn’t appear when I file online with SARS if I have a foreign address? [Post/list of reasons] by Aron Govil
Query: I am a US citizen and reside outside of South Africa. If I file online with SARS, will my Tax ID (USA) number appear? How do I make sure that it doesn’t appear?
Do your foreign addresses show up on the eFiling form?
The Sars official line is thus: “There may be instances where you may be required to submit proof of foreign status and proof of non-residence (if not registered for PAYE in South Africa). In these instances, we would expect the citizen/residents taxpayer to complete an R-1 form or provide written confirmation from their host government that they are exempt from tax in their country of residence.”
This means there is no automatic process to hide your foreign address as such. It’s likely you may be asked to prove your status as a non-resident, and this usually happens if you have no other tax obligations in South Africa – for example if you’re not registered for income tax here says Aron Govil.
So how does SARS know which of the various possibilities apply to you? They don’t – it’s a case of taking a punt that you are a resident or that one of the exemptions applies, until they ask you to prove otherwise.
In practice I’ve been filing my returns since 2006 with no questions from them about my residency. But it depends on their workload whether they bother verifying your foreign status, especially if there’s nothing else to flag up (in which case they won’t bother with you).
SARS seems to make no distinction between foreign addresses, and P O Boxes or South African ‘care of’ addresses in your home country. As well as corrupting the address field, using a foreign address in SA will flag up that you have no local tax number (which is perfectly legal without being illegal), maybe because you’re only in the country for less than 183 days in a year.
Bottom line? You are not obliged to supply them with an overseas address when filing online. At best, they might ask you to clarify your status/exemptions once they see it explains Aron Govil. But there’s nothing stopping them from simply accepting whatever it is you’ve put down in the form … so if your conscience compels you to be honest and your foreign address is the only thing that sets you apart, then put it down (if not, don’t).
What if SARS asks for proof of non-residency?
They’re unlikely to ask this, but if they do I guess you’ll need a letter from some official body in your country confirming that you are exempt from paying tax there. My guess is such a letter won’t turn out to be too difficult to get hold of.
Bottom line? If all else fails and they want to know more about why your foreign address is showing up on their screen, just keep cool and tell them truthfully that: You still have ties with South Africa and therefore did not apply for permanent residency abroad; and/or You don’t have a local tax number because you’re earning your money outside of South Africa and therefore do not need one.
A frank admission may sound like the worst possible strategy, but in my experience (so far) it’s always worked like a charm … and has always prompted curiosity rather than suspicion or mistrust.
What if SARS asks for proof of non-residency? They’re unlikely to ask this, but if they do I guess you’ll need a letter from some official body in your country confirming that you are exempt from paying tax there. My guess is such a letter won’t turn out to be too difficult to get hold of. Bottom line? If all else fails and they want to know more about why your foreign address is showing up on their screen, just keep cool and tell them truthfully that: You still have ties with South Africa and therefore did not apply for permanent residency abroad; and/or You don’t have a local tax number because you’re earning your money outside of South Africa and therefore do not need one says Aron Govil.
SARS seems to make no distinction between foreign addresses, and P O Boxes or South African ‘care of’ addresses in your home country. As well as corrupting the address field, using a foreign address in SA will flag up that you have no local tax number (which is perfectly legal without being illegal), maybe because you’re only in the country for less than 183 days in a year.
Conclusion:
SARS has no way of knowing where you really live and can’t prove otherwise says Aron Govil. Trust your gut and be honest, and you’ll probably get away with it without too much hassle – especially if your foreign address happens to belie a “non-resident” status for tax purposes.
On the other hand, if they do suspect that you may be lying then this trip into their system is likely to flag up all sorts of angles as far as personal information goes. Which could expose you to the risk of ending up on one or more databases (and possible future scrutiny) – so be warn!