SARS Rolls Out Tax Directive System Enhancements
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SARS rolled out important updates to its Tax Directives System, which went live on Friday, 11 April 2025. These system enhancements aim to improve efficiency, boost security, and help taxpayers and fund administrators meet their obligations with more clarity. The updated Guide to the Tax Directive functionality on eFiling highlights the changes that were made to the system.
🔄 What Has Changed?
Here’s a quick breakdown of what tax practitioners, and payroll professionals should know:
🆕 New Transfer Rules for Unclaimed and Inactive Funds
Tax-neutral transfers now include more allowable cases, such as:
Unclaimed benefit funds (code 48)
Inactive members with incomplete info (code 54) These must now report all component values (Vested, Retirement, Savings), even if they are zero.
💼New Directive Reason for Backdated Payments
A new reason has been added to the IRP3(a) form for antedated (backdated) salaries and pensions, using source code 3623.
💰Update on Small Retirement Fund Withdrawals
As of 1 September 2024, members with under R15 000 in a Retirement Annuity Fund (RAF) can withdraw the full amount before retirement, provided the combined value of Vested and Retirement components stays below this threshold.
⚠️ This limit applies at fund level, not per policy.
🌍 Goodbye “Emigration Withdrawal”
The system will no longer accept tax directive applications using “Emigration Withdrawal” as a reason. This aligns with the move to Cessation of SA Tax Residency, which came into effect in March 2022.
🌐 eFiling Takes Over – Manual Submissions End
Manual submissions for RST01 and IRP3(a) forms will be phased out.
These directive applications must now be submitted via SARS eFiling starting 11 April 2025.
The RST02 refund form for non-residents will also be discontinued — refunds will now be handled automatically during tax return assessments.
🔁 Retirement Transfers Get Easier
From 1 March 2025, retirement annuity members who have reached retirement age (but haven’t retired) may transfer their funds to another RAF tax-free using the updated transfer reason under paragraph 2(1)(c).
⏰ Important Reminder
Do not submit directive files in the old format after 11 April 2025. These will only be processed after the system upgrade is complete.
🧾 Stay Up to Date: Review the latest interface specs (Version 6.803) and upgrade internal systems where necessary.
