Before you start

A passport and current visa or permit
An honest count of days spent in South Africa this tax year and in each of the previous five
A South African bank account and address for SARS eFiling registration
Records of every income stream — local salary, foreign employment income, invoices, and any foreign tax already paid

Step-by-step

1
Work out whether you are a South African tax resident
There are two independent tests. 'Ordinarily resident' asks where your real home is, judged on facts rather than days. The physical-presence test is arithmetic: more than 91 days in South Africa in the current tax year, AND more than 91 days in each of the preceding five tax years, AND more than 915 days in total across those five. Fail any leg and the test does not catch you. Remote-work-visa holders should read the visa's own SARS registration carve-out alongside this, not instead of it.
OnlineWho: You, or a tax practitioner for borderline casesHalf a day, plus your travel records
2
Get a SARS tax reference number
If you are taxable here you need a tax number. Most employees are registered automatically when their employer first submits PAYE for them, but you can register yourself on SARS eFiling or the SARS MobiApp, or in person at a branch by appointment — the Johannesburg branches at Alberton, Randburg and Roodepoort are the practical ones for the metro. The number is issued once and used for life.
OnlineWho: You; your employer may trigger it automaticallyInstant to a few daysFree
3
Employees: let PAYE run, then reconcile
Your employer withholds Pay-As-You-Earn each month and pays it to SARS, so most of the liability settles during the year. You still file an annual ITR12 return to reconcile, claim deductions such as retirement annuity contributions and medical scheme credits, and declare anything PAYE did not see. If part of your income is foreign employment income and you spent more than 183 full days outside South Africa in a 12-month period including one continuous block of more than 60 days, the first R1.25 million of it is exempt under section 10(1)(o)(ii).
Via employerWho: Your employer withholds; you fileMonthly, plus one annual return
4
Freelancers and consultants: register as a provisional taxpayer
If you earn business or freelance income not subject to PAYE, you are a provisional taxpayer and estimate-and-pay twice a year on an IRP6: the first by 31 August, the second by the end of February, with an optional third top-up around the end of September to limit interest. Under-estimating attracts penalties, so err high — SARS refunds an overpayment on assessment. Johannesburg has the deepest market of tax practitioners in the country if your affairs cross borders.
OnlineWho: You, or a registered tax practitionerTwo payments a year
5
Budget for the municipal bill, which resets every 1 July
There is no city income tax, but the City of Johannesburg's tariffs and property rates are approved with the annual budget and take effect on 1 July, so your cost of living steps up mid-year. For 2026/27 the approved increases were 8.63% on electricity, 12.5% on water, 11% on sanitation and 6.2% on refuse, with property rates up 3.6%. Owners get the first R350,000 of market value excluded from rates and a 10% rebate for settling the annual rates account in advance. Renters should read the lease carefully to see which of these charges are being passed through.
OnlineWho: You, and your landlord or managing agentAnnually from 1 July

Documents you’ll need

IRP5 or IT3(a) certificate from your employer summarising salary and PAYE
Travel records proving days in and out of South Africa, for residency and for the foreign employment exemption
Invoices, expense records and IRP6 estimates if you are a provisional taxpayer
Proof of foreign tax paid and the relevant double-tax treaty article for foreign tax credits
Medical scheme certificate and retirement annuity certificate for the credits and deductions

Things most newcomers don’t know

The physical-presence test is three conditions joined by AND: more than 91 days in the current tax year, more than 91 days in each of the five preceding tax years, and more than 915 days across those five in total. Failing any one of them means the test does not make you a resident.

Because it is arithmetic rather than judgement, people drift into South African tax residency — and therefore into worldwide taxation — without any single decision to move here. It also works in your favour: someone splitting time can stay outside the test deliberately. The separate 'ordinarily resident' test can still catch you regardless of days, which is the part that gets missed.

Source: SARS — tax and non-residents

The section 10(1)(o)(ii) exemption covers the first R1.25 million of foreign EMPLOYMENT income only, and only where you were outside South Africa for more than 183 full days in a 12-month period including a continuous block of more than 60 days.

It is routinely described as a general R1.25 million foreign-income exemption. It is not: freelance and consulting income, business profits, rental income and investment income all fall outside it entirely. Consultants who restructure a salary as invoices to gain flexibility can lose the exemption without realising a tax decision was being made.

Source: SARS — foreign employment income exemption

Johannesburg's City Power charges a fixed monthly amount on residential prepaid electricity — around R200 before VAT, roughly R230 with it — that is payable before a single unit of electricity is bought, and it is recovered from the next prepaid purchase.

Prepaid electricity is normally understood as pay-only-for-what-you-use, so a small top-up appears to vanish. It is not a fault: the charge accrues monthly and is deducted from the next token purchase. If you are a light user or away for a month, the fixed portion still accumulates. Registered indigent households on the low-usage tariff are exempt. Check who bears it in your lease, because landlords and tenants both assume the other does.

Source: City of Johannesburg approved 2026/27 electricity tariffs; City Power

There is no provincial or municipal income tax anywhere in South Africa, but the City of Johannesburg's tariffs and rates are approved with its budget and take effect on 1 July every year, not 1 January.

Anyone budgeting on a calendar year gets a mid-year step change they did not plan for — 2026/27 brought 12.5% on water and 8.63% on electricity in a single month. Property owners also get two things worth claiming: the first R350,000 of market value is excluded from rates, and paying the annual rates account in advance earns a 10% discount. Neither is applied automatically to everyone.

Source: City of Johannesburg 2026/27 budget, tariffs and property rates policy

Common mistakes to avoid

Drifting into tax residency through the physical-presence day count while thinking of yourself as a visitor, and then being liable on worldwide income.
Treating the R1.25 million exemption as covering all foreign income — it applies to foreign employment income only, never to freelance, business, rental or investment income.
Planning around a calendar year: the tax year ends in February, provisional payments fall in August and February, and the municipal tariff year starts in July.
Missing an IRP6 provisional payment or under-estimating it as a freelancer, which brings penalties and interest rather than a polite letter.
Assuming a prepaid electricity meter means no fixed charges — City Power's monthly fixed amount accrues regardless of usage and comes off your next token purchase.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.

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