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How does the Budget Speech affect you, your property transactions and your estate?

How does the Budget Speech affect you, your property transactions and your estate?

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On 21 February 2018, Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba delivered his 2018 Budget Speech.

Hereby a summary of the most significant proposals for the 2018/2019 Budget as tabled by the Minister of Finance:

2018/2019 Tax Proposals:

  •  VAT: A one percentage point (1%) increase in VAT from 14% to 15%.
  • No adjustments to the top four income tax brackets. Below inflation adjustments to the bottom three income tax brackets proposed.
  • Fuel Levies: Overall increase of 52c/litre for fuel, consisting of a 22c/litre increase in the general fuel levy and 30c/litre increase in the Road Accident Fund levy, effective 4 April 2018.
  • Luxury Goods Tax: Increase in the ad-valorem excise duties rate on luxury goods from 7% to 9% effective 1 April 2018.
  • Estate Duty Tax: Increased estate duty, to be levied at 25% for estates above R30 million, effective 1 March 2018. This is a 5% increase.
  • Capital Gains and Dividend Tax: The capital gains tax rate for individuals remains unchanged at 18%, while the dividends tax rate remains unchanged at 20%.
  • Medical Tax Credits: The medical tax credits will increase from R303 to R310 per month for the first two beneficiaries (2.3% increase), and from R204 to R209 per month for the remaining beneficiaries (2.5% increase).
  • Sin Tax: Excise duties on tobacco products will increase by 8.5% and on alcohol by 6-10%.
  • Environmental & Health Tax: Increases in the plastic bag levy, the motor vehicle emissions tax and the levy on incandescent light bulbs to promote eco-friendly choices.

 

Transfer Duty Fees:

Transfer duty fees have remained unchanged. The following rates on transactions in respect of acquisition of property is payable (and not subject to VAT). 

Value of Property (R) Rate
0 – 900 000 0%
900 001 – 1 250 000 3% of the value above 900 000
1 250 001 – 1 750 000 10 500 + 6% of the value above 1 250 000
1 750 001 – 2 250 000 40 500 + 8% of the value above 1 750 000
2 250 001 – 10 000 000 80 500 + 11% of the value above 2 250 000
10 000 001 and above 933 000 + 13% of the value above 10 000 000

 

Estate Duty Tax:

The 2018 Budget proposes to increase estate duty from 20% to 25% for estates worth R30 million and more. This is in line with Davis Tax Committee recommendations, and in keeping with the progressive structure of the tax system. Any donations above R30 million in one tax year will be taxed at 25%, in order to limit the staggering of donations and avoid the higher estate duty rate. Both measures will be effective from 1 March 2018.

Estate duty is levied on property of residents and South African property of non-residents less allowable deductions. The duty is levied on the dutiable value of an estate at a rate of 20% on the first R30 million and at a rate of 25% above R30 million. A basic deduction of R3.5 million is allowed in the determination of an estate’s liability for estate duty as well as deductions for liabilities, bequests to public benefit organisations and property accruing to surviving spouses.

 

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How is a deceased’s estate administered?

How is a deceased’s estate administered?

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The administering of a deceased estate is regulated by the Administration of Estates Act No 66 of 1965 (as amended) and divided according to a valid will or the Intestate Succession Act No 81 of 1987 (as amended) or a combination of both acts.

Various other acts and regulations may, however, also be applicable, like those applicable to income tax (with due allowance for VAT and CGT), Estate duty and Donations tax, and support of surviving spouse.

After a death

When someone dies, his/her estate must be reported to the Master of the High Court as soon as possible, and certain report documents, together with the original will, where applicable, should be delivered to the Master.

In the case of estates with a gross value of less than R250 000 the Master may dispense with an official appointment of an Executor to execute the required administering process. In all other cases, an Executor will be appointed by the Master, who will issue an Executor’s letter to the appointed Executor.

The Executor

As soon as the Executor’s letter has been issued the formal administering of the estate, which the Executor has to follow, will commence. One of the Executor’s first tasks would be to announce to the creditors, acquire details regarding estate assets and have it valued if necessary, and recover certain assets. Known and filed liabilities should be investigated and attention must be paid to income tax.

The Executor is now compelled to submit a liquidation and distribution account (statement of assets and liabilities) to the Master of the High Court within six months after being issued with the Executor’s letter, or ask for a formal postponement. This estate account will indicate all assets and liabilities, distribution of heirs and details of assets outside the estate which are directly payable to beneficiaries.

The Master will check the estate account and then issue a questionnaire to the Executor. As soon as the Master has granted approval the Executor may proceed to announce the account as being open for inspection for 21 days at the Master and the nearest Magistrate’s Office.

Should any written challenges be submitted, it should be dealt with according to the regulations in the Administration of Estates Act. Should there be no challenges, or when the Executor has disposed of all challenges, the Executor may proceed to make payments to heirs and carry over any other assets to the beneficiaries.

Administering obstacles

In most cases the administering process should not be complicated, therefore it would be possible to finalise within a fair period of time (approximately six to nine months). There are, however, many obstacles which may slow down this process and even bring the administering process to a virtual standstill. Some of the most well-known and general obstacles are poor service from government and private institutions, invalid and unpractical wills, shortage of cash, quarrels and disputes among family members and beneficiaries, lack of information, disorder in the tax and other affairs of the deceased, lawsuits before and after death, and legal post-mortems in case of an unnatural death, which may sometimes be required before policies can be paid out.

Conclusion

The administering of an estate is a specialised environment which should be left to capable people with knowledge of the Administration of Estates Act and years of experience. Ignorance regarding the run of events as well as errors of judgement may eventually cost you dearly if you don’t make use of the available expertise.

This article is a general information sheet and should not be used or relied on as legal or other professional advice. No liability can be accepted for any errors or omissions nor for any loss or damage arising from reliance upon any information herein. Always contact your legal adviser for specific and detailed advice. Errors and omissions excepted (E&OE)

Transfer of a property: Is VAT or transfer duty payable?

Transfer of a property: Is VAT or transfer duty payable?

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A purchaser is responsible for payment of transfer cost when acquiring an immovable property, but it should further be established if the transaction is subject to the payment of VAT or transfer duty to SARS.

When an immovable property is transferred, either VAT or transfer duty is payable. To determine whether VAT or transfer duty is payable one should look at the status of the seller and the type of transaction.

VAT

If the seller is registered for VAT (Vendor) and he sells the property in the course of his business, VAT will be payable to SARS. A vendor is a person who runs a business and whose total taxable earnings per year exceed R1 000 000. He will then have to be registered for VAT. A further stipulation is that the property that is being sold must be related to his business from which he derives an income.

The Offer to Purchase should stipulate whether the purchase price includes or excludes VAT. If the Offer to Purchase makes no mention of the payment of VAT and the seller is a VAT vendor, it is then deemed that VAT is included and the seller will have to pay 14% of the purchase price to SARS. It is the seller’s responsibility to pay the VAT to SARS, except if the contract stipulates otherwise.

When a seller is not registered for VAT, but the purchaser is a registered VAT vendor, the purchaser will still pay transfer duty but can claim the transfer duty back from SARS after registration of the property.

Transfer duty

When the seller is not a registered VAT vendor it is almost certain that transfer duty will be payable on the transaction. A purchaser is responsible for payment of the transfer duty. Transfer duty is currently payable on the following scale:

  1. The first R750 000 of the value of the property is exempted from transfer duty.
  2. Thereafter transfer duty is levied at 3% of the value of the property between R750 000 and R1 250 000.
  3. Where the value of the property is from R1 250 001 up to R1 750 000, transfer duty will be R15 000 plus 6% on the value of the property above R1 250 000.
  4. If the value of the property falls between R1 750 001 and R2 250 000, transfer duty will be R45 000 plus 8% of the value of the property above R1750 000.
  5. On a property with a value of R2 250 001 and above transfer duty is R85 000 plus 11% on the value of the property above R2 250 000.

Transfer duty payable by an individual or a legal entity (trust, company or close corporation) is currently charged at the same rate.

Transfer duty is levied on the reasonable value of the property, which will normally be the purchase price, but should the market value be higher than the purchase price, transfer duty will be payable on the highest amount. Transfer duty is payable within six months from the date that the Offer to Purchase was signed.

In instances where a party obtains a property as an inheritance or as the beneficiary of a divorce settlement, the transaction will be exempted from payment of transfer duty.

Where shares in a company or a member’s interest in a close corporation or rights in a trust are transferred, the transaction will be subject to payment of transfer duty if the legal entity is the owner of a residential property.

Zero-rated transactions

This means that VAT will be payable on the transaction but at a zero rate. If both the seller and the purchaser are registered for VAT and the property is sold as a going concern, VAT will be charged at a zero rate, for instance when a farmer sells his farm as well as the cattle and the implements.

Exemption

Transfer duty, and not VAT, will be payable when a seller who is registered for VAT sells a property that was leased for residential purposes.

It is thus important for a purchaser to establish the status of the seller when buying a property. The seller who is registered for VAT should carefully peruse the purchase price clause in a contract before signing, to establish if VAT is included or excluded.

This article is a general information sheet and should not be used or relied on as legal or other professional advice. No liability can be accepted for any errors or omissions nor for any loss or damage arising from reliance upon any information herein. Always contact your legal adviser for specific and detailed advice. Errors and omissions excepted (E&OE)