Tax in South Africa

As far as i know its out of the country 183 days ( 63 consecutive ), but there is a rumor floating around that the 63 days has fallen away. Can anyone comfirm this ❗ Lets get this page going guy, lots of visits no replies 😯

Hi guys,

I understand it to be 183 days out per year, with 60 consequtive. When travelling, one day out and one in (departing SA and returning) counts as one offshore day, not two (plenty caught with this).

I do 200 to 210 a year with 65-70 as the longest trip and so far have been fine with nil returns received and when querried by SARS, they are happy to see my seamans book, passport and employment contracts as evidence. Also, they asked to see proof of qualification (ROV Supervisor) once to confirm my job description.

Hope this helps, but Trevor/whoever it is now, wants our money bad (more houses/ships/fighters/higher MP salaries etc) so I am hoping they dont do something wierd and force us to pay tax in some way in the future.

Regards,

ROVER22

There are two categories.

SEE QUOTED TEXT BELOW
First there is the 183 days per year of which 60 must be continuos.
Then there is the 183 days per year for seamen on a vessel carrying cargo or involved in exploration. 60 days continuos not required. Those involved in ROV usually fall into this category but apparantly the rules have changed to state that you must be involved with the navigation or engineering of the vessel. As an ROV pilot you do get involved with navigation as you help position DP vessels.

AMO, whatever you do don’t speak to any of the usual tax consultants in South Africa. As the offshore working population is rather small, these people have no clue about offshore tax, even if they claim to have Masters Degrees. Rather speak to a specialist offshore tax company or chartered accountant.

PM me with your details and I’ll put you in contact with a chartered accountant that has many ROV guys as clients or a specialist offshore tax company.

Check out the SARS website and have a look at Interpretation Note No. 34, dated 12 January 2006 reffering to Section 10(1)(o)(i) of the Act.

Been quoting that for years now, together with certified copies of Discharge book an PP. You will also be registered as a provisional tax payer. The "Source Code" on the ITR12 tax return for income will be 3601, the non-taxable income code being 3696.

Well, I know for a fact that my company has us all under PAYE tax scheme and if you are out of the country for more than half a year and with a 60 day continuous stint , then you do not pay tax. In South Africa. To the best of my knowledge, I heard about this changing but nothing has been implemented or decided yet.