Gift rules.

[AndyD]

Can anyone please tell me what the maximum amount you're allowed to receive tax free from someone overseas each year as a gift. Also is the yearly tax-free gift allowance per person or per family? Finally, does the gift allowance also apply to kids who are minors and have their own bank account but have never been registered as a tax payer?

Thanks in advance.

[Mike C]

Hi AndyD,

Here is an article by Wendy Knowler that appeared on Times live recently that may help.

http://www.timeslive.co.za/consumerlive/2016/10/13/Now-that-overseas-gift-won%E2%80%99t-cost-you-Sars-gets-generous-after-22-years

[AndyD]

Thanks Mike. I didn't make things very clear in the OP, I was wondering about cash gifts being transferred into a SA bank account by family overseas. Are the allowance amounts the same for cash as they are for goods and parcels?

[Dave A]

If it's cash, perhaps the answer is to call it a donation.

[AndyD]

Would calling it a donation make a difference? I've got family overseas wanting to send our kids money for birthdays and Christmas, it's a about 4 thousand UK pounds in total, the kids are getting 1500 each and there's a thousand for me and wifey. I'm just trying to avoid it becoming a paperwork nightmare with SARS and FICA etc and obviously I'd rather it was free from tax if possible.

[Dave A]

To be honest, I'm not certain. However, I do know that donations tax only kicks in at R100k, and is payable in the hands of the donor.

That's considerably higher than the gift threshold
So I suspect might not attract much attention.