What is it?

Transfer Duty is a tax levied on the value of any property acquired by any person by way of a transaction or in any other way. For the purpose of Transfer Duty, property means land and fixtures and includes real rights in land, rights to minerals, a share or interest in a “residential property company” or a share in a share-block company.

These are the Transfer Duty rates applied to properties acquired on or after 1 March 2017, and apply to all persons (including Companies, Close Corporations and Trusts):

​VALUE OF ROPERTY (Rand)	RATE
0 – 900 000	0%
900 001 – 1 250 000	​ 3% on the value above 9000 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 amount above 1 750 000
​2 250 001 – 10 000 000	​80 500 + 11% of the amount above 2 250 000
​10 000 001 and above	​933 000 +13% of the value exceeding R10 000 000

Who pays Transfer Duty?

• For acquisitions:
  • The person acquiring the property
• For renunciations:
  • The person in whose favour or for whose benefit, any interest in or restriction upon the use or disposal of property has been renounced.

Should supporting documents be required, it will be requested of the Conveyancer to upload such electronically. Once satisfied, the application will be approved. If no payment is required, the system will automatically release the receipt after approval.

Should a payment be required, the Conveyancer will make such electronically after which the receipt will be issued.

The usual turnaround time for transfer duty applications to be processed is between 5 and 10 working days.

It is advised that all parties ensure their tax affairs are in order as property transfers are used in an attempt to ensure tax compliance across all taxes. If, for example, you are not registered or you have outstanding tax returns or payments, you will be given the opportunity to correct matters with SARS. Should matters not be resolved, steps will be taken to ensure compliance and this may delay the transfer of the property. One such step that may be taken is the appointment of the Conveyancer or any other person as an agent with the instruction to pay SARS from the proceeds of the sale. It is further recommended that you ensure that your personal details (ID number, Income Tax/VAT number) on our systems are correct as any disparity could also cause delays.

A taxable supply is a supply on which VAT must be charged at the standard rate (currently 14%) or at the zero rate. To be a taxable supply, the supplier (seller or transferor) must be a “vendor” and the supply of the property must be in the course or furtherance of an “enterprise.”

The supply of an entire enterprise with all its assets (including any fixed property) as a “going concern” may qualify as a zero-rated taxable supply if all the conditions in section 11(1)(e) of the VAT Act are met. Refer to Interpretation Note 57: Sale of an enterprise or part thereof as a going concern and VAT News 15 – August 2000 for more details in this regard.

When should it be paid?

Duty is payable within six (6) months from the date of acquisition. If the Transfer Duty is not paid within this period, interest calculated at 10% per annum for each completed month. A completed month is calculated as the first day from the expiry of the interest free 6 months period to the date of payment.

Interest will be charged at the “prescribed rate”. However, these specific provisions did not come into effect from

1 October 2012 when the Tax Administration Act became effective, but will come into effect way of Presidential Proclamation in the Government Gazette at a later date.
Remember that in the case of conditional sales the period of 6 months commences from the date on which the transaction was entered into (i.e. the last date of party signature to the agreement), and not the date when the contract becomes binding upon the parties (i.e. the date the conditions are fulfilled.)

What constitutes “property” for the purpose of Transfer Duty?

Property includes:

• Land and fixtures;
• Real rights in land, excluding rights under mortgage bonds or leases;
• Rights to minerals or rights to mine for minerals including leases or sub-leases to mine for minerals;
• A share or interest in a “residential property company”;
• A contingent right to residential property or a share or member’s interest in a “residential property company” held by a discretionary trust (not a special trust), where the acquisition of the right is in consequence of an agreement for consideration in relation to property held by that trust; or accompanied by a change in the debt or security structure of the trust; or accompanied by a change in the trust’s trustees; and
• A share in a share block company

by Lisa Moore