Moving money out of South Africa? Since April 2023, SARS requires an AIT PIN for all significant offshore transfers. We manage the entire compliance process for you — accurately, efficiently, and without the stress
The AIT is a Tax Compliance Status (TCS) PIN issued by SARS that authorises your authorised dealer (bank) to facilitate the transfer of funds out of South Africa beyond the annual Single Discretionary Allowance (SDA) of R1 million.
Where you previously needed separate clearances depending on whether you were emigrating or making a foreign investment, the AIT now consolidates everything into one application — with significantly more detailed documentation requirements than its predecessors.
SARS uses the AIT process as part of its broader strategic drive to track financial flows and ensure that all funds leaving South Africa are fully tax-compliant. Discrepancies between your AIT declaration and your tax history are subject to rigorous verification and potential audit.
Getting this right from the start is not optional — it is the difference between a smooth transfer and a costly, time-consuming dispute with SARS.
AIT applies to a Wide Range of Taxpayers
South African tax residents who wish to transfer more than R1 million offshore in a single calendar year require an AIT PIN from SARS prior to the transfer.
Taxpayers who have formally ceased South African tax residency must obtain an AIT for every offshore transfer from South African sourced funds, irrespective of amount.
South African resident trusts making distributions to non-resident beneficiaries require a manual AIT application submitted directly to SARS via email.
Individuals transferring locally listed securities to foreign exchanges need an AIT with full supporting documentation detailing the securities and their value.
SARS specifically requires crypto asset transfers to be correctly categorised as “Crypto Assets” in the AIT TCR01 form. Incorrect categorisation risks rejection or audit.
Non-residents receiving South African inheritances or life insurance proceeds above R10 million must apply for a Manual Letter of Compliance from SARS before transferring.
Single Discretionary Allowance (SDA) Available to tax residents only. No AIT required. Transfers within this limit can be made directly through your authorised dealer each calendar year.
Foreign Investment Allowance — AIT Required Tax residents wishing to transfer more than R1 million (up to R10 million) per calendar year must obtain a SARS-issued AIT PIN before the transfer can proceed.
SARB Approval Required Transfers exceeding the combined R11 million threshold require both an AIT PIN from SARS and a formal Letter of Compliance from the South African Reserve Bank (SARB).
Non-Tax Residents If you have formally ceased South African tax residency, you require an AIT PIN for every transfer of South African sourced funds — regardless of the amount. The SDA does not apply.
We would not suggest it.
The AIT application demands far more than filling in a form. Before SARS will issue your PIN, every tax return must be filed, every outstanding liability settled, your full asset and liability position disclosed across three years, and every rand of the funds being transferred traced back to a verifiable source with the correct documents to prove it.
Miss a step, misclassify a transfer type, or submit a bank statement a day outside the 14-day window, and your application is rejected. Submit inaccurate information, and you risk a formal SARS audit. Outsourcing to SA Tax Company means your application is prepared by practitioners who work with SARS daily we identify problems before they become rejections, compile your complete documentation bundle, and manage the SARS verification process from start to finish.
The cost of professional assistance is a fraction of the cost of a delayed transfer, a compliance dispute, or funds that cannot move because a preventable error was missed.
We operate a structured system:
You will deal with one person in our firm as a point of contact who will guide you through the process. We vet all documents thoroughly before submission to ensure the best possible chance of success. If SARS rejects the application we will find out why and make sure the correcting documentation is lodged ASAP.
AIT stands for Approval of International Transfer. It is a Tax Compliance Status (TCS) PIN issued by SARS that authorises your bank (authorised dealer) to process the transfer of funds out of South Africa. It replaced the old Foreign Investment Allowance (FIA) and Emigration TCS PINs when SARS introduced the new consolidated process on 24 April 2023.
SARS consolidated the previous separate clearance processes into one unified system to improve oversight of cross-border financial flows and ensure that all funds leaving South Africa are fully tax-compliant. The AIT comes with significantly stricter documentation requirements than the processes it replaced.
The old system required different applications depending on your purpose — emigration or foreign investment. The AIT merges these into one process, but adds mandatory requirements that did not previously exist: a full disclosure of local and foreign assets and liabilities at cost for the three most recent tax years, and more detailed source-of-funds documentation for every rand being transferred.
Yes. The Foreign Investment Allowance TCS PIN no longer exists as a separate application. If you need to transfer more than your annual Single Discretionary Allowance (SDA) of R1 million, the AIT is now the only route.
Yes. If you have formally ceased your South African tax residency and hold a Notice of Non-Resident Tax Status from SARS you require an AIT PIN for every transfer of South African sourced funds, regardless of the amount. The R1 million SDA is only available to current tax residents.
If the total amount you want to transfer in a calendar year exceeds R1 million, yes. You can transfer up to R10 million per year for foreign investment purposes using the AIT. If you need to transfer more than R11 million in total, you will also need a Letter of Compliance from the South African Reserve Bank (SARB).
Yes, and SARS is very specific about this: crypto and arbitrage trading proceeds must be correctly categorised as “Crypto Assets” under the International Investment Type Details on the TCR01 application form. Incorrect categorisation is a common reason for rejection.
If you are a non-resident receiving an inheritance or life insurance proceeds of up to R10 million, a Manual Letter of Compliance from SARS is required. For amounts above R10 million, a full Manual Letter of Compliance must be obtained before any transfer can take place.
Our specialists handle your AIT application from start to finish — tax compliance review, documentation preparation, submission, and SARS liaison. We ensure your application is complete, accurate, and positioned for approval.
SARS AIT – Done Right
