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South Africa checks the current tax year and the previous five
South Africa’s physical presence test requires more than 91 days in the tax year under review, more than 91 days in each of the previous five tax years, and more than 915 days across those five earlier years combined. The South African Revenue Service (SARS) guidance sets out all three requirements. Days in the current tax year go into that year’s total only. The rule concerns individual income tax and can matter to people who return to South Africa regularly while maintaining a home abroad.
Check whether the day test applies
The SARS interpretation note explains that the physical presence test applies only to someone who was never ordinarily resident in South Africa during the tax year under review. Ordinary residence is a separate enquiry into where a person normally makes their home. If South Africa is a person’s ordinary residence during the year, that test takes priority. For the physical presence calculation, the purpose of a qualifying visit is irrelevant. Work trips and holidays can both add days.
A treaty can affect the result. The same interpretation note explains that South Africa’s statutory definition excludes an individual treated as resident exclusively in another country for purposes of an applicable double tax agreement. If two countries’ domestic rules point to residence, check the agreement that applies to those countries and the facts of the case.
Put each visit in the right tax year
Start with the assessment period. SARS uses a March-to-February calendar for the standard individual tax year. For example, its individual tax tables list the 2027 tax year as 1 March 2026 through 28 February 2027. If a stay crosses the February boundary, put each date in the tax year it falls in. Repeat this for each visit before adding up the annual totals.
The physical presence note explains that even part of a day in South Africa counts. Arrival and departure dates therefore both count when they fall on different days and involve physical presence. In a simple example, someone who enters on a Monday evening and leaves on Wednesday morning records three days. Someone who enters and leaves on the same date records one day for that date.
SARS excludes qualifying transit between two places outside South Africa when the traveller does not formally enter the country through a port of entry or another authorised place. Check the details of a connection before including or excluding it. The note’s section on counting days explains how the entry condition works.
Test each yearly total before adding the earlier years
Suppose someone records 120 days in the current tax year and 183 days in each of the previous five tax years. The current year and each earlier year clear the 91-day threshold. But the earlier years add up to exactly 915 days, so the example falls short of the requirement to exceed 915 days. The SARS worked examples show why the current year’s total is kept out of that sum.
If someone meets the test, the interpretation note puts the start of residence under this rule on the first day of the relevant tax year. That timing can matter because South Africa generally taxes residents on worldwide income, subject to exceptions described in the SARS guidance.
Count full days for the departure rule
A different calculation applies when someone who is resident by virtue of physical presence leaves South Africa. The SARS guidance on ceasing residence says the person must be outside the country for at least 330 full days in a row. The full-day count starts immediately after the day the person leaves. Once the continuous absence meets the requirement, the effective date of cessation is the day the person left, as the interpretation note explains. This rule concerns residence based on physical presence. SARS gives separate guidance for cessation of ordinary residence.
SARS requires people who cease to be tax resident to notify the agency. Its cessation guidance describes the declaration and the supporting records, including passport stamps or a travel diary.
Keep a dated record you can check
For the presence test, put actual entry and exit dates beside each annual total and flag connections whose entry status is uncertain. For a departure calculation, record the last day in South Africa and any return dates. Our guide to reconstructing travel history walks through ways to fill gaps in older trips. Countly automatically keeps a dated record of country stays on your phone so you can check travel dates against supporting documents.
Sources checked
Checked 2026-11-11: SARS Interpretation Note 4, including the statutory definition, tax and non-residents guidance, individual tax-year tables and guidance on ceasing tax residence.