CARF Self-Certification: The Tax Residency Form on VALR

A CARF self-certification is the tax residency declaration your South African crypto exchange now requires, stating every jurisdiction where you are tax resident and your Taxpayer Identification Number for each. The exchange uses it to decide what to report to SARS. Get the residency wrong and the exchange’s record of you stops matching the return you file.

CARF took effect in South Africa on 1 March 2026, confirmed in a SARS statement dated 6 March 2026, with the final external Business Requirement Specification V1.5 published on 16 February 2026. VALR has told users that anyone opening an account from 1 March 2026 certifies at onboarding, while users onboarded before that date must complete their certification by 1 March 2027. That request is landing in inboxes right in the middle of the 2026 filing season.

I’m Chris Herbst, Managing Director at CH Consulting. I hold the CBAP(SA) designation as a Practising Member of the Southern African Institute of Business Accountants and the GTP(SA) designation as a Practising Member of the South African Institute of Tax Professionals. Our practice reconstructs crypto disposal schedules from raw exchange exports for individual taxpayers, and we spend a large part of every filing season sorting out residency records that say one thing on eFiling and another thing everywhere else.

What is CARF self-certification on a South African crypto exchange?

CARF self-certification is a declaration you give your exchange confirming your jurisdiction or jurisdictions of tax residence and your tax reference number for each, so the exchange can meet its due diligence duties under the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework. It is not a SARS return and you do not send it to SARS. It is a platform-level form that determines what the platform later reports about you.

CARF entered South African law by regulation rather than by amendment to the Income Tax Act. The regulations were made under section 257 of the Tax Administration Act 28 of 2011, for purposes of paragraph (c) of the definition of “international tax standard” in section 1 of that Act, and were gazetted as Notice R.6887 in Government Gazette No. 53735 on 28 November 2025. The updated Common Reporting Standard was gazetted in the same Gazette as Notice R.6886. Bloomberg Tax has reported the CARF notice number differently; SARS’s own gazette publication puts CARF at R.6887.

Who carries the reporting obligation?

The obligation sits on the Reporting Crypto-Asset Service Provider, meaning the exchange, broker, dealer or custodial wallet provider, not on you. SARS states plainly that “Individual taxpayers do not submit information directly under the CARF” and that you “must continue to declare crypto-asset transactions to SARS in your income tax return in accordance with existing tax legislation” (SARS CARF page).

So why are you being asked to fill anything in?

Because the platform cannot complete its due diligence without your declaration. Your obligation is derived from theirs, which is why it arrives as a profile prompt rather than an eFiling notice.

Why is VALR asking for my tax residency and tax number?

VALR is asking because CARF requires the platform to establish and record your country of tax residence and tax reference number, and to check that declaration against what it already holds from onboarding. SARS lists the customer data a Reporting Crypto-Asset Service Provider must collect as full name, identity number, address, email address, country of tax residence, tax reference number and date of registration with the exchange, plus the total number of wallets associated with the customer and aggregated transaction information in the prescribed CARF categories (SARS CARF page).

What happens if the declaration contradicts your profile?

VALR states that “If the self-certification information is found to be contradictory with your user profile, VALR will notify you via email” (VALR Help Centre). The reasonableness check is not cosmetic. SARS’s CARF FAQ states that “an invalid or unreasonable self-certification is treated as no self-certification at all” and that a defective one is “treated as non-existent for due diligence” (SARS CARF FAQ). That FAQ also records that it is not a general binding ruling under section 89 of the Tax Administration Act.

Does Luno require the same thing?

Every Reporting Crypto-Asset Service Provider operating in South Africa carries the same due diligence duty, so it is reasonable to expect the same request from other platforms. We were not able to verify Luno’s own published wording, deadlines or click-path for CARF and CRS self-certification, so we are not going to attribute a date or a screen path to Luno. Check Luno’s own help pages, or ask them directly, before acting on a deadline you read elsewhere.

What is the deadline for the CARF self-certification, and is it a real legal deadline?

VALR’s published position is that new users opening an account from 1 March 2026 certify at onboarding, and users onboarded before 1 March 2026 must complete their certification by 1 March 2027. That date is exactly twelve months from the effective date, and Bloomberg Tax’s summary of the gazetted regulations describes pre-existing account due diligence as due within twelve months from the effective date, which suggests the date is regulation-driven rather than a house rule.

What are the consequences of missing it?

Here the position is less settled. VALR states that “Failure to provide valid tax information within the requested timeframe (or the 90-day grace period for changes) may result in temporary restrictions on your ability to trade or withdraw funds”. SARS’s CRS FAQ, dealing with the same mechanic in banking, sets out escalation options including not completing account opening, freezing the account (“‘Freezing’ implies no deposits or withdrawals are allowed”), suspending or closing it, and notes that suspension “may occur only after the expiry of the 90-day validation period” (SARS CRS FAQ). Whether the 90-day clock for a pre-existing user starts on 1 March 2027 or on the date the platform first asked is not something we could verify.

Why the timing is awkward

The 1 March 2027 remediation date falls after the non-provisional filing deadline of 23 October 2026 and roughly six weeks after the provisional taxpayer deadline of 22 January 2027 (SARS Filing Season 2026 changes). A user who needs to withdraw funds to settle a provisional payment does not want a restriction landing in that window. We set out the wider calendar in our guide to the SARS Filing Season 2026 deadlines.

What does SARS actually receive under CARF, and when?

SARS receives a structured XML return from the exchange covering aggregated transaction data by CARF category, in Rand, for the reporting period 1 March 2026 to 28 February 2027, due to SARS by 31 May 2027, with the first international exchange of information in September 2027 (SARS CARF page). The external BRS V1.5 defines the reporting period the same way and states that “The deadline for submissions of new and / or corrected CARF data is by end of May following reporting period.”

In which currency, and on whose conversion rate?

The gazetted regulation requires that where amounts were paid or received in multiple fiat currencies, they “must be reported in South African Rand, converted at the time of each Relevant Transaction in a manner that is consistently applied by the Reporting Crypto-Asset Service Provider” (Notice R.6887). The exchange chooses the method. Your own calculation will use a different basis, and on a portfolio with hundreds of trades the two Rand totals will legitimately differ, with no reconciliation statement issued to explain the gap.

Does a purely South African user get reported at all?

This is genuinely unsettled and we are not going to pretend otherwise. One reading is that CARF is an exchange-of-information regime, so a person who is exclusively South African tax resident is not reportable for exchange purposes and CARF adds nothing to what SARS already obtains under section 26 and section 46 of the Tax Administration Act. The competing reading is that SARS is using the CARF pipe for domestic third-party data too: PwC’s Kyle Mandy and Kobus Dreyer write that SARS will begin receiving structured transaction-level information from crypto-asset service providers for matching against taxpayers’ returns (Moonstone summary of PwC Synopsis), Lexology reports that SARS has indicated it will expand domestic third-party data requirements through additional fields in the CARF XML wrapper, and SARS’s own collection list includes a South African tax reference number, which is of no use to a foreign revenue authority. SARS has not published a plain-language statement on the point for individuals.

How does a wrong CARF self-certification create a mismatch with SARS?

A wrong self-certification creates a mismatch because there are now two independent residency records for the same person: the one you ticked on the exchange, and the one SARS holds from your RAV01 and ITR12 history. SARS confirms for Filing Season 2026 that “The taxpayer’s residency status will be used to determine the ITR12 return type (i.e. resident or non-resident) displayed for completion”, derived from indicators including “Ceased to be RSA tax resident”, the reinstatement date and the date of becoming a resident (SARS updated guides for Filing Season 2026). Nothing reconciles those two records for you.

The three ways it breaks

• You left South Africa, certified a foreign residency to the exchange, but never closed out the RAV01 verification, so SARS still serves you a resident ITR12 requiring worldwide income.
• You remain ordinarily resident here but spent two years contracting abroad and ticked that country, while your ITR12 declares worldwide income as a resident.
• You are genuinely dual-resident and certified both, so you are reported as a reportable person for another jurisdiction while being assessed here as a resident.

Does ticking a country change your actual residency?

No. Residency is decided by the ordinary residence test, a question of fact addressed in Interpretation Note 3 (Issue 2), dated 20 June 2018, failing which by the physical presence test in Interpretation Note 4 (Issue 5), dated 3 August 2018, which states that the ordinary residence test supersedes the physical presence test. Our overview of the tests sits in Tax Residency in South Africa: What You Need to Know.

Should a dual resident put both countries on the CARF self-certification?

There is no SARS guidance written for individuals on this point, and the two defensible answers pull in opposite directions. The tax law answer is that the definition of “resident” excludes a natural person who is, for treaty purposes, exclusively a resident of another country. Interpretation Note 3 (Issue 2) puts it as follows: a natural person meeting the ordinary residence or physical presence test “will therefore not be a resident of South Africa if… that person is held to be exclusively a resident of a country other than South Africa for purposes of the application of any tax treaty.”

The AEOI answer

Reporting residence under CRS and CARF is not the same concept as treaty residence. SARS’s CRS FAQ contemplates ambiguity such as two qualifying residence addresses and notes that a self-certification could be sought or the account reported to all jurisdictions the indicia point to. VALR’s design accommodates this with an “Add another residency” button and a “Supporting details” free-text box on resubmission.

What each choice costs you

Certify only the foreign country and you match your tax law position, but you risk contradicting the KYC file and SARS’s own record if you never formally ceased, in which case the certification may be treated as non-existent. Certify both and you are reported to two revenue authorities, one of which may read the report as an admission of continuing South African residency. Note also that the CARF FAQ’s treatment of ambiguous residence deals with entities, using place of effective management or the address of the principal office, not natural persons.

Can SARS penalise me for a wrong CARF self-certification?

SARS’s own AEOI penalties page states that criminal proceedings may be instituted under section 234 of the Tax Administration Act where a person wilfully or negligently “issues an erroneous, incomplete, or false document required to be issued under a tax Act to another person (for example, a false self-certification of tax residency required from an account holder by an RFI)” (SARS AEOI administrative penalties). A section 234 conviction carries imprisonment for up to two years, or a fine, and the 2020 amendments to section 234, promulgated on 20 January 2021, removed wilfulness from part of the range of conduct constituting an offence (Bowmans).

Is there an administrative penalty as well?

Unsettled. Section 210 only bites on non-compliance listed in a public notice by the Commissioner. The existing CRS penalty public notice is in Government Gazette No. 40660 of 3 March 2017, and SARS published an explanatory note to a draft replacement notice to make it stricter, citing low CRS compliance identified in the 2023 and 2025 AEOI peer reviews (SARS explanatory note). We did not locate a public notice listing an account holder’s failure to self-certify, nor a CARF equivalent of the 2017 notice. SARS’s CRS FAQ does say penalties “may apply to RFIs that do not take reasonable measures, and to Account Holders (or Controlling Persons) who fail” to provide valid self-certification, which some read as covering fixed-amount penalties.

A caution on the escalation period

SARS’s material is inconsistent. The admin penalty page for individuals says a penalty for an outstanding return “will reoccur for every month the return(s) remains outstanding for a maximum of 35 months”, with amounts under section 210 levied per the table in section 211 ranging from R250 to R16 000 per month (SARS admin penalty page), while the AEOI penalties page refers to escalation up to 36 months. Both pages are on sars.gov.za and we are not going to average them.

How the CARF self-certification and South African crypto exchange deadlines line up

The table below sets out the dates that matter and what each one is driven by. Treat the platform column as reflecting what VALR has published, not as a general statement about all exchanges.

What do I actually do, step by step?

Work out your residency position first, then complete the platform form, then check that SARS’s record agrees with what you declared. Doing it in that order avoids locking in a contradiction you then have to explain twice.

1. Establish your residency on the law, not on gut feel. Read Interpretation Note 3 (Issue 2) on ordinary residence and Interpretation Note 4 (Issue 5) on the physical presence test. The physical presence thresholds are not less than 91 days in the current year of assessment, at least 91 days in each of the previous five years, and at least 915 days in aggregate over those five years (FinGlobal summary). IN 4 records that under proviso (A) “a day includes a part of a day. A day begins at 00:00 and ends at 24:00.”
2. Confirm what SARS’s record says. Log in to eFiling and check the residency indicator and which ITR12 type you are served. Our eFiling walkthrough covers where to look.
3. Retrieve your tax reference number. VALR explains a TIN as “a unique combination of letters or numbers assigned by your country’s tax office (e.g. SARS in South Africa, HMRC in the UK, or the IRS in the US)”. If you are not registered for income tax, or your profile is dormant, resolve that before certifying.
4. Complete the form on the platform. On VALR the path is Profile > Profile Overview > Complete your profile on web, or Home > Complete your profile in the app, adding each residency with the “Add another residency” button and using the “Supporting details” box for unusual circumstances (VALR Help Centre).
5. If you have ceased residency but never finished the process, finish it. Capture the date on the RAV01 under “Income Tax Liability Details” on eFiling, or on the ITR12. A case is created and SARS requests supporting documents, including “a letter of motivation setting out the facts and circumstances in detail” and “a copy of your passport/travel diary, including all pages of your passport reflecting relevant customs entry and exit date stamps”, submitted via eFiling or SOQS (SARS cease to be a resident page).
6. Export your full transaction history and build a disposal schedule. There is no crypto IT3(c), which we cover in why crypto platforms do not supply IT3 certificates. The calculation method is set out in our crypto capital gains tax guide.
7. File the ITR12 on the same residency footing you certified. Keep the working papers. Our list of documents needed to file is a useful checklist.

What are the most common mistakes with CARF self-certification on a South African crypto exchange?

The recurring errors are administrative rather than technical, and most of them are invisible until a verification letter arrives. Each one below is something we see in practice or something the published material flags directly.

Treating the form as harmless admin

The declaration is a document required under a tax Act, given to another person. That is precisely the conduct SARS uses as its worked example under section 234.

Guessing on the TIN field

South Africans routinely do not know their income tax reference number, are not registered for income tax, or have a deregistered profile. We found no SARS guidance on what a person who is genuinely not registered should enter, or whether a blank field renders the certification invalid. Invalid means treated as though it does not exist.

Letting trivial data drift invalidate the certification

VALR lists moving to a new country, changing your phone number to a foreign line, and changing your legal name as events that may invalidate an existing self-certification. A person who marries and changes surname, or picks up a foreign SIM, has an invalid certification without doing anything tax-relevant.

Assuming a cold wallet transfer is invisible

Outbound transfers to self-hosted wallet addresses not known to be associated with a service provider are reported as a separate category with their own aggregate fair market value and unit count (CoinTracker CARF guide). Moving Bitcoin to your own hardware wallet is not a disposal, but it shows in the data as value leaving the platform.

Not anticipating double counting across platforms

Move Ether from one exchange to another and the first reports an outbound transfer while the second reports an inbound one. Two reports, one economic event, no tax consequence.

Filing early to get ahead of the data

SARS’s ITR12 guide warns that a return filed outside official Filing Season, other than in deceased, insolvency or emigration cases, “will be selected for verification or audit, because the process in SARS of authenticating 3rd party data… has not been completed” (Comprehensive Guide to the ITR12).

Using this season’s wrong exclusion figure

Budget 2026 raised the annual capital gains exclusion from R40 000 to R50 000 with effect from 1 March 2026, but the R50 000 applies to the 2027 and subsequent years of assessment (Accountancy SA). The 2026 filing season now under way still uses R40 000. Practitioner blogs are already getting this wrong.

Assuming closing the account solves it

Nedbank’s explanation of the same CRS mechanic states that where a reportable account is closed during a reporting period, its details must still be included in that period’s submission to SARS (Nedbank FATCA and CRS FAQ).

What does SARS already hold, and how does a mismatch surface?

SARS already harvests third-party data under section 26 of the Tax Administration Act through the IT3 suite, including IT3(b), IT3(c), IT3(d), IT3(e), IT3(s) and IT3(t) returns from banks, insurers, fund administrators and others (SARS third-party data page). Auto-assessments are built from that pipeline, and ran from 1 to 12 July 2026, with certain provisional taxpayers auto-assessed for the first time.

CARF sits on top of existing powers

In 2021, AltCoinTrader, Luno and VALR confirmed in a joint statement that SARS had approached them for information on a selection of customers in terms of section 46 of the Tax Administration Act, as part of a risk assessment on residents involved in “the mining, speculation and/or investment in crypto assets”, and that report noted platforms are not required to provide customers with tax certificates (Moneyweb). Section 46 did not lapse when CARF arrived and does not wait for 31 May 2027. We have written about how SARS gets access to financial information more broadly.

Why gross aggregates trigger letters

CARF reports aggregates by asset type across categories including crypto-to-fiat, crypto-to-crypto, transfers and reportable retail payments. Your ITR12 needs per-disposal proceeds and base cost with a consistent identification trail. SARS ends up holding a gross figure that will exceed your net taxable gain, and gross against net is a familiar trigger. Our list of red flags that trigger SARS audits covers the pattern.

You cannot correct the exchange’s data yourself

SARS’s ITR12 guide states that where you disagree with pre-populated data “you must inform your employer/service provider to correct the data and resubmit it to SARS”. For CARF, the correction has to be resubmitted by the exchange through the CARF workpage, and we could not find a consumer-facing dispute process. If SARS raises an assessment on estimate, note that an original assessment based on estimate is only objectable or appealable if SARS decides not to make a reduced or additional assessment under section 95(6) after you submit the relevant material in time. Our guide to SARS verification of supporting documents deals with the response window.

Does CARF change how my crypto is taxed?

No. CARF creates reporting duties, not new tax liabilities. PwC’s Kyle Mandy and Kobus Dreyer, writing in the February edition of the firm’s Synopsis, make the point that CARF does not create new tax liabilities but significantly expands SARS’s ability to verify whether existing obligations have been correctly reported, and refer to a narrowing window to address past omissions.

Capital or revenue is still the hard question

SARS’s Crypto Assets & Tax page confirms that gains may be taxable as capital gains or as income, and puts the onus on the taxpayer. We could not locate an Interpretation Note or Binding General Ruling drawing a bright line. The capital gains inclusion rate for individuals remains 40%, giving a maximum effective rate of 18% (Standard Bank Budget 2026 summary), against a marginal rate on revenue account. Because CARF makes transaction volume visible, and volume is a classic revenue indicator, we expect classification disputes to increase. Our article on the impact of crypto losses covers the other side of that coin.

Is a voluntary disclosure still available?

The requirements for a valid voluntary disclosure are in section 227 of the Tax Administration Act, and include that the disclosure be voluntary, involve a default not disclosed within five years of a similar default, be “full and complete in all material respects”, and involve behaviour referred to in column 2 of the understatement penalty percentage table in section 223. SARS’s guidance notes that VDP relief covers all taxes it administers but excludes duties and levies under the Customs and Excise Act, 1964, and that a submission may not result in a credit or refund (SARS VDP guide). Understatement penalties under Chapter 16 can run up to 200%. Whether a VDP is appropriate depends entirely on your own facts and on whether you can produce complete records, which is often the binding constraint for trades on defunct or foreign platforms.

Where these rules come from

• SARS Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework page: sets out who must report, what customer data is collected, and the reporting and exchange dates.
• Notice R.6887, Government Gazette No. 53735: the gazetted CARF regulations, including the Rand conversion requirement.
• SARS FAQs on the CARF Regulations: explains the validity and reasonableness test for self-certifications, and states it is not a binding ruling.
• SARS AEOI administrative penalties: gives a false self-certification of tax residency as a worked example of a section 234 offence.
• SARS cease to be an SA tax resident: the RAV01 process, the declaration form and the supporting documents SARS requests.

Do You Need Help With Your CARF Self-Certification?

If your exchange has asked you to certify a tax residency and you are not certain what SARS’s own record says about you, that is worth resolving before you tick anything. We work through the residency position, the eFiling record and the crypto disposal schedule together, so that the declaration you give the platform and the return you file rest on the same set of facts. Book a call to talk through your circumstances, or email info@chconsulting.co.za with your questions.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CARF self-certification in South Africa?

It is a declaration you give your crypto exchange stating each jurisdiction where you are tax resident and your tax reference number for each, so the exchange can meet its due diligence duties under the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework that took effect on 1 March 2026.

Why is VALR asking for my tax residency and TIN?

Because SARS requires a Reporting Crypto-Asset Service Provider to collect your country of tax residence and tax reference number, among other data, as part of CARF due diligence. VALR states it will email you if the information contradicts your user profile.

Do I have to complete the VALR tax self-certification?

VALR’s published position is that new users from 1 March 2026 certify at onboarding and users onboarded before that date must certify by 1 March 2027. If you do not, the platform determines your status from the information it already holds.

What happens if I do not complete my VALR self-certification by 1 March 2027?

VALR states that failure to provide valid tax information within the requested timeframe may result in temporary restrictions on your ability to trade or withdraw funds. Whether a further 90-day window applies to pre-existing users is not something we could verify.

Will my crypto exchange freeze my account if I do not do the CARF self-certification?

SARS’s CRS FAQ, dealing with the same mechanic, lists freezing as one escalation option and defines it as no deposits or withdrawals being allowed. VALR refers to temporary restrictions on trading or withdrawals rather than using the word freeze.

Does Luno also require a CARF self-certification?

Every crypto-asset service provider reporting in South Africa carries the same due diligence duty, so expect a similar request. We could not verify Luno’s own published deadlines or click-path, so check Luno’s help pages directly rather than applying VALR’s dates.

What is my TIN number in South Africa for CARF?

For a South African tax resident it is your SARS income tax reference number. VALR describes a TIN as a unique combination of letters or numbers assigned by your country’s tax office.

What do I put for TIN if I am not registered for tax with SARS?

We found no SARS guidance on this. Given that SARS treats an invalid self-certification as non-existent, the safer route is to resolve your registration status before certifying rather than guessing at the field.

Do I have to declare crypto if I did not withdraw to my bank account?

Disposals can arise without any bank withdrawal, including crypto-to-crypto swaps. CARF reports crypto-to-crypto transactions as a separate category, so the absence of a bank movement does not mean the absence of a reportable or taxable event.

Does SARS know about my Luno or VALR account?

SARS obtained named-customer information from AltCoinTrader, Luno and VALR under section 46 of the Tax Administration Act in 2021, and from 31 May 2027 exchanges file CARF returns for the period starting 1 March 2026. Whether purely domestic users appear in those returns is unsettled.

What date did CARF start in South Africa, 1 or 2 March 2026?

1 March 2026. SARS’s own statement, dated 6 March 2026, says CARF was implemented on 1 March 2026. Some crypto tax sites state 2 March 2026, which does not match SARS.

What is the first CARF reporting deadline?

The first reporting period runs 1 March 2026 to 28 February 2027, with the first CARF return due to SARS by 31 May 2027 and the first international exchange of information in September 2027.

Does CARF report my crypto-to-crypto swaps to SARS?

Crypto-to-crypto transactions are one of the prescribed CARF categories reported in aggregate by asset type, in Rand. The report does not distinguish your taxable gain from your gross proceeds.

Does moving crypto to my Ledger get reported to SARS?

Outbound transfers to self-hosted wallet addresses not known to be associated with a service provider are reported separately, with their own aggregate fair market value and unit count. Moving your own coins to your own wallet is not a disposal, but the transfer is visible in the data.

Does transferring between Luno and VALR count as a taxable event?

A transfer between two accounts you own is not a disposal. It will produce two CARF entries, an outbound transfer on one platform and an inbound one on the other, for a single economic event with no tax consequence.

I live abroad but use a South African exchange. What tax residency do I put?

Determine it on the law first, using Interpretation Note 3 (Issue 2) on ordinary residence and Interpretation Note 4 (Issue 5) on the physical presence test, then certify that. Certifying a country that contradicts your KYC file may render the certification invalid.

I ceased tax residency but SARS still shows me as resident. What do I certify?

There is no SARS guidance for individuals on this conflict. Practically, close out the RAV01 verification with SARS first, because SARS uses its residency indicator to decide whether you are served a resident or non-resident ITR12.

How do I add a second tax residency on VALR?

VALR provides an “Add another residency” button in the self-certification flow, reached via Profile > Profile Overview > Complete your profile on web, or Home > Complete your profile in the app.

Should I put both South Africa and the UK on my crypto self-certification?

This is unsettled. Certifying only the foreign country matches the tax law position where a treaty makes you exclusively resident elsewhere, while certifying both matches the AEOI approach to ambiguous residence and results in reporting to two authorities.

What if my CARF self-certification does not match my ITR12 residency?

You then have two contradictory residency records for the same year, one held by the platform and one by SARS. Nothing reconciles them automatically, and from September 2027 they become cross-checkable.

Why does eFiling show me a non-resident ITR12?

SARS states that your residency status determines the ITR12 return type displayed, derived from indicators such as “Ceased to be RSA tax resident” and the dates of cessation or reinstatement on your profile.

How do I change my tax residency on eFiling using the RAV01?

Capture the date under “Income Tax Liability Details” on the RAV01, or on the ITR12. A case is created and SARS requests supporting documents, submitted through eFiling or SOQS.

What supporting documents does SARS want to prove I ceased tax residency?

SARS asks for a letter of motivation setting out the facts and circumstances in detail, and a copy of your passport or travel diary including all pages reflecting relevant customs entry and exit date stamps.

Is a false tax residency self-certification a criminal offence in South Africa?

SARS’s AEOI penalties page gives a false self-certification of tax residency as a worked example of conduct that may lead to criminal proceedings under section 234 of the Tax Administration Act, which carries imprisonment for up to two years, or a fine.

Can SARS fine me a monthly administrative penalty for a wrong CARF self-certification?

Unclear. Section 210 penalties apply only to non-compliance listed in a public notice, and we did not find a notice listing an account holder’s failure to self-certify, nor a CARF equivalent of the 2017 CRS penalty notice.

Should I do a VDP for old undeclared crypto before CARF reporting starts?

It may be worth considering, but section 227 requires the disclosure to be voluntary and full and complete in all material respects, and SARS notes that a VDP submission may not result in a credit or refund. Whether you can meet the completeness requirement with reconstructed data is the practical test.

Which source code do I use for crypto on my ITR12?

We are not going to publish a code we could not verify. Practitioner sources cite different codes for crypto trading profit and loss, and we could not confirm any of them against a current SARS source code list or the current ITR12 guide, so check SARS’s “Find a Source Code” tool.

Is the annual CGT exclusion R40 000 or R50 000 for the 2026 tax return?

R40 000 for the 2026 filing season. The increase to R50 000 applies to the 2027 and subsequent years of assessment, which is the same period as the first CARF reporting period.

Does Luno or VALR give me a tax certificate like an IT3(c)?

There is no crypto IT3(c). When SARS first approached the exchanges under section 46, it was reported that crypto platforms are not required to provide customers with tax certificates, though they do allow transaction history downloads.

My auto-assessment does not include my crypto. Do I have to reject it?

An auto-assessment built only from third-party data will not reflect crypto disposals you have not declared, and the obligation to declare them remains yours. Our guides on what to do when the auto-assessment SMS arrives and how to dispute one set out the mechanics.

What happens if SARS’s crypto data does not match what I filed?

Expect a verification request. SARS’s position on pre-populated data is that the third party must correct and resubmit it, which for CARF means the exchange resubmitting through the CARF workpage.

Does closing my exchange account stop it being reported to SARS?

Nedbank’s explanation of the same CRS mechanic states that a reportable account closed during a reporting period still has its details included in that period’s submission. It is reasonable to expect the same treatment under CARF.

Do crypto gains make me a provisional taxpayer?

It depends on the nature and amount of the income and your other circumstances. Our articles on who should register for provisional tax and the IRP6 first provisional calculation for 2026 work through the tests.