“Ignore It”: Amerikaners Who Left SA Get Nasty SARS Surprise Over Tax Bills They Never Saw Coming
- South Africans who have already left the country and believe they're done with SARS are receiving unexpected tax bills
- Simply moving abroad does not end your South African tax obligations, and many never formally told SARS they were leaving
- Amerikaners on X were furious about the news, with many saying they'd simply ignore SARS completely now that they're living in America
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Source: Getty Images
South Africans who packed up and left for the United States are getting an unwelcome reminder that SARS doesn't forget. On 15 June 2026, X account @amerikaners2025, a designated US Department of State referral partner for the South African Refugee Admissions Program, shared the warning with the caption:
"South Africans who have ceased their tax residency are being hit with unexpected tax bills as SARS revisits past assessments to apply complex split-year tax rules that many expats never knew about."
The post hit a nerve. Many South Africans assumed that once they left the country, SARS was no longer their problem. That's not how it works.
What SARS expects
Tax Consulting South Africa consultants Tshepo Thebyane and Rendani Makatu warned that unexpected bills for expats are becoming common. The issue comes down to section 9H of the Income Tax Act, which splits the tax year into two periods for anyone who ceased their tax residency mid-year.
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The first period covers everything up to the day before your residency ended, during which SARS taxes you as a resident on your worldwide income. The second period runs from your cessation date to the end of the tax year, and only covers South African-sourced income. Getting that split wrong on your return is where most people are landing in trouble.
SARS and the IRS communicate
What's catching many expats off guard is how much information SARS now has access to. Through the Common Reporting Standard, SARS and the IRS automatically share financial data.
That means offshore income that expats assumed was invisible to SARS may already be on record. Expats who have active ties to both countries could also potentially face tax obligations in both, although Double Taxation Agreements between South Africa and the US generally prevent the same income from being taxed twice.
Watch the X post below:
People discuss the SARS surprise
Netizens from SA and those in America didn't hold back from venting on the X page:
@johnx812965 advised:
"Tell them nothing. Then they can't do anything. No phone number, no email, tell them nothing."
@renunciateiii said:
"If you're here, I'd ignore it. What are they going to do? Attack America? You're our people now."
@celtic_afrikaner pointed out:
"They're charging everyone, resident or non-resident, exorbitant amounts that no accountant can explain. It's just more thievery."
@jakes_b007 joked:
"Is this the ANC's attempt to get some money from Elon Musk?"
@tex wrote:
"SARS will do anything to get money because all the revenue is stolen by the ANC and friends."
Source: Getty Images
More on Amerikaners in the US
- Briefly News reported on an Afrikaner refugee who shared what daily life in America looks like now.
- South African refugee flights to the US were suddenly paused without much explanation, leaving dozens of people stranded and frustrated.
- An Afrikaner in the US posted a photo of an American food parcel he received, and South Africans back home could not help themselves but discuss it.
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Source: Briefly News
