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Trusts Source Library: Acts, SARS Guides & Case Law (South Africa) [2026]

Every Act, SARS guide and judgment cited across this hub — with official, tested links and downloadable PDFs.

Published Last reviewed 5 min read

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Martin Kotze

Attorney, Conveyancer & Notary Public

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How to use this library

Throughout the hub, every legal point is followed by a shaded Source box quoting the actual words of the Act or SARS guidance, with a link to the document. This page collects all of those sources in one place. Most Acts link to the Law Library consolidations, and the Trust Property Control Act and Companies Act to the Department of Justice consolidated PDFs; draft Bills are on National Treasury and the Department of Justice; tax guides, notes and rate tables are on SARS; judgments are on the Constitutional Court site and SAFLII.

Legislation

The primary Acts behind the trusts hub. The Income Tax, Transfer Duty, Securities Transfer Tax, Estate Duty and VAT Acts link to the Law Library consolidations, which carry later amendments (the gov.za landing pages held only the text as originally enacted); they open in a browser. The Trust Property Control Act and the Companies Act stay on the Department of Justice consolidated PDFs (the Trust Property Control Act as amended by Act 22 of 2022 with effect from 1 April 2023; the Companies Act including the 2024 amendments). The two 2026 amending Acts — the Taxation Laws Amendment Act 5 of 2026 and the Rates and Monetary Amounts and Amendment of Revenue Laws Act 3 of 2026 — link to their Government Gazette text on SARS. Each quotation on the hub identifies the section and, where it matters, the amending Act and date.

Pending legislation (draft — not law)

Draft Bills the hub cites. The draft Regulation of Trusts Bill, 2026 (Government Gazette 55166, 7 August 2026), which would repeal the Trust Property Control Act, with the official invitation to comment (the comment period closed on 11 September 2026; the Bill had not been introduced in Parliament as at 29 September 2026). The 2026 Draft Rates Bill (25 February 2026), whose 2026/27 figures SARS publishes and applies although we have not located the promulgated amendment. And the 2026 Draft Taxation Laws Amendment Bill (29 July 2026), clause 17 of which would limit the spousal donations-tax exemption to a resident spouse. None of these has been enacted.

SARS guides, notes & rate tables

SARS interpretation notes, comprehensive guides, rate tables and filing-season notices we quote, with a downloadable PDF wherever SARS publishes one. Two entries are not SARS documents but record SARS-relevant facts: the SAnews report of the repo-rate increase effective 25 September 2026 (which moves the official rate of interest to 8.25% from 1 October 2026) and SAICA’s IT3(t) guidance recording SARS’s position on nil IT3(t) returns.

Case law

The judgments cited across the hub. SAFLII resolves in a browser; the Thistle judgment is also hosted by SARS. Where a judgment quotes legislation, it quotes the wording in force for the tax years before the court — the hub labels those extracts with their period and points to the current text separately. Ovenstone v Secretary for Inland Revenue 1980 (2) SA 721 (A) is cited without a link because SAFLII does not carry it.

Registries

The Master of the High Court (trusts) and CIPC (companies) — for registration and beneficial-ownership filings, with the Chief Master’s directives, the notice fixing the R250 trust registration fee, the Master’s online beneficial-ownership system and CIPC’s beneficial-ownership enforcement notices.

A note on currency

The hub was last reviewed on 29 September 2026. Tax figures are Budget-sensitive. The official rate of interest is 8.25% from 1 October 2026, after the repo rate rose to 7.25% on 25 September 2026 (8% from 1 June to 30 September 2026); SARS’s Table 3 (June 2026 issue) has not yet been reissued. The R150 000 / R20 000 donations-tax exemptions and the R50 000, R3 million and R440 000 CGT exclusions are SARS-published figures from the 2026 Draft Rates Bill whose promulgated amendment we have not located. The resident-spouse limit on the donations-tax exemption is clause 17 of the 2026 Draft Taxation Laws Amendment Bill (29 July 2026), still a draft, and the SARS section 7C interpretation note (26 November 2025) is a draft, not yet final — see the 2026 rates reference. This library is general information, not legal or tax advice; confirm every figure against the current source before acting.

  • Yes — the official text, or a consolidation of it. Most Acts link to the Law Library consolidations (the gov.za landings held only the as-enacted text); the Trust Property Control Act and Companies Act to the Department of Justice consolidated PDFs; SARS for tax guides, notes and rate tables; National Treasury and the Department of Justice for draft Bills; the Constitutional Court / SAFLII for judgments; and the Master and CIPC for the registries. Links were tested on 3 June 2026, and the entries changed in the 29 September 2026 review were re-tested that day.

  • Last reviewed 29 September 2026. The official rate of interest is 8.25% from 1 October 2026 (8% from 1 June to 30 September 2026); SARS’s Table 3 has not yet been reissued. The R150 000 / R20 000 donations-tax exemptions and the R50 000, R3 million and R440 000 CGT exclusions are SARS-published 2026 Draft Rates Bill figures whose promulgation we have not located; the resident-spouse limit is clause 17 of the 2026 Draft Taxation Laws Amendment Bill, a draft; and the SARS section 7C note (26 Nov 2025) is also a draft. Confirm every figure against the current source before acting.

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Why you can trust this: Martin Kotze has been an admitted Attorney of the High Court of South Africa, registered Conveyancer, and Notary Public since 2014, practising from Pretoria. The firm is regulated by the Legal Practice Council under firm registration 17444.

This guide is general information, not legal advice for your specific matter.

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