Global Daily Tax News, South Africa Urges Early Partnership Beneficial Ownership Declarations, (May 21, 2026)
The South African Revenue Service has issued a statement encouraging the early filing of beneficial ownership declarations regarding partnerships.
During the 2024 filing season, the South African Revenue Service issued a notice implementing a new requirement for taxpayers who are in a partnership to declare the details of their partners on the ITR12, in line with the beneficial-owner regulations. This declaration is required by the General Laws (Anti-Money Laundering and Combating Terrorism Financing) Amendment Act 22 of 2022.
SARS since acknowledged this created a significant administrative challenge, with each partner being required to provide details about every other partner, excluding themselves, on the annual Income Tax Return (ITR12).
To simplify the process, SARS has launched a new eFiling form, the Beneficial Owner Register IT3(BO). This form should be filed by a designated partnership representative annually, to disclose the required beneficial ownership information for the partnership on behalf of all partners.
Individual partners will no longer need to enter all partner details on the ITR12. Instead, once the IT3(BO) form is processed, SARS will issue a unique number that should be included by partners in their respective ITR12 filings.
In a May 19, 2026, statement, SARS noted that the IT3(BO) form must be submitted before the related ITR12. It said: "This enables SARS systems to correctly align third-party data with the individual income-tax return and facilitates accurate and efficient processing."
It added: "Although the IT3(BO) submission should precede the ITR12 submission, taxpayers should note that:
The IT3(BO) form may be completed, updated, and submitted at any point during the year; and
No penalties are currently associated with the timing of the IT3(BO) submission."
"Taxpayers are, however, encouraged to submit or update their IT3(BO) information as soon as the relevant details become available to avoid delays or complications when completing their ITR12," it said.
The tax agency said taxpayers should refer to its guidance when completing the declaration.