54. Retirement benefits
A person must disregard any capital gain or capital loss determined in respect of a disposal that resulted in that person receiving-
(a) a lump sum benefit as defined in the Second Schedule; or
(b) a lump sum benefit paid from a fund, arrangement or instrument situated outside the Republic which provides similar benefits under similar conditions to a pension, pension preservation, provident, provident preservation or retirement annuity fund approved in terms of this Act.
53. Personal-use assets
(1) A natural person or a special trust must disregard a capital gain or capital loss determined in respect of the disposal of a personal-use asset as contemplated in subparagraph (2).
(2) A personal-use asset is an asset of a natural person or a special trust that is used mainly for purposes other than the carrying on of a trade.
(3) Personal use assets do not include-
(a) a coin made mainly from gold or platinum of which the market value is mainly attributable to the material from which it is minted or cast;
(b) immovable property;
(c) an aircraft, the empty mass of which exceeds 450 kilograms;
(d) a boat exceeding ten metres in length;
(e) a financial instrument;
(f) any fiduciary, usufructuary or other like interest, the value of which decreases over time;
(g) any contract in terms of which a person, in return for payment of a premium, is entitled to policy benefits upon the happening of a certain event and includes a reinsurance policy in respect of such a contract, but excludes any short-term policy contemplated in the Short-term Insurance Act;
(h) any short-term policy contemplated in the Short-term Insurance Act to the extent that it relates to any asset which is not a personal-use asset; and
(i) a right or interest of whatever nature to or in an asset envisaged in items (a) to (h).
(4) For the purposes of subparagraph (2), an asset of a natural person or a special trust to whom an allowance is or was paid or payable in respect of the use of that asset for business purposes, must be treated as being used mainly for purposes other than the carrying on of a trade.
52. General principle
Capital gains and capital losses must be disregarded in the circumstances and to the extent set out in this Part when determining the aggregate capital gain or aggregate capital loss of a person.
PART VIII
Other exclusions
51A. Disposal of residence by company or trust and liquidation, winding up, deregistration or termination of company or trust
(1) Subject to subparagraph (6), this paragraph applies where a company or trust disposes of an interest in a residence and-
(a) the disposal takes place on or before 31 December 2012;
(b) the residence to which that interest relates is mainly used for domestic purposes during the period commencing on 11 February 2009 and ending on the date of the disposal contemplated in item (a) by one or more natural persons who are connected persons in relation to the company or trust at the time of that disposal; and
(c) ……….
(d) within a period of six months commencing on the date of the disposal contemplated in item (a)-
(i) in the case of a company making the disposal, that company has taken steps to liquidate, wind up or deregister as contemplated in section 41(4); or
(ii) in the case of a trust making the disposal, steps have been taken to terminate the trust.
(2) Where a company or a trust makes a disposal of an interest in a residence as contemplated in subparagraph (1), that company or trust must be deemed to have made that disposal for an amount equal to the base cost of that interest as at the date of that disposal.
(3) Where-
(a) an interest in a residence has been acquired by a person as a result of a disposal by a company of that interest to that person as contemplated in subparagraph (1);
(b) that person (together with all other persons holding shares in that company) acquired all the shares in the company subsequent to the date of acquisition by the company of that interest; and
(c) 90 per cent or more of the market value of the assets held by the company during the period commencing on 11 February 2009 and ending on the date of the disposal contemplated in subparagraph (1)(a) is attributable to that interest,
that person must-
(i) disregard the disposal of all shares held by that person in that company for purposes of determining his or her taxable income, assessed loss, aggregate capital gain or aggregate capital loss if that disposal is made in anticipation of or in the course of the liquidation, winding up or deregistration of that company; and
(ii) be deemed to have acquired that interest at a cost equal to the base cost of the shares contemplated in subitem (i) as at the date of the acquisition by the person of those shares plus the cost of any improvements effected in respect of that interest subsequent to that date of acquisition.
(4) Where an interest in a residence has been acquired by a person as a result of a disposal by a company of that interest to that person as contemplated in subparagraph (1) and where subparagraph (3) does not apply-
(a) that person must disregard the disposal of any share in that company for purposes of determining his or her taxable income, assessed loss, aggregate capital gain or aggregate capital loss if that disposal is made in anticipation of or in the course of the liquidation, winding up or deregistration of that company; and
(b) that person and that company must be deemed to be one and the same person with respect to-
(i) the date of acquisition of that interest by that company;
(ii) the amount and date of incurral by that company of any expenditure in respect of that interest allowable in terms of paragraph 20; and
(iii) any valuation of that interest effected by that company as contemplated in paragraph 29(4).
(5) Where an interest in a residence has been acquired by a person as a result of a disposal by a trust of that interest to that person as contemplated in subparagraph (1), that person and that trust must for purposes of determining any capital gain or capital loss in respect of the disposal by that person of that interest so acquired be deemed to be one and the same person with respect to-
(a) the date of acquisition of that interest by that trust;
(b) the amount and date of incurral by that trust of any expenditure in respect of that interest allowable in terms of paragraph 20; and
(c) any valuation of that interest effected by that trust as contemplated in paragraph 29(4).
(6) This paragraph does not apply to any disposal made to a person unless-
(a) within a period of six months commencing on the date of that disposal-
(i) where that person is a company, that company has taken steps to liquidate, wind up or deregister as contemplated in section 41(4); or
(ii) where that person is a trust, steps have been taken to terminate the trust.
(b) one or more natural persons contemplated in subparagraph (1)(b) acquire the residence contemplated in that subparagraph on or before 31 December 2012.
(7) ……….
51. Transfer of residence from company or trust
(1) Where an interest in a residence has been transferred from a company or a trust to a natural person as contemplated in subparagraph (2) –
(a) that company or trust must be deemed to have disposed of that interest for an amount equal to the base cost of that interest on the date of transfer thereof;
(b) that company or trust and that natural person must, for purposes of determining any capital gain or capital loss in respect of the transfer of that interest, be deemed to be one and the same person with respect to-
(i) the date of acquisition of that interest by that company or trust and the amount and date of incurral by that company or trust of any expenditure in respect of that interest allowable in terms of paragraph 20; and
(ii) any valuation of that interest effected by that company or trust as contemplated in paragraph 29(4);
(c) no allowance or deduction allowed to that company or trust in respect of that interest must be recovered or recouped by that company or trust or be included in the income of that company or trust in the year in which the transfer takes place; and
(d) that company or trust and that natural person must be deemed to be one and the same person for purposes of determining the amount of any allowance or deduction that is to be recovered or recouped by or included in the income of that natural person in respect of that interest.
(2) Subparagraph (1) applies where –
(a) that natural person acquires that interest from the company or trust no later than 30 September 2010;
(b) that natural person –
(i) alone or together with his or her spouse directly held all the share capital or members interest in that company from 11 February 2009 to the date of registration in the deeds registry of that residence in the name of that natural person or his or her spouse or in their names jointly; or
(ii) disposed of that residence to that trust by way of donation, settlement or other disposition or financed all the expenditure, as contemplated in paragraph 20, actually incurred by the trust to acquire and to improve the residence; and
(c) that natural person alone or together with his or her spouse personally and ordinarily resided in that residence and used it mainly for domestic purposes as his or her or their ordinary residence from 11 February 2009 to the date of the registration contemplated in item (b)(i);
Provided that this paragraph applies only in respect of the portion of the property contemplated in paragraph 46.
50. Rental periods
A natural person or a beneficiary of a special trust or a spouse of that person or beneficiary must for purposes of paragraph 49 be treated as having used a residence for domestic purposes during any continuous period of absence therefrom (not exceeding five years) while that residence was being let, if-
(a) that person or beneficiary or spouse resided in that residence as a primary residence for a continuous period of at least one year prior to and after any such period;
(b) no other residence was treated as the primary residence of that person or beneficiary of a special trust during any such period; and
[Paragraph (b) substituted by section 75 of Act 15 of 2016 effective on 19 January 2017]
(c) that person or beneficiary or spouse was-
(i) temporarily absent from the Republic; or
(ii) employed or engaged in carrying on business in the Republic at a location further than 250 kilometers from that residence.
49. Non-residential use
Subject to paragraph 50–
(a) where a natural person or special trust-
(i) disposes of an interest in a primary residence; or
(ii) disposes of an interest in a residence that was a primary residence for a part of the period on or after the valuation date during which that person or special trust held that interest; and
(b) where that natural person, a beneficiary of that special trust or a spouse of that natural person or beneficiary used the residence referred to in subparagraph (a) or a part thereof for the purposes of carrying on a trade for any portion of the period on or after the valuation date during which that person or special trust held that interest,
[Subparagraph (b) substituted by section 95(1)(b) of Act 60 of 2001 and by section 46 of Act 20 of 2021]
then paragraph 45(1)(a) must apply only in respect of the portion of the capital gain or capital loss on disposal of the primary residence that is attributable to any period on or after the valuation date during which that person, beneficiary or spouse used that residence for domestic purposes as well as to the part of that residence used by that person, spouse or beneficiary mainly for purposes other than the carrying on of a trade.
[Words following paragraph (b) substituted by section 74 of Act 15 of 2016 effective on 19 January 2017]
48. Disposal and acquisition of primary residence
A natural person or a beneficiary of a special trust or a spouse of that person or beneficiary must for purposes of paragraph 47 be treated as having been ordinarily resident in a residence for a continuous period (not exceeding two years), if that natural person, beneficiary or spouse did not reside in that residence during that period for any of the following reasons-
(a) at the time the residence was the primary residence of that natural person or special trust it had been offered for sale and vacated due to the acquisition or intended acquisition of a new primary residence;
(b) that residence was being erected on land acquired for that purpose in order to be used as the primary residence of that natural person or special trust;
(c) the residence had been accidentally rendered uninhabitable; or
(d) the death of that natural person, beneficiary or spouse.
[Paragraph 48 substituted by section 45 of Act 20 of 2021]
47. Apportionment in respect of periods where not ordinarily resident
Subject to paragraph 48, where-
(a) a natural person or special trust disposes of an interest in a residence which is or was a primary residence; and
(b) that person or a beneficiary of that special trust or a spouse of that person or beneficiary, was not ordinarily resident in that residence throughout the period on or after the valuation date during which that person or special trust held that interest,
then paragraph 45(1)(a) must apply only in respect of the portion of the capital gain or capital loss on disposal of the primary residence that is attributable to any period on or after the valuation date during which that person, beneficiary or spouse was so ordinarily resident.
[Words following paragraph (b) substituted by section 73 of Act 15 of 2016 effective on 19 January 2017]