Amendments to Section 18a tax receipt information

As of 1 March 2023, the South African government Revenue Services has enforced the amendment to the regulations governing the issuing of Section 18A tax certificates. This means that donors will need to provide additional information to public benefit organisations (PBOs) for them to constitute valid receipts entitling the relevant donors to a tax deduction.

As per the Government Gazette No. 48104 dated 24 February 2023, SARS now requires further information on the Section 18a tax receipt in terms of section 18A(2)(a) of the Income Tax Act:

• Donor nature of person (natural person, company, trust, etc.);
• Donor Identification type and country of issue (in case of a natural person);
• Identification or registration number of the donor; 
• Income tax reference number of the donor (if available);
• Contact number of the donor;
• Electronic mail address of the donor;
• A unique receipt number; and
• Trading name of the donor (if different from the registered name).

Only SARS approved PBOs are capable of issuing section 18A tax receipts. Other institutions that may do so include amongst others the Government of the Republic of South Africa, a SARS-approved institution, board or body, and certain specified United Nations entities.

ZWASA, as a Public Benefit Organisation (PBO), can issue Section 18a tax certificates to donors. All our donor information is kept strictly confidential in adherence to the POPIA Act.

For more information, please contact ZWASA’s CEO, Keith Roman (keith@zwasa.co.za)