The Estate Duty Rollover That Does Not Care Where Your Spouse Lived
South Africans living abroad tend to assume their estate duty exposure is a simple number: R3.5 million free, then duty on the rest. For anyone who has been widowed, that number can be wrong by up to R3.5 million — in their favour.
And the condition most people assume applies does not.
The abatement, and the calculation it sits inside
Estate duty is not charged on the value of what you own. It is charged on the dutiable amount, which is what remains after two separate reductions.
| Step | |
|---|---|
| Property, plus deemed property | Gross value |
| Less allowable deductions (section 4) | Net value |
| Less the section 4A amount | Dutiable amount |
| Duty at 20% up to R30m, 25% above R30m |
The section 4A amount has been R3.5 million since 1 March 2007. (It was R2.5 million for the year to February 2007, and R1.5 million before March 2005 — which matters later, in a way that will surprise you.)
Note the rates too: 20% on the dutiable amount not exceeding R30 million, and 25% on the amount exceeding it — applied after both reductions, not to the gross estate.
A drafting quirk worth knowing so the documents do not confuse you: SARS calls this the "section 4A rebate" in its calculation table and the "section 4A abatement" elsewhere. Same thing.
If you have a predeceased spouse, the figure is R7 million
This is the provision that changes outcomes, and it is badly under-known.
Where a deceased person had a predeceased spouse, that person is entitled to:
a rebate of R7 million (R3,5 million × 2) less any amount used by the predeceased spouse's estate
The maximum a surviving spouse can have is R7 million.
SARS's own worked example: A died in January 2020 with a predeceased spouse, B, who died in 2019 having used R3 million of the abatement. A's estate gets R7 million less R3 million = R4 million.
Why does the first estate so often use little or none of it? Because section 4 contains a deduction for a bequest to the surviving spouse — section 4(q). Where an estate passes to the spouse, the net value it is left with may consume little of its own abatement, so most of that R3.5 million survives to be claimed later.
We are quoting SARS's one-line description of section 4(q) and deliberately going no further. We have not read the section itself, so we are not describing its limits or conditions here — only noting that it exists and that it is the reason the rollover is worth so much.
The rule that catches out estates from the 2000s
Read this one carefully, because the intuitive answer is wrong.
Suppose your spouse died in September 2006, when the abatement was only R2.5 million, and their estate used all of it. Intuitively, they used 100% of the available abatement, so nothing should roll over.
That is not how it works. SARS is explicit that an abatement worth less at the time of the earlier death:
does not affect the starting point of R7 million in the second dying spouse's hands
So the sum is R7 million less R2.5 million — leaving R4.5 million for the surviving spouse's estate.
What is subtracted is the rand amount actually used, not the proportion consumed. A spouse who died when the ceiling was lower therefore leaves more behind, not less. Anyone widowed before March 2007 should check this rather than assume the older, smaller figure caps them.
The part that matters if you live abroad
Here is the finding that makes this page worth reading for anyone outside South Africa.
SARS states plainly that the Act does not require the predeceased spouse to have been ordinarily resident in South Africa for the survivor to use the unused portion. And:
The fact that the predeceased spouse ended up having no estate does not disqualify the R3,5 million being rolled over.
The only requirement is that there must be a predeceased spouse.
So a South African who married abroad, whose spouse was never South African, never lived here, never owned anything here and left no South African estate at all, can still bring an additional R3.5 million against their own South African estate duty.
It gets better: the entitlement holds even where the predeceased's estate was never reported to the Master, since the requirements do not depend on that and alternative documentation can be requested.
This is precisely the case most people assume they fall outside of. Many do not.
The documentation is where the claim is actually lost
The rollover has one hard practical requirement, and SARS words it as a refusal rather than a preference.
To qualify, the estate must produce a Master-stamped copy of the liquidation and distribution account, or a Master-stamped copy of the predeceased's estate duty return (REV267), along with the other estate documents. Then:
The deduction will not be allowed if the L&D account or REV267 is not submitted or is not stamped.
Not stamped, not allowed. Where those do not exist, the Commissioner may accept other material regarded as reasonable — but that is a discretion to rely on, not a right.
The practical instruction: if your spouse has died, obtain and safely keep a Master-stamped copy of the L&D account or the REV267 now. Retrieving a stamped document decades later, potentially from another country's records, is the step that turns a R3.5 million entitlement into an argument.
Who counts as a spouse
Broader than many expect. A spouse includes any partner in:
- a marriage or customary union recognised in the Republic;
- unions recognised as marriages under tenets of religion; or
- a same sex or heterosexual union which the Commissioner is satisfied is intended to be permanent.
Civil union partners are included, through the Civil Union Act.
For a life partnership, SARS requires three affidavits from different parties before the Commissioner will consider the relationship. Its own guidance names supporting proof: affidavits from neighbours, relatives or professional people; a cohabitation agreement; a joint bank account; and a will appointing the partner as a beneficiary.
Unmarried long-term partners are therefore not excluded — but the evidentiary burden falls on the survivor, after the death, which is an argument for assembling it beforehand.
Two scope rules for people living outside South Africa
Not ordinarily resident: property situated outside South Africa is excluded from the South African estate. But someone ordinarily resident abroad who holds South African assets does have a South African estate for estate duty purposes.
Coming the other way: property acquired before becoming ordinarily resident in South Africa may, in certain circumstances, be excluded under section 4(e).
And one framing correction worth carrying: SARS says the Act provides no exemptions from estate duty — only the exclusion of certain property from an estate. If you are told something is "exempt", the real question is whether it is excluded.
For how the duty is calculated on a South African estate, and what a modest property actually generates, see South African estate duty if you live abroad.
What this page does not cover
Capital gains tax on death, the deemed disposal, executor's fees and the Master's fee are all separate costs that were not read for this page. Estate duty is one line in the bill, not the bill.
About the source
Everything above comes from SARS's "Frequently Asked Questions: Deceased Estates" (Issue 4), dated 21 August 2024 — its questions 2 to 19 — on the Estate Duty Act, 1955.
SARS notes those FAQs are drafted to assist and are not intended as a legal reference. Confirm with SARS, the Master of the High Court, or a fiduciary practitioner before acting. This is not tax or legal advice.
How does this affect YOUR Money OS?
If you have been widowed, your South African estate may have twice the shelter you have been planning around — and the whole claim can rest on one stamped document. That is worth an afternoon.
FAQ
How much can pass free of South African estate duty? R3.5 million under section 4A. Where there is a predeceased spouse, up to R7 million, less any amount used by that spouse's estate.
Does my late spouse have to have been South African? No. SARS states the Act does not require the predeceased spouse to have been ordinarily resident in South Africa, and that a predeceased spouse who left no estate does not disqualify the rollover.
My spouse died when the abatement was only R2.5 million and used all of it. Do I get nothing? You get R7 million less the R2.5 million actually used — R4.5 million. SARS confirms the lower historical amount does not reduce the R7 million starting point.
What if my spouse's estate was never reported to the Master? The entitlement is not dependent on that; alternative documentation can be requested to confirm whether the R3.5 million was used.
What document do I need? A Master-stamped liquidation and distribution account, or a Master-stamped REV267. SARS states the deduction will not be allowed if neither is submitted or if it is not stamped.
What are the estate duty rates? 20% on the dutiable amount not exceeding R30 million, and 25% on the amount exceeding R30 million.
Does an unmarried partner qualify as a spouse? Possibly. A same sex or heterosexual union the Commissioner is satisfied is intended to be permanent qualifies, but SARS requires three affidavits from different parties for a life partnership.
Are retirement fund benefits included? Benefits payable from an approved retirement fund as a result of death are excluded from the estate.
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