How much can South Africans invest offshore? (the R2m/R10m allowances)
Every South African adult can move up to R12 million offshore per calendar year — a R2 million single discretionary allowance with no tax clearance needed (Budget 2026 doubled it from R1 million), plus a R10 million foreign investment allowance that requires a SARS tax-compliance status PIN.
And rand-based offshore funds use none of it. A feeder fund or offshore ETF bought in rand on a local platform gives offshore exposure without touching either allowance — the distinction most people miss.
The two allowances
- Single discretionary allowance (SDA): R2 million per calendar year. No SARS clearance required — Budget 2026 doubled it from R1 million. It covers any legal purpose, including investing
- Foreign investment allowance (FIA): R10 million per calendar year. This one requires a tax-compliance status PIN from SARS — proof that your tax affairs are in order — before the bank will send the money
- Together: up to R12 million per adult, per calendar year
Per person, per calendar year
Both allowances belong to the individual and reset every January. Two adults in a household each have their own R2 million and R10 million — the allowances are personal, not shared per family.
The offshore exposure that uses no allowance
Here is the part that changes the picture for most people. Rand-denominated feeder funds and offshore ETFs listed on the JSE hold foreign assets on your behalf — but your money never leaves the country in your name. You invest in rand, you're paid out in rand, and neither allowance is touched. No PIN, no bank paperwork, no limit tied to the allowances.
The difference between the routes is where the assets sit. Direct offshore investing converts your rand into foreign currency held in your own name abroad. The indirect route keeps everything on a local platform while the fund does the offshore holding. Same market exposure; different plumbing.
Tax doesn't emigrate with the money
South African tax residents are taxed on a worldwide basis — income and gains earned offshore are declared and taxed here, just like local ones. Moving money abroad moves the assets, not the tax. "How are investments taxed — dividends, interest, REITs?" covers what that means in practice.
What the numbers say
The allowances are generous enough that, for most individual investors, the real constraint is capital rather than permission: R2 million a year moves with a bank form, R12 million with a SARS PIN, and rand-based exposure needs neither. The system is more open than its reputation suggests.
Terms used on this page
- ETF (exchange-traded fund)
- A fund listed on a stock exchange and traded like a share, usually tracking an index. Its price moves throughout the trading day.
Reviewed July 2026