In brief (TL;DR): The 2026 Budget doubled the Single Discretionary Allowance from R1 million to R2 million per adult per calendar year. A couple can now move up to R4 million to the UK without any SARS pre-approval. If you have been waiting to transfer, the window just got significantly wider.
If you have been meaning to move money out of South Africa but kept putting it off, the 2026 Budget has just made that conversation a lot easier.
On 25 February 2026, the South African government announced that the Single Discretionary Allowance - the amount every adult SA resident can transfer offshore each calendar year without any SARS pre-approval - has been doubled from R1 million to R2 million.
That is a straightforward, significant change. And if you are a South African living in the UK, Ireland, or anywhere in the EU, it matters.
What the SDA actually is
The Single Discretionary Allowance is the simplest mechanism for moving money out of South Africa. You do not need SARS to approve anything in advance. You do not need a tax clearance certificate, an AIT approval, or any special documentation beyond your standard transfer instruction and a valid South African ID or passport.
Every South African resident adult gets this allowance - R2 million per person, per calendar year. It resets on 1 January each year. Any unused allowance does not roll over.
A couple, both SA residents, can therefore move up to R4 million combined under the SDA in a single calendar year without a single piece of SARS paperwork.
What changed - and when
Before the 2026 Budget, the SDA was R1 million. The doubling applies to the 2026 calendar year, so it is already in effect. If you transferred R1 million earlier in 2026 under the old limit, you now have a further R1 million available in the same year - subject to your bank or transfer provider confirming the updated limit with their systems.
At WBForex, we process transfers via Capitec as our authorised dealer partner. We will confirm current processing limits with you at the point of enquiry.
What you can use the SDA for
The SDA is intentionally broad. It covers:
- Regular monthly living expenses or salary remittances to a UK or EU account
- Gifts to family members abroad
- Once-off payments for property deposits, school fees, or personal purchases
- Investment contributions to offshore accounts
- General cost-of-living top-ups for expats
There is no requirement to explain the purpose of an SDA transfer to SARS. The transfer simply needs to go through an authorised dealer - which is where WBForex comes in.
What if R2 million is not enough?
If you need to move more than R2 million in a given calendar year, the Foreign Investment Allowance (FIA) allows an additional R10 million on top of your SDA - bringing the total to R12 million per person per year. The FIA does require prior approval from SARS via an Approval for International Transfer (AIT), which WBForex prepares and submits on your behalf.
For amounts above R12 million, a separate SARB FinSurv special approval is required - also something we manage end-to-end.
The practical next step
If you have been waiting to move funds and were previously constrained by the R1 million limit, now is a good time to revisit the conversation. The process is straightforward - you contact us, we confirm which documents are needed for your situation, and we handle everything from there.
WhatsApp us, email, or use the contact form below. Most enquiries come back with a clear answer the same day.
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