12 October 2022 – Due to the fact that the Master of High Court (MOHC) issues the same number for two or more Trusts formed through a single Will, SARS has introduced a workaround to ensure that these separate Trusts are uniquely identified as a taxpayer. Below is a summary of the process that SARS follows in such an instance:
For a Trust, where a duplicate (or more) Trust Registration Number from the MOHC is identified:
Add a suffix “A” for the duplicate MOHC Trust Registration Number, followed by an increasing numerical value starting with “01”.
For example – Trust number (MT14695/2017 by MOHC) allocated to different Trusts
Allocate the numbers as follows for entity registration purposes:
1st Trust – MT146952017A01
2nd Trust – MT146952017A02
Do no merge the two trusts for income purposes, they are two separate tax entities irrespective of the “Trustee Details”
Capture the Trust name as reflected on the Letter of Authority and ensure that the correct trust type is captured
Note: A Trust can have more than one beneficiary in a Trust. However, a Trust is a one legal entity and only one trust must be registered irrespective of the number of beneficiaries.
