At a glance
- The test
- Physical presence: more than 91 days in the year of assessment, more than 91 days in each of the five previous years, and more than 915 days in total over those five years.
- Period
- Year of assessment, 1 March to the last day of February.
- What counts as a day
- Any part of a day counts. Arrival and departure days, as shown in the passport, both count. A day in transit between two places outside South Africa is left out if the person does not formally enter through a port of entry.
The rule
Under section 1(1) of the Income Tax Act, a natural person can be a resident in two ways. One is being ordinarily resident, which the courts treat as a question of fact about where the person's real home is. The other is the physical presence test, which SARS says applies only if the person is not ordinarily resident.
The physical presence test needs three things together: more than 91 days in the year of assessment, more than 91 days in each of the five previous years, and more than 915 days in total over those five years. The current year does not count towards the 915.
A person who meets the test ceases to be resident when they are outside South Africa for a continuous period of at least 330 full days. That period always spans two years of assessment.
How Atrium counts it
Atrium counts a day in South Africa when your recorded trips show you there at any point that day. Arrival and departure days both count. The year runs 1 March to the end of February.
It shows the days left before the 92nd day this year, but only when your records, or years you stated, show the five previous years meeting their part (each over 91 days, over 915 in total). If they do not, Atrium shows no day condition for the year. If you say you may be ordinarily resident, it leaves that to your adviser.
This differs from SARS in one place. Atrium counts transit days even without formal entry, so its count can be higher than SARS's. The app does not yet show the 330-day condition.
What catches people out
- The 915 total covers only the five previous years. The current year is tested separately.
- One previous year at 91 days or fewer means the history part of the test is not met.
- A few hours on the arrival day and a few on the departure day each count as a full day.
- Ordinary residence does not depend on being present in the year. A person can be ordinarily resident while away for the whole year.
- A day in transit without formal entry is excluded, but a connection where the person clears immigration counts.
Cases
Commissioner for Inland Revenue v Kuttel
Appellate Division, Supreme Court of South Africa 路 1992 路 1992 (3) SA 242 (A), 54 SATC 298 Source
The taxpayer decided in May 1983 to emigrate, left for the United States on 29 July 1983, and set up a home, an office and bank accounts there. He kept the family home in Llandudno and, over the 31-month period under review, spent on average about one-third of his time in South Africa. The court held that a person is ordinarily resident where they have their usual or principal residence, their real home. On the facts it held he was not ordinarily resident in South Africa.
Time spent in South Africa was one fact among many. The court looked at where the real home was.
Cohen v Commissioner for Inland Revenue
Appellate Division, Supreme Court of South Africa 路 1946 路 1946 AD 174, 13 SATC 362 Source
The taxpayer, domiciled in South Africa, had travelled abroad on business and spent about half his time in South Africa. In 1940 he left with his family for the US and Canada on a permit that was extended to 21 months in total, always on the basis that he would come back. His flat was sub-let while he was away. The court held that ordinary residence is a question of degree, can exist while a person is absent for a whole year, and found him ordinarily resident.
Being physically absent for the whole year did not by itself decide ordinary residence.
Sources
- SARS Interpretation Note 4 (Issue 5), Physical presence test
- SARS Interpretation Note 3 (Issue 2), Ordinarily resident
Based on the sources above, last reviewed on 2026-10-04. Educational content, not tax advice. Atrium counts days; whether those days make you resident is for you and your adviser to decide.