Gifting & donating crypto (SARS)

Gifting is a disposal

When you gift crypto to someone else, you have disposed of it for tax purposes. SARS measures the disposal at market value in rands on the date of the gift — even if you received nothing back. The difference between that market value and your base cost is a capital gain or revenue amount, depending on character.

Donations tax may also apply

Gifts can trigger donations tax under the Donations Tax Act where the donee is not an exempt recipient (spouses and certain public benefit organisations may qualify for exemptions). Donations tax is separate from capital gains tax (CGT) and has its own thresholds and rates. Keep the recipient, date and rand valuation.

Donating to charity

Donating crypto to a registered PBO may qualify for a tax deduction in limited circumstances, but the disposal still happens at market value first — the deduction rules are strict. Get advice before assuming a charitable donation wipes out CGT.

Receiving a gift

If you receive crypto as a gift, you generally do not have income at receipt (it is not remuneration). Your base cost for a later disposal is usually the market value at the date you received it — document that value.

Practical record-keeping

Record the wallet address, transaction hash, date, tokens gifted, rand market value and recipient identity. If the gift is between family members, donations tax and estate planning may intersect — another reason to document contemporaneously.

Not tax advice

Gifts and donations are fact-specific — confirm CGT and donations tax treatment with a registered tax practitioner.