Money and structure

SARS tax compliance status PIN

Also called TCS PIN, tax compliance status PIN, Approval International Transfer PIN.

The SARS tax compliance status PIN is the credential the South African Revenue Service issues through eFiling so that a bank, acting as an Authorised Dealer, can verify a taxpayer's compliance online before releasing money abroad, and no EB-5 sized transfer leaves South Africa without one.

What it decides

The PIN comes from one of two applications, Good Standing or Approval International Transfer, and the AIT has since 21 April 2023 replaced the separate foreign investment allowance and emigration applications. No PIN is needed inside the single discretionary allowance, which the Reserve Bank raised from R1 million to R2 million per calendar year for residents aged 18 and over after the 2026 Budget. Capital above that moves under the foreign capital allowance of R10 million per calendar year, which does require an AIT PIN, and since $800,000 converts to more than R10 million at any rate weaker than R12.50 to the dollar, an EB-5 transfer normally needs Financial Surveillance Department approval on top of the PIN. The AIT file must show the source of the capital and a statement of assets and liabilities for the previous three tax years. SARS treats a taxpayer as non-compliant while any return is outstanding, so one unfiled year stops the transfer.

Governed by South African Reserve Bank, Currency and Exchanges Manual for Authorised Dealers, dated 25 June 2026: section A.1 defines the single discretionary allowance as R2 million for residents 18 and older, section B.4(A)(i) repeats it and confirms no documentary evidence is required, and section B.2(B)(i)(a) sets the R10 million foreign capital allowance via an AIT and dates the AIT to 21 April 2023. SARS, Manage your Tax Compliance Status, page last updated 1 July 2025, for the PIN itself, for the April 2023 consolidation and for what makes a taxpayer non-compliant. SARS, Supporting Documents for Approval of International Transfers (AIT), for the source of capital material and the three years of assets and liabilities. Neither host is in the project's gov-sources registry.

Related terms

Source of fundsSource of funds is the documentary showing that an EB-5 investor's required capital, and the money used to pay administrative costs and fees, was obtained from a lawful source and through lawful means, proved by records rather than by assertion.
Path of fundsPath of funds is the account by account trail documenting how the capital moved from its proven source into the new commercial enterprise, and it is a separate showing from proving that the source was lawful.
CapitalCapital is the cash and tangible assets an EB-5 investor contributes to the new commercial enterprise. Two texts define it: the statute, which governs petitions filed on or after 15 March 2022, and the older regulation, whose conditions on debt USCIS still applies alongside the statute.
Minimum investment amount$800,000 for an investment in a targeted employment area or in an infrastructure project, and $1,050,000 for every other investment, set by 8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)(C) (INA 203(b)(5)(C)). The amount that applies is the one in force on the date the petition is filed.
3-NDFL declarationThe 3-NDFL is the Russian personal income tax declaration filed with the Federal Tax Service by 30 April for the previous year, with the tax due by 15 July, and it is the document a Russian EB-5 investor's source of funds file is usually built on.

Checked against primary sources on 10 August 2026. Back to the glossary