Tax and SARS knowledge base
How do spouses married in community of property declare rental income?
How do spouses married in community of property declare rental income?
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Direct answer
When spouses are married in community of property and the rental property falls into the joint estate, SARS says the rental profit or loss is split 50:50. The SARS rental-income guidance also says that the full amount after expenses must be reflected on the return, because SARS programmatically apportions the profit or loss. Do not enter a private 50% calculation in place of the full property schedule just because the rent was paid into one spouse's bank account.
The first question is whether the property is in the joint estate. Marriage alone is not enough to resolve every ownership fact. If an asset was excluded, inherited with an exclusion, held in a trust, or the marriage regime changed, obtain appropriate legal and tax advice before selecting a community-of-property treatment.
What this means in practice
Prepare one property-level working paper for the tax year. Show rental income, permitted expenses, the period of letting and the evidence for each figure. This produces a single supported rental profit or loss before the SARS allocation. Share the schedule with both spouses and retain it with both tax files, even if one spouse managed the tenant or held the bank account.
The full amount after deductible expenses is important. SARS uses information in the ITR12 to apply the 50:50 split where the property belongs in the joint estate. Manually halving rent and expenses may obscure the property record, cause a mismatch with available data, or produce inconsistent entries between two returns. Use the current ITR12 guide and live eFiling prompts for the year you are filing.
Apportionment within the property calculation is separate from the matrimonial split. If the property is partly occupied privately, first establish the supported rental portion of costs. If the property was let for only part of the year, retain a record of the letting dates. Only then does the joint-estate treatment become relevant.
Step-by-step
- Confirm the marriage and asset facts.
Keep the antenuptial contract where applicable and records showing whether the property forms part of the joint estate.
- Build one full rental schedule.
Show gross rent, each expense, private-use apportionments and the net result before any spousal allocation.
- Reconcile the schedule to bank and tenant records.
Keep the lease, rental ledger, statements, municipal accounts, interest certificate and invoices.
- Use the current ITR12 rental workflow.
Complete the property information and community-of-property indication only where accurate. Do not rely on an old screenshot or a prior assessment.
- File consistently.
Ensure each spouse's return and supporting file describe the same property and tax-year facts.
- Review both assessments.
Check whether the result reflects the expected 50:50 allocation. Preserve the ITA34s before starting a correction or objection.
Documents and records to keep
- Marriage-regime and ownership documents relevant to the property.
- Lease, tenant statements, bank records and rental ledger.
- Expense invoices, loan-interest certificate and apportionment working paper.
- Each spouse's ITR12 and ITA34.
Important limits and exceptions
SARS's 50:50 statement applies where spouses are married in community of property and the property falls into the joint estate. It does not decide a disputed property-law issue. Property outside the joint estate, a trust-owned property, a company-owned property, an estate property, a change of marital status and an asset acquired under special conditions may require a different analysis.
This article also does not decide whether a rental loss can be set off against other income or whether a cost is deductible. Keep the full evidence even where the eventual allocation is automatic.
When to get tailored advice
Obtain advice if ownership is uncertain, the asset was inherited or donated, there is a trust or company in the structure, the property was sold, or the two assessments do not reconcile. TaxProof can prepare the common evidence file and a tax adviser can review the ownership and allocation position.