Double Taxation Agreements and Cross Border Withholding Tax

South African companies paying dividends, interest, royalties or service fees across borders often apply withholding tax incorrectly because they misread a double taxation agreement or miss a required declaration. This course explains how double taxation agreements interact with domestic withholding tax rules, how to apply reduced rates correctly, and how to handle beneficial ownership and treaty shopping challenges.

What you will be able to do

Explain how double taxation agreements reduce or eliminate withholding tax obligations.
Apply the correct withholding tax rate on dividends, interest, royalties and service fees.
Complete the declarations required to apply a reduced treaty rate.
Assess beneficial ownership requirements when applying treaty relief.
Identify treaty shopping arrangements that SARS is likely to challenge.
Reconcile withholding tax obligations with foreign tax credit relief for South African taxpayers.

Course outline

01How double taxation agreements work
02Withholding tax on dividends and interest
03Withholding tax on royalties and service fees
04Treaty relief declarations and documentation
05Beneficial ownership requirements
06Treaty shopping and anti avoidance
07Foreign tax credits for South African taxpayers
08Common cross border withholding errors

Who should attend

Tax managers, financial controllers, treasury staff and accountants handling cross border payments and withholding tax compliance.

Dates, venues and fees

Dates	Venue	Days	Fee
17 to 18 Aug 2026	Cape Town	2	R10,000
31 Aug to 1 Sep 2026	Online	2	US$900
7 to 8 Sep 2026	Mozambique	2	US$1,100
14 to 15 Sep 2026	Cairo	2	US$1,100
21 to 22 Sep 2026	Accra	2	US$1,100
28 to 29 Sep 2026	Lusaka	2	US$1,100
5 to 6 Oct 2026	Kigali	2	US$1,100
12 to 13 Oct 2026	Nairobi	2	US$1,100
19 to 20 Oct 2026	Durban	2	R10,000
26 to 27 Oct 2026	Johannesburg	2	R10,000
9 to 10 Nov 2026	Mauritius	2	US$1,100
16 to 17 Nov 2026	Dubai	2	US$1,100
23 to 24 Nov 2026	Lagos	2	US$1,100
30 Nov to 1 Dec 2026	Harare	2	US$1,100
7 to 8 Dec 2026	Kampala	2	US$1,100
14 to 15 Dec 2026	Dar es Salaam	2	US$1,100
21 to 22 Dec 2026	Pretoria	2	R10,000

Fees are per delegate. South African venues are priced in rand; other locations and online in US dollars. Fees exclude 15% VAT where applicable. Group bookings of three or more delegates from the same organisation qualify for a reduced rate; contact us for a quotation.

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Training a whole team?

We can run Double Taxation Agreements and Cross Border Withholding Tax privately for your team, on your dates and built around your own systems. Group delivery is usually more cost effective from about six delegates.

Run this in-house