If you are considering donating a property to a beneficiary, it may be good advice to heed the saying: ‘Nothing is certain but death and taxes.’ The reason is that a donation of immovable property triggers both transfer duty and donations tax!
Transfer duty will be taxed in the hands of the recipient of the donation, and donations tax at 20% of the value of the donation will be levied against the donor. There is a small rebate in that the first R100 000 of property donated each year by a natural person is exempt from donations tax.