Getting paid in dollars in South Africa

Every route costs something, just in a different place

There are three broad ways the money reaches you, and the cost sits somewhere different in each:

• Straight into your South African bank account. Simplest. Your bank converts on arrival at its own rate, and there is usually an inward SWIFT fee. The conversion margin is where the money goes.
• Into a multi-currency account, converted when you choose. You hold the foreign currency and convert on your own timing at a narrower margin. More control, more admin.
• Through the client's own payout platform. Convenient and often the client's preference, but you accept whatever rate and withdrawal fee that platform sets.

You will be asked what the money is for

Inbound foreign payments are reported to the Reserve Bank under a balance-of-payments category, so your bank will ask you to classify the receipt — typically as income for services rendered. Expect this each time, and expect to describe the work. Answering promptly is usually what determines whether funds are released quickly or held pending queries.

Foreign income is still income

South African tax residents are taxed on worldwide income, so money earned from an overseas client is generally declarable in South Africa regardless of where it was paid or which currency it arrived in. There are specific reliefs and exemptions in the law — including rules about income earned while physically working outside the country — and they turn on the details of your circumstances.

Habits that save real money

• Invoice in a currency you can receive cheaply. An exotic currency may be converted twice before it reaches you.
• Batch small payments where the client allows it. Fixed inward fees hurt small, frequent receipts most.
• Watch the rand, not just the invoice. A 5% move in USD/ZAR between invoice and payment is normal, and dwarfs most provider differences.
• Keep records per receipt. Invoice, rate applied, fees deducted, and the BoP category you declared.

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