Trust Accounting and Tax Focus:
Planning for the 2026 Year End
This webinar will focus on how to compute the amounts due under the attribution rules and the vesting and/or distributions to beneficiaries prior to the financial year end, including the documentation requirements in respect of Trustees, Accountants and Tax Practitioners.
Trustees must vest income in a South African resident beneficiary before the trust’s financial year-end in terms of Section 25B(1), read with Section 25B(2) (subject to Section 7) of the Income Tax Act (ITA), to ensure the income is taxed in the beneficiary’s hands rather than the trust.
- 30 minute dedicated Q&A session included
Date:
17 February 2026
Time:
10:00 - 11:30
Platform:
Zoom
Cost:
R220
CPD Points:
1.0
Cost:
R220
CPD Points:
1.0
Key topics
In this session, the following key topics will be discussed:
-
Attribution Rules
- Attribution Rules versus vesting / distribution and which rule has preference
- Complexities of section 7(8) and section 25B in respect of loans to foreign trusts
- How to compute the attribution due to the funder
- The carry forward amount of an unutilised attribution
- What documentation is required
- How is the amount disclosed in the AFS -
Vesting and or distribution of current year earnings prior to year end:
- Is the amount income, a capital gain and or capital and how to allocate
- Vesting through multiple discretionary trusts
- What documentation is required
- How is the amount disclosed in the AFS
- Who is the liable taxpayer - What documentation is to be prepared by the Trustees, Accountant and Tax Practitioner prior to the financial year end
- A quick recap of provisional tax filings for the donor / funder / beneficiary / trust
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Who Should Join?
Tax practitioners
Supporting clients with trust tax compliance
Accountants and auditors
Managing trust accounts and filings
Legal and fiduciary advisors
Working with trustees and beneficiaries
Compliance professionals
Overseeing trust structures
Financial advisors
Guiding clients on trust-related obligations
Meet The Speaker
Cheryl Howard
Chartered Accountant
Cheryl Howard is a Chartered Accountant with extensive expertise in estate planning, tax, and fiduciary services. Estate planning has become her core professional focus, where she brings decades of experience in guiding high net-worth families through complex legal, tax, and succession matters with clarity and care. Cheryl began her career at Deloitte before moving to Kessel Feinstein (now SNG Grant Thornton), specialising in Private Client Tax. In 1994, she joined BoE Private Bank, managing the Johannesburg office’s Private Client, Deceased Estates, and Fiduciary businesses.
By 2000, she had established her own multi-family office practice, dedicated to comprehensive tax, estate planning, and fiduciary solutions, while also overseeing venture capital and private equity investments on behalf of her clients. After selling her business in 2018 to an international fiduciary company, Cheryl led their South African office until 2020. Following a brief sabbatical, she re-established her independent practice, returning with a renewed focus on estate planning as the cornerstone of her professional work.
She has served the profession as a past Board member of the Fiduciary Institute of Southern Africa (FISA) and the Society of Tax and Estate Practitioners (STEP), and has contributed to SARS and Treasury projects. Cheryl frequently presents and publishes on estate and financial planning.
She has also appeared on TV and radio, sharing practical insights with a wider audience. Alongside her estate planning practice, Cheryl founded Four and Twenty (Pty) Ltd – an Accounting and Tax Compliance Practice, ensuring her clients have access to fully compliant tax and accounting support. She also continues to contribute to fiduciary training, venture capital and private equity initiatives, and philanthropic projects.
Through her work, Cheryl remains committed to helping families protect and preserve their legacies, while providing trusted guidance in all aspects of estate planning.
Register now to prepare correctly before the financial year-end and ensure trust income is taxed in the right hands.
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