Move from a worthy purpose to a properly supported application. Vatco helps organisations review their activities and governing documents, prepare SARS PBO approval work and distinguish it from the additional requirements for issuing tax-deductible donation receipts.
Your requirements · A clear scope · Your next step
Before preparing the application, identify which activities are already operating, which remain planned, and who will hold the supporting records. This makes the description of public benefit work easier to substantiate.
Start with the legal form, governing document and actual planned activities.
Explain income, spending and the years covered by the application.
Identify the additional approval or update explicitly.
Swipe across to compare all columns.
| Cost item | Price or basis | What to allow for |
|---|---|---|
| Vatco PBO application assistance | Quoted by legal form, activities and approval sought | The quote distinguishes PBO preparation, section 18A assistance and existing-status updates. |
| SARS eFiling platform | R0 platform access | Professional preparation, tax payable and corrective work remain separate. |
| Founding-document and historic-financial work | Separately quoted if required | Amendments, missing accounts and retrospective periods can add substantial preparation. |
| Ongoing governance and tax reporting | Separate continuing scope | Approval does not fund programmes or replace financial records, returns and controlled donation receipts. |
The service fee, any amount payable to the authority and additional work are separate. The table identifies the scope to confirm before you proceed.
We help organise the application evidence and identify missing items. We do not create a fictitious programme history, manufacture governance decisions or suggest that wording alone can replace the required substance.
Start with current founding documents, registration information and the details of the people responsible for governance.
Include relevant appointments and the authorised representative information.
Where an organisation has changed names or legal form, provide enough history to connect the current applicant with earlier records.
Add a financial picture appropriate to the stage of the organisation. An established body should be ready to explain income, spending and existing activities; a new body should distinguish plans from completed work.
If earlier periods or retrospective consideration form part of the request, identify those periods explicitly rather than sending one undated financial summary.
Keep donor communications, programme descriptions and supporting evidence consistent with the approval sought. If fundraising material already promises tax-deductible receipts, disclose that issue so it can be addressed.
The SARS exemption document table expressly calls for certified identity copies or passport evidence for the people responsible for the applicant.
The SARS list accepts bank confirmation or statements, including e-stamped records, plus the applicable physical-address evidence.
Prepare a practical description of what your organisation delivers, who benefits and how activities are funded. Use examples from current or planned programmes rather than relying only on a broad mission statement. An application should make it possible to understand the work without guessing what an abstract phrase such as community development means in practice.
Compare that description with the organisation’s constitution, memorandum or trust instrument. If the operating activities and the governing document tell different stories, identify the difference before submission. A document change may require its own authorised process; editing a copy for the application is not a substitute for adopting an amendment properly.
We review the organisation’s form, activities and objective, then agree the work and supporting requirements.
Prepare the application through the relevant SARS process using the current taxpayer and representative details.
Where SARS asks for additional evidence, respond to the specific query against the existing record rather than supplying unrelated promotional material.
If approval is issued, read its terms, effective details and applicable conditions.
An approved organisation still needs organised financial and governance records. Decide who maintains approval correspondence, monitors reporting requirements and checks that activities remain within the organisation’s governing framework. New programmes or income streams should be considered before staff assume they receive the same treatment as earlier work.
We quote after reviewing readiness and the approval sought. SARS verification, requested amendments and the complexity of activities can affect the work and timing. Start with the organisation’s legal form, existing registrations and a clear description of its activities. That allows the team to propose a useful scope without promising blanket exemption, automatic donor deductions or approval by a fundraising deadline.
No. The registrations concern different matters. SARS approval must be considered on its own requirements, including the organisation’s activities and governing documents. Provide any existing NPO and entity-registration records as part of the background, but do not treat them as a SARS approval letter.
No. Section 18A approval is an additional matter with its own conditions. Confirm the scope of your actual approval before promising tax-deductible receipts to donors. If that approval is part of your objective, raise it at the start so the application work is assessed accordingly.
The organisation’s legal form and applicable requirements need to be reviewed; PBO applications are not limited to non-profit companies. Bring the governing instrument and current authority information. The team can then identify the appropriate applicant position instead of using a company-only document checklist.
Do not assume a blanket outcome. SARS guidance recognises that trading receipts and activities may need separate consideration. Explain each income stream and how it supports the organisation’s work so the review can address the actual circumstances and any relevant conditions.
Describe the stage of the organisation and distinguish planned activities from work already completed. The information required depends on the request and circumstances. We can assess readiness without inventing prior programmes or financial activity simply to make a new organisation look established.
Keep the application, supporting record and actual approval or other response. Any PBO and section 18A outcomes should be distinguished, with conditions and remaining tasks explained. Agree who will manage the continuing financial, governance and reporting work after the application engagement ends.
Go deeper with guidance from the relevant authorities.
PBO requirements and the distinction from section 18A.
Open the resource OFFICIAL RESOURCEApplication readiness, channels and supporting records.
Open the resource OFFICIAL RESOURCEHow non-profit registration differs from preferential tax approval.
Open the resource OFFICIAL RESOURCEOfficial confirmation that eFiling platform use is free.
Open the resourceShare your requirements with Vatco.
Confirm the scope, documents and fees before proceeding.
