How to check an advisor's structuring is legitimate, not aggressive

The difference between smart tax structuring and aggressive structuring often comes down to one thing: whether the plan is built to withstand scrutiny. If your advisor's strategy relies on hoping SARS doesn't look too closely, it's aggressive. If it's designed to hold up under audit, it's legitimate. The checks you run before you commit will tell you which one you're dealing with.

Check their registration and track record with SARS

Start by asking your advisor for their CIPC registration number if they're a director of a tax practice, or their professional body membership—ask whether they're registered with the SAICA, SAIPA or IRBA depending on their discipline. Request these numbers in writing and verify them yourself on the relevant register. A legitimate advisor will hand these over without hesitation.

Then phone SARS directly or check their public list of tax practitioners. A clean history with SARS matters more than you might think. Ask your advisor whether they've ever had a ruling challenged by SARS or a client audit triggered by their advice. They don't need to divulge client names, but they should tell you frankly whether their strategies have faced pushback and how those cases resolved. If they dodge the question or tell you SARS "never catches" their structures, that's a red flag.

Ask them to show you the ruling, not just the logic

Legitimate structuring often rests on a formal tax ruling from SARS—either an advance ruling on a specific structure, or confirmation that the approach is in line with established case law. Ask your advisor: "Do you have a ruling from SARS that supports this, or case law you'll cite if we're audited?" If the answer is vague—"it's common practice" or "I've done it for dozens of clients"—be sceptical. Legitimate advisors can point you to the legal foundation.

Request that they show you the actual ruling or the court judgment they're relying on. You don't need to understand the legal detail, but you should see that the strategy isn't built on interpretation alone. If your advisor says they can't share a ruling because it was private, ask them to show you at least one published ruling or a court decision that supports the same principle. An advisor confident in their method will be happy to do this.

Get a second opinion from someone unrelated

Before you implement a significant restructure, have a second advisor—preferably from a different firm, and ideally a different profession (e.g., if the first is an accountant, consult a tax attorney)—review the proposal. This costs money upfront but saves far more if it catches a flaw or an overstated benefit. The second advisor doesn't need to do the full work; just ask them to sense-check the structure for compliance risk.

During that review, ask directly: "If SARS audited this, would they challenge it?" A good second opinion will identify which parts are bulletproof and which are assumptions. If both advisors agree, you've narrowed the risk. If they disagree, ask them why—the answer often reveals whether one is pushing the boundary.

Call previous clients and ask the hard question

Request references from your advisor—specifically, clients who restructured two or more years ago. Call them and ask: "Has SARS looked at this structure since you set it up?" and "If they did, what happened?" You're not looking for perfection; you're looking for honesty. A client who says "Yes, we were audited and SARS accepted the structure" or "We were queried but the advisor resolved it" is a good sign. A client who says "I don't know, I haven't heard from SARS" is neutral—time simply hasn't passed. But a client who seems evasive or says the advisor told them not to talk about it is a warning.

You're also checking whether the advisor stays in touch and supports clients through disputes. A legitimate advisor doesn't disappear once the fee is paid.

If after these checks you feel confident in the answers, you're likely working with someone who structures defensibly. If you find gaps, contradictions or reluctance to show evidence, find someone else. Verified advisors on Strove can be filtered by their credentials and client feedback, which saves you time running these checks yourself.