This paper seeks to brie£y analyse the somewhat convoluted provisions contained in South African tax legislation that apply to insolvent entities in South Africa. While South Africa has modern and e¡ective taxation laws, the provisions, when applied to insolvent entities, are often exposed as cumbersome and ine¡ective. Tax legislation in South Africa does not take proper cognisance of the unique nature of insolvency, often placing a heavy burden on the trustee or liquidator who is required to administer the estate as speedily and e¡ectively as possible. In addition, there are di¡erent rules that apply to consumer and corporate insolvency regarding the assessment of income tax pre-and post-liquidation. The recent introduction of a capital gains tax has placed an additional burden on insolvency practitioners, especially considering the lack of clarity as to how these provisions should be applied in practice. Although the Value-Added Tax Act was introduced more than a decade ago, its provisions continue to pose problems for insolvency practitioners during the administration process of insolvent estates. Despite these di⁄culties, the South African revenue authorities are to be lauded for the sensible manner in which problems are addressed in practice.