Accounting tips for small businesses
When operating a small business, there are so many important daily tasks to remember—especially if you are also the business owner. Your day is most likely jam-packed with numerous to-do lists and other miscellaneous tasks that need completing. When your day is filled up like this, sometimes the last thing you want to do is […]
Disclose your defaults before SARS finds them!
A grim warning for South African taxpayers. Long gone are the days when tax fraudsters could run circles around SARS, which has intensified its efforts to crack down on tax evasion by pursuing criminal action against non-compliant taxpayers. One example is when SARS came knocking on the door of a private hospital and its director, […]
How SARS catches tax-dodgers
SARS auditors employ methods that most people wouldn’t have even considered. How does the South African Revenue Service (SARS) catch those who do not contribute their fair share to state coffers? Here are some tests that SARS auditors perform to see if you are being somewhat economical with the truth. Comparing VAT returns to your […]
“Houston, we have a problem”: Foreign services income
The foreign services income exemption actually requires services to be rendered in order to qualify. Many articles have been written about the application of the foreign income exemption provided for under Section 10(1)(o)(ii) of the Income Tax Act. This Section provides for an exemption from South African tax from specific employment income earned while rendering […]
Flying towards a tax saving: Double Tax Agreement, or financial emigration?
Having visited over 12 international locations in 2022, and engaging with South African expatriates, we can attest to a recent report issued by the United Nations, which found that around 900 000 South Africans are already living and working overseas—and indeed, this may well be an understatement. The common misconception amongst expatriates, however, is that getting […]
Non-dependent medical expenses
Can you claim medical expenses for someone not a member of your medical scheme? You can, but there are many boxes to tick. Medical scheme membership is normally offered to individuals and their immediate dependents, who would usually be their spouses and children under 18 (unless they are in full-time education, in which case they […]
Render unto Caesar: Shares and the SARS slice
Whether you are a share trader or a long-term investor, when you make a profit, SARS will want its slice of the pie. Ever since biblical times, there has been a tug-of-war between governments trying to extract as much as possible from their citizens in the form of taxes, and individuals trying to keep as […]
Never do things just ‘for tax purposes’
A decision based solely on tax considerations is likely to be the wrong one. “I hate tax!” These were the words spoken by a director of one of the clients of the audit firm with whom I served articles. Whilst many would agree with this sentiment towards the tax-man, this particular individual’s zeal in devising […]
Share disposals: Calculating SARS’s slice
How to work out the taxable capital gain when disposing of share investments. One of the underlying principles of Capital Gains Tax (CGT) is that a capital gain is normally determined as being the difference between the proceeds on sale of an asset, less the so-called ‘base cost’. Calculating the base cost is therefore critical […]
How to object to your income tax assessment
You and SARS are entitled to have a difference of opinion. This article, which was originally published in the May 2014 issue of Tax Breaks, has been updated to take later developments in SARS’ processes (and e-filing functionality) into account. You’ve got your tax return in on time, and your tax practitioner told you that […]