Home office expenses: Do I qualify?
Tax practitioners have been inundated with queries from clients on the possible relief offered by the South African Revenue Service (“SARS”) on the possibility of deducting from their taxable income home office expenses due to the shift in working policies by many employers. SARS recently hosted a webinar on the matter (the summary of which […]
Changes to assessed losses are on the way
In line with the 2020 Budget Announcement, Government proposes to broaden the corporate income tax base by restricting the offset of the balance of assessed losses carried forward to 80% of taxable income. The proposal extends to the balance of assessed losses at the time of implementation, i.e. it is not only the accumulation of […]
Personal liability of directors of non-profit organisations
I am a director of an NPO. Can I be held liable in my personal capacity for damages caused by or debt incurred by the organisation? I thought that I was doing something good. What does it mean to carry on business recklessly? Can I be held accountable if I knew about dodgy transactions but it was not my signature on the […]
Proposed legislative change: Tax benefit for learnership agreements: Extension to 2024
The Learnership Tax Incentive, which was introduced in the Income Tax Act on 1 October 2001, is a programme that supports skills intensity through the tax system. To encourage skills development and job creation, the Learnership Tax Incentive provides employers with an additional tax deduction over and above the normal deduction on remuneration. The additional […]
VAT concerns during the temporary letting of property
The VAT Act makes provision for the supply of residential fixed property by a VAT vendor (being a property developer) to be subject to VAT at the standard rate of 15%. The property developer has to charge VAT on the sale of the residential fixed property. Depending on market conditions, residential fixed property developers are […]
Barter transactions: What is the tax cost of my asset?
Barter transactions are commonplace in today’s commercial environment. Parties exchange goods or services without a cash transaction underpinning it. The question is, “What happens when I sell the asset in future? Do I have a tax cost for it?” Paragraph 20(1)(a) of the Eighth Schedule to the Income Tax Act refers to ‘the expenditure actually incurred in respect of the cost […]
Primary residence exclusion: Things to look out for
The Eighth Schedule of the Income Tax Act, which deals with capital gain tax, allows for exclusion from liability on any gains realised on the sale by a taxpayer of a primary residence on the first R2 million of such gains. There are, however, several more complex matters that often arise in the determination of any gain, and we examine some of those in more […]
Tax neutral intra-group transactions
The Income Tax Act contains various provisions in terms of which transactions can occur between specified parties without adverse tax consequences being incurred in respect of those transactions. These provisions are contained in sections 41 to 47 of the Income Tax Act and are generally known as the “group relief provisions”. Apart from certain value-shifting and general […]
Trading stock, capital assets and tax considerations
The Income Tax Act contains various provisions in terms of which transactions can occur between specified parties without adverse tax consequences being incurred in respect of those transactions. These provisions are contained in sections 41 to 47 of the Income Tax Act and are generally known as the “group relief provisions”. Apart from certain value-shifting and general […]
Refunds and taxable income
It often happens that a person may receive remuneration and other similar amounts (for services rendered or to be rendered, or by virtue of employment or the holding of any office), which subsequently have to be refunded, often because of contractual obligations not having been fulfilled, or due to an overpayment which was previously subject to tax. These amounts […]