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Independent Contractor Posts in Tax Q&A

What percentage of electricity can I claim when working from home?

  Written by Marc  

As a freelancer working from home I realize I can claim certain expenses such as electricity. I have seen several sources indicate that I can claim a percentage based on the size of my home office in relation to my entire home, is that the rule?

My work space is maybe 10% of my home but I can confidently say that at least 30% of my electricity expenses is due to the various electronic equipment running 24/7 in that area. How much can I claim, 10% or 30%?

What is acceptable supporting documentation for SARS?

  Written by Marc  

I am self employed, I work as a contractor and I was recently told by my accountant to keep all my slips and I just confirmed with him that all my expenses are on my bank statements, as those are my proof of payments, I also enter the information into Pastel online, that lets me track my personal expenses, because those slips just end up fading, so I throw the slips away.

My accountant said he recently had a client of his audited and SARS didn't accept bank statements as proof, they w...



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Can I Just enter business trips on my SARS logbook?

  Written by Marc  

Can you pleas tell me if I can just enter business trips into my SARS logbook or do I have to include both private and business trips?

How do I know if I am a tax resident of South Africa?

  Written by Marc  

My client was employed in Zimbabwe for 11 of 12 months, so he qualifies as being out of the country for more than 183 days. However, he regularly traveled back to SA on week-ends for a break, so was never out of the country for more than the 60 days in a row as required. Does this then disqualify him from being a non-resident for tax purposes?

Is my travel allowance too high for tax purposes?

  Written by Marc  

Please help, I receive a fixed travel allowance of R9400pm (car R4400 fuel R5000) under code 3701 which is taxed at 80% by my employer. My cars value is 160K and I do approximately 45K a year (12-15K personal) I keep a logbook. Will this be regarded negatively by SARS and more importantly would I possibly have to pay in an amount?

Full time with extra income tax bracket query

  Written by Marc  

I am a full time employee, but I recently earned extra income by doing freelance work. The income earned from my freelance work was not taxed before I received payment.

How do I calculate the correct amount to keep aside for tax from the freelance income?
I understand its something to do with adding my full time taxable salary with the income from freelance work, but there is potential that I may fall into a new tax bracket, is there a formula that I can apply to derive the corr...



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Non Taxable Travel Allowanc exceeds maximum permissible. Source Code 3702

  Written by Marc  

On my IRP5 I have a Source code of 3702 which is for my non-taxable travel allowance. When I submitted my tax return I received a letter from SARS saying that I need to submit relevant documentation because my non taxable travel allowance exceeds maximum permissible. This is not true as my total amount was only R2211 which is clearly less than the permitted 8000km. As I did not keep a log book what relevant documentation do I need to submit? As I understand, since my travel allowance is less tha...



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Foreign income - how to show on the ITR12?

  Written by Marc  

I am a South African resident and I work in South Africa but my employer is based overseas
does this mean I earn foreign income? I am a freelancer .

What expenses can he claim on to get a refund back from SARS?

  Written by Marc  

hI TIM,I HAVE A CLIENT WHO HAS WORKED AS AN INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR AND PAYE HAS BEEN DEDUCTED FROM HIM IN TOTAL OF ABOUT R150,000.Can he claim on petrol expenses and travel expense if he does not have a travel allowance?

Reimbursed Travel per km- how to put on my ITR12?

  Written by Marc  

I receive a reimbursement from my company for the usage of my own car for company purpose, the reimbursement is 3.24per km. Should I disclose this in my ITR12? and should I pay any tax on this reimbursement?

no separated business and private trips

  Written by Marc  

I have car allowance nobody informed me about the log book only thought I will give the mileage I have used. I did separate business trip and private trips.

How much income tax am I liable to pay?

  Written by Marc  

I earn a monthly commission, my "employer" requests me to invoice them for the commission and I then get paid the full commission earned. From the Commission I earn I have to pay 2 labourers to help deliver the stock I sell as well as supply the vehicles and fuel. I also supply all office equipment, telephone and stationary, these expenses are all calculated into my "commission". How do I go about paying tax as the total commission earned is not what I actually earn? I know the "employer" does n...



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Can I claim back petrol, whist been paid a monthly travel allowance?

  Written by Marc  

I receive a Travel allowance of R2000.00pm. on top of my salary.
My question is can I still claim for petrol back on my travels?
My reason is that my understanding of a travel allowance is as follows

Travel allowance - is any allowance paid or advance granted by the employer to the employee for the use of his or her private motor vehicle for the employer?%u20AC%u2122s business purposes.

Tax directive - what`s that?

  Written by Marc  

What is a tax directive?

Claiming a tax benefit for private car use without a car allowance

  Written by Marc  

i use my private car daily for business - driving to and from client meetings. I do not receive a formal travel allowance or claim for petrol. Is there a way for me to claim depreciation or a tax benefit when I submit my tax return? if so where on the return do I do this

When to submit my car kilometers log sheet?

  Written by Marc  

When can I bring kilometers log sheet for my car when claiming travel?

Please define dependancy wrt to medical aid tax deductions,

  Written by Marc  

My daughter has recently graduated but is still unemployed, living at home and is therefore still dependent on us for her living expenses. She is registered as a taxpayer on account of small income from a family trust?

Tax Refund Calulator does not provide for persons with a Disability

  Written by Marc  

Your tax refund calculator does not request the amounts for persons with a disability ie. remedial school fees, travel etc. How would I calculate my potential tax refund then?

As a provisional taxpayer being self employed, may I claim for office space in my home and travel?

  Written by Marc  

As a provisional tax payer being self employed, may I claim for office space in my home and travel? If so, what is the fair amount?

I am a vehicle salesman with my own car, can I claim a years depreciation

  Written by Marc  

I am a vehicle sales exec and have my own car.
Can I claim depreciation

Is it possible to claim business kilometres and structure your salary to have a car allowance?

  Written by Marc  

I would like to sacrifice part of my salary for a car allowance, and claim monthly business kilometres on my travelling. What are the tax implications?

What constitutes wear and tear?

  Written by Marc  

If you are a salaried employee, what constitutes 'wear and tear' of your personal assets used for work use?

If I receive and make work phone calls on my cell phone (which was received on a cellphone contract), can I claim the value of the cellphone under wear and tear?

If I paid cash for my car and use the car to drive to meetings for work, can I deduct a portion of the car's value under wear and tear?

Do I pay tax on my pension savings that were transferred to a preservation fund when I resigned?

  Written by Marc  

I resigned from my job late last year. Upon resignation, I transferred my pension fund savings into a preservation fund with the same company that held my pension fund. My tax return shows the entire amount of my pension fund as income under source code 3920 - Lump Sum Benefit. Why is this declared as income when I have not received the money? Does this mean I will be taxed on my preservation of my pension fund savings?

Statement of Assets and Liablities for small freelance income.

  Written by Marc  

I earned R13 200 doing some freelance web development in my free time. Do I need to fill out a statement of Assets and Liablities if the freelancing amount is so small? When I fill in my tax return, this section is highlighted in red.

Payment to a non-employee

  Written by Marc  

Please can you explain what I should do with the following scenario?
I need to pay commission to a person (non-employee) for a business lead. What deductions do I need to make and what documentation should I issue them with?
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