Why employers should help their employees with tax

Posted 25 February 2013

Individual taxpayers have traditionally been told that when it comes to tax returns, they're on their own with regard to submitting each year and their employer does not need to get involved. Despite the employer making payment of PAYE (the majority of their tax liability) on their behalf, after handing over their IRP5 detailing this payment they resume business as usual and the employee is left to navigate the ever-challenging tax system on their own, without any assistance. Fortunately this attitude is changing as more companies recognise the benefits of helping staff with their tax matters. ...

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SARS Tax Tables for 2013

Posted 18 January 2013

Tax rates for Individuals and Trusts
Income tax rates: Natural persons (that's you) and special trusts.

2013 tax year: 1 March 2012 - 28 Feb 2013.


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How to manage your tax affairs running a business in your own name as a sole-proprietor

Posted 1 October 2012

South Africa is brimming with entrepreneurs and small business owners who keep the economy running. These people may or may not be earning a regular salary too, but all of them operate a non-registered business in their own name - a so-called sole-proprietorship. In this blog post we will discuss how such a business pays tax, how it is taxed, and how to separate personal and business affairs to make tax deductions correctly.

To register or not to register as a company? ...

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Why do I need to submit an Income Tax Return if my employer pays my Tax?

Posted 6 September 2012

A question often asked is, "If my boss pays over my tax then why do I have to do anything?"

If you earn below R160 000 per year, SARS does not require that you complete and submit an ITR12 tax return. HOWEVER SARS will charge you an admin penalty for not submitting a return AND if you don't mention all your deductions you can't maximise your potential refund. So rather submit a return every year and stay tax compliant. With TaxTim it's easy. Remember as well that SARS doesn't know everything about you so you need to tell them to maximise your potential refund! ...

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What to do if your second ITA34 assessment says you now owe SARS money

Posted 6 September 2012

If you have ever survived a SARS audit, you may have been issued with a "revised assessment" or second ITA34 that doesn't make much sense. It probably says that you now owe SARS some money, despite being due a refund. Don't be alarmed though, if you read lower down the new ITA34 you will find that in fact you are still due a refund, only it is probably smaller than before.

For example:

First IT34A (before audit):
SARS says: "Your assessment has been concluded and reflects an amount refundable to you of R-16 636.10"...

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SARS is asking for more documents. Are they auditing me?

Posted 13 August 2012

For most people upon submission of their year-end income tax return, either nothing much will happen or a refund will be due, this being paid back within a matter of days. However in a small number of cases SARS requires extra documentation or proof to be submitted so that they can verify that everything you submitted in your tax return is correct. Don’t be afraid, although many people consider this an “audit” it isn’t nearly as frightening as that and doesn't mean you have done anything wrong. A true audit would be SARS requesting years of past documentation and opening up for examination all your tax affairs from previous years. ...

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I'm retired at 65 years and older - what income tax benefits do I qualify for in retirement?

Posted 23 July 2012

It would seem that SARS often prioritises younger taxpayers who are still working and receive a constant flow of income. However for many older South African taxpayers over the age of 65 who have retired or are still working, there are actually quite a few benefits to enjoy.

Firstly at 65 the tax threshold above which you would even begin paying tax is higher, at R99 056 per year (in 2012 it was R93 150). What's more, those taxpayers who are older than 75 years of age get an even bigger break at R110 889 per year (in 2012 it was R104 261)...

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How do I calculate my earnings after tax? Try our income tax calculator

Posted 6 June 2012

Most employees negotiate their salary based on the gross amount (or cost to company) - the whole amount paid by their employer. Since income tax is deducted from this gross amount, in most cases the taxpayer doesn't know how much money actually goes into their bank account each month, after tax.

SARS levies employee's tax monthly and employers must pay that over to SARS every month. This tax is called PAYE (Pay As You Earn). PAYE is calculated based on your taxable income. This is different to your gross income and is calculated as follows: ...

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South African budget 2012/2013 - "Tax by stealth"

Posted 23 February 2012

Eagerly anticipating the budget this year and forever the optimist, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan started off well: R9.5bn of individual tax savings and revenue collection up by R10bn from the latest estimates. However, for the individual taxpayer, things went slightly downhill from there... Let’s unpack this a bit.

Not all Doom and Gloom

Ok, ok so maybe I have been too harsh as only certain individuals (the richer ones) will actually be subject to greater tax, the lower end income earners will benefit quite a bit from the new tax changes...

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New tax credit to replace medical aid deductions in post 2012 Tax Year

Posted 21 February 2012

The 2012 tax year has almost come and gone, and being annual budget time, anxious taxpayers are unsure what to expect. Is there any room to be taxed further? All will be revealed on Wednesday the 22nd, but in the meantime let's focus on the new medical aid tax regime.

Gone are the days of paying your spouse's medical aid and claiming the deduction just because you are in a higher tax bracket. From the 2013 tax year onwards that deduction is no longer allowed. Instead it will be replaced with a tax credit per dependent. "What is the difference?" I hear the average taxpayer ask, and "How does it affect me?" ...

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"Claim it back from Tax" The Fact behind the Fiction

Posted 14 February 2012

There is this misconception that if one has an expense or makes a donation then “it can be claimed back from tax” While to the non-tax literate this may be true in a sense, having expenses or making donations for this purpose only, could actually backfire from a cash flow point of view. It is correct that you can claim the expense or the donation made as a deduction, this amount only comes off after all your income has been declared. So in affect it only reduces your taxable income and therefore the amount of tax paid...

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Taxable vs Accounting: Setting the record straight

Posted 23 January 2012

There is a widely believed myth that all expenses and incomes of a business can lower taxes. The Taxable vs Accounting deductibility argument is one which will forever rage on. The question is: what is the difference?

Many countries around the world stick to a particular set of accounting standards released by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), while those same countries have their own individual tax laws. This leads to a difference between what’s allowable for tax purposes and what’s allowable for accounting purposes....

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What is the benefit of actually spending time looking at your tax return?

Posted 16 January 2012

You always hear of people saying they are terrified of Tax and they just hand it over to some accountant who does it for them and they never actually see it until the next year when the whole process starts again.  In most cases the accountant never even asks for any information and just submits a tax return based on a simple IRP5. Now that may be great for someone who earns a salary and has absolutely nothing else going on, tax related that is, but the poor ignorant taxpayer is potentially throwing away hundreds of Rands on an "expert" who isn't even doing their job properly. Not to mention the possible refund the taxpayer is missing out on. ...

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