Tax and Retrenchment: A Potential Minefield

Retrenchment can be extremely taxing … in more ways than one! Being retrenched is a traumatic experience regardless of your place on the corporate totem pole. However, the stakes tend to be higher for more senior employees – not only in terms of the larger sums involved when it comes to separation packages, but also […]

Claiming Car Expenses Based on Actual Costs

Know what you can claim, and the documents you need to substantiate it. When an individual taxpayer wishes to submit a tax claim for business travel, the tax return form provides the option of basing their claim on ‘deemed costs’ or ‘actual costs’.  Since eFiling has largely automated the process of claiming based on deemed […]

Is a Logbook Really Necessary?

Or can SARS use code 3702 to audit potential business kilometres travelled? I have often wondered whether SARS officials thoroughly review the submitted logbooks when taxpayers claim for travel expenses incurred as a result of business travel, or are these requested just to tick a box? This uncertainty has recently been rresolved—SARS audits the logbooks […]

Taxing Employer-Paid Gratuities

It’s not only your retirement fund that may pay out when you decide to call it a day. Some time ago I wrote a series of articles dealing with the various payments that an employee might receive when leaving an employer. However, while those articles dealt mostly with what went wrong between the former employer […]

VAT and Freelance Creatives: Understanding where the buck stops

When someone says influencer, freelance designer, writer, or content creator (collectively referred to as a creative freelancer), do you think VAT?  Probably not—and you’re not alone. Many creative freelancers don’t consider taxes in their creative pursuits. It’s not a topic that readily comes to mind when you’re brainstorming ideas or putting the finishing touches on […]

From Departure to Encashment

How the two-pot retirement system impacts expats The much-anticipated two-pot retirement system, introduced as a ‘knight in shining armour’ for South Africans, has received a new implementation date of March 2024. Expats are cautioned to pay attention to the effects that this will have on the encashment of their retirement savings. While many have addressed […]

It’s bonus time – but oh, the tax!

Unfortunately, it seems that The Grinch now works for SARS! How did the Grinch steal Christmas? In the beloved children’s story written in 1957 by Theodor Geisel, better known as ‘Dr Seuss’, we are introduced to this grouchy, solitary creature, the Grinch, who tries to cancel Christmas by stealing Christmas gifts and decorations from the […]

Is a maintenance payment a ‘donation’?

Helping someone out may be exempt from donations tax—but as always, the devil is in the detail… Donations tax is one of those strange taxes where people often question its existence.  After all, why would SARS be so mean as to want to tax someone’s generosity?  The main reason is estate duty—or, more specifically, the […]

Tax implications for marriages in community of property

The default marriage regime has some complicated tax consequences. When couples are caught up in wedding and honeymoon planning, visiting their attorney often takes a backseat. Many couples don’t realise that different marital laws affect how their assets are managed during marriage, divided if it ends, and how they’re taxed. The different legal frameworks determine […]