How would SARS tax you if you win the Powerball?

  Written by Alicia   Posted 21 May 2024

If I win the Powerball and decide to put all my winnings into a savings account and live off the interest, will I have to pay tax on my interest earned only, or am I supposed to pay tax on the total amount of winnings in the account?

Transfers from spouse & car sales

  Written by Nicci   Updated 21 April 2022

I have 2 questions

Question 1: My wife sometimes transfers some money into my account to pay a certain bill. The amounts total less than R100,000, it is never anything above that. Do I need to declare this under the TaxTim section question "Did you earn or receive any other money that you think should NOT be taxed?"? Will I be taxed on that amount?

Question 2: I sold my car and bought another car. Do I need to declare the amount I received after settling the remaining insta...

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Are Share Options taxed on date of them vesting (eligible but not exercised) or only when exercised?

  Written by Nicci   Updated 21 April 2022

I have the option to participate in an employee share option scheme, but I'm a little unclear on the tax implications. I high-level view is as follows:

Options will be granted at an agreed price (e.g. R1)
The options will vest over a four year period (annually)
Once vested, I would be able to exercise the right to purchase and retain shares or sell to a willing buyer because the company is private, it may not always be easy to find a willing buyer (e.g. At the end of each year), and I may also not have funds available to purchase the shares myself. My main question is around when would I become liable for tax?...

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Married in Community of Property

  Written by Nicci   Updated 20 April 2022

My wife and I got married last year on the 26th of March 2018. We got married in community of property, so when it comes to tax what I would like to understand is whether we will both need to do our tax differently this year and also, I would like to find out what would the implications on our tax returns be like?

How is profit on sale of private vehicles taxed?

  Written by Evan   Updated 6 April 2022

I bought a used bakkie from a friend at his book value and sold it soon after at a good profit. Will it be taxed under capital gain?

What happens once I've submitted my tax return form?

  Written by Marc   Posted 6 April 2022

One of the questions most asked when it comes to tax season, is “what happens now that I’ve submitted my income tax return, when do I get my refund?”’

If you’re due a tax refund then you will probably get the money deposited into your account within a few days. SARS will also email or SMS you telling you that an IT34 (Summary of your return and refund) and ITSA (Income Tax Statement of Account) have been issued. They will detail your tax refund (tax back) if any. So look forward to that deposit into your account. ...

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Do I pay tax on profits from Forex trading?

  Written by Marc   Posted 5 April 2022

Q: How do I pay Tax on Forex Trading?

I am a South African resident. I am a full-time forex trader (almost a year now). I trade via a broker overseas, I deposit funds into my trading account via their bank accounts here in South Africa. I would like to know if my profits from trading forex are taxed, how do I declare this and what forms should I fill from sars. Also, what can I expect in terms of what percentage of tax I will pay?

Capital Loss on the disposal of my Primary Residence

  Written by Nicci   Posted 17 March 2022

I sold my property, which is my primary residence, for R9 million. The initial purchase price was R7 million and I spent R1 million on improvements - the total base cost was therefore R8 million. If I apply the R2 million exemption, does this put me in a capital loss position?  (i.e R9m less R8m less R2m = -R1m)

If yes, can I use this capital loss to offset capital gains in the same tax year, or carry it forward to the next tax year?

Is CGT applicable to Share Option vesting?

  Written by Nicci   Posted 15 March 2022

I've received 1000 share options that vest over 4 years at 25% per year. After the initial vesting on 1 Jan 2022 I have the right to exercise the options, it's likely I will only exercise the options at company exit a few years later. When will I be liable for CGT?

Declaring the cost of building a rental property

  Written by Nicci   Posted 27 March 2020

I had rental income in the 2019 tax year, I converted part of my house into a 1 bedroom apartment as well as converting my old garage into another, so I currently have 2 flats now on the property. The apartments represent around 34% of the squares of the buildings on the property. Should I then declare 30% of the costs of the property (I.e.: Interest, Rates & Taxes etc as the costs) as the costs?

Also, where do I declare the cost I had incurred in building the units? (Does it come und...

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Tax on shares

  Written by Nicci   Posted 19 September 2019

I received a once-off payment for shares in November 2018. I then opted to pay tax on the shares before the payments was made to me. Therefore the tax was already deducted before any monies were paid to me. I am now uncertain how to enter this in my 2019 tax return. Can you please advise %u2013 do I need to submit this income in my 2019 tax return and if I must, what figures must I submit in terms of the share payment made to me in this tax year?

CGT for Companies

  Written by Nicci   Posted 26 May 2019

Is it correct that for private individuals Capital Gains Tax (CGT) is levied on net gain and of that, 40% is taken into account and that amount is added to individual's taxable income for that specific tax year. How does it work for companies or Trusts, is 100% of net CGT taken into account or what?

Tax when selling the shares

  Written by Nicci   Posted 17 February 2019

I previously received an opportunity to invest in shares through my company. I invested a portion of my income every month and every six months shares were purchased on my behalf at a 14% discount. The shares are US based and tax was deducted locally off my payslip. I would now like to sell off my shares, but I don't fully understand how I'd be liable for tax. We were able to sell them as soon as we had them. They were part of an ESPP (Employee Stock Purchase Plan) and were purchased by deduction from salary and taxed (nothing given out-right). On the platform, they do seem to be classified as short/long term but I think this is geared up for US rules of capital gains....

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Bitcoin and Tax

  Written by Nicci   Posted 8 January 2018

Are the earnings from Bitcoin taxable?

Full amount of shares paid out or profit?

  Written by Nicci   Posted 18 July 2017

I had MTN Zakhele shares which reach maturity and were paid out in December 2016. Do I include the amount that was paid into my bank account or the difference between what I paid for the shares vs what I sold them for?

This query relates to question 6431 "Please enter the total amount received from the sale here. This is known as the proceeds." in the Capital Gains section.

Rental expenses, capital or running expenses?

  Written by Alicia   Posted 10 July 2017

Please assist on the below as I cannot find additional
information within the current questions on your blog:

While not a monthly expense - it is mentioned that any expenses incurred in
earning the rental property income can be set against the rental income for
tax purposes. Does the following apply to that reasoning:

1. Installation of Prepaid electricity meter (about R1400)
2. Separating the electricity flows for sectioning off the electricity
for the rental portion of the property to the main house (we only renting...

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Provisional Tax on property sold

  Written by Nicci   Posted 3 July 2017

I sold property in March 2017 and it's an income earning property. Do I need to prepare a provisional tax return in August? Will I just include profits on the property?

Which costs are deductible prior to receiving rental income?

  Written by Nicci   Posted 17 April 2017

In respect of a second property that one rents out, starting off, can one deduct the following for personal income tax:
(1) Bond transfer fees and registration costs;
(2) Costs incurred on repairs to the property in the month prior to receiving the 1st rental for the property?

Capital gains tax or income tax - forex trading

  Written by Nicci   Posted 9 April 2017

What's the difference between capital gains tax and income tax? Which of the two does retail forex trading fall under?

Capital Gains Tax: Two

  Written by Nicci   Posted 5 April 2017

I bought a house in December 2013. In November 2015, I bought a second house and it was registered in my name, February 2017. The intention was to let out the first house, and we moved March 2016, with the first house now being empty. However, in the meanwhile, I decided to sell the first house. I haven't had any tenants staying in the first house, it has been empty for a month now. We stayed in the first house since I bought it, for over two years. Will I be liable for capital gains tax, or wil...

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Tax clearance certificate for a non-resident

  Written by Nicci   Posted 5 April 2017

A non South African citizen brought money into South Africa, bought a house and sold it recently. She needs a tax clearance certificate. How does she get it as she has no tax number?

CGT on primary residence (if it has been let out - also my only residence)

  Written by Evan   Posted 4 April 2017

What CGT would I be liable for if my primary residence is my only residence - but rented out?

Do I get Tax back on a loss from selling shares?

  Written by Nicci   Posted 15 March 2017

I bought shares in a private company (cost me 100k). We have now sold the company in full and my portion of the payout is 80k (i. e. 20k loss). Can I claim tax back on this amount? And if so, what do I need to do it?

Inclusion of rental expenses in CGT calculation

  Written by Alicia   Posted 24 February 2017

If I earned no income from a rental property (which I rented out for about 7 years) and sold it in the same year, can I still deduct the expenses (levies, interest, rates) normally incurred from income, or should I add these costs to the Selling cost or Base cost to reduce capital gains tax?

Which base cost to use when calculating CGT?

  Written by Alicia   Posted 24 February 2017

I bought some Satrix Divi through the Satrix Investment Plan in Aug 2007. All dividends were reinvested by Satrix, ie every quarter more shares were bought. In July 2011, I transferred all of my "units" to an online broker and made no further purchases. For the first few months, my statements from that broker show a base cost per share of 0. Suddenly, in the March 2012 statement, it lists a cost per share, which appears to be the share price on March 16 2012. I have just sold these share...

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