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Investing money at the bank and earning interest and the tax implications thereof?



Forwardthinker says:
24 May 2015 at 4:59

I want to set up an investment at the bank and earn interest on a monthly basis on it. I did some research and I found that I need to register for Provisional Tax at SARS in order to do this. I found out that 2-3 times per annum I would be required to make a payment to SARS on the interest I earn. My question is: Firstly, I would like to budget so I would like to know what percentage will SARS deduct monthly on my interest earned,and secondly,will they tax me monthly in this case or 2-3 times per annum (Provisional Tax)?The amount I want to invest exceeds R30,000 therefore I know that I need to register for provisional tax. I would greatly appreciate clarification on this.

TaxTim TaxTim says:
24 May 2015 at 16:03

Provisional tax is based on the income of the taxpayer, not the capital invested. If your interest earned per year is going to exceed R53 800 only then will you need to register as a provisional taxpayer. How much do you intend investing?

Forwardthinker says:
24 May 2015 at 19:38

I intend to invest an amount where the amount of interest is going to exceed R53,800 per annum. I am still unclear on how they would determine the tax percentage.

Forwardthinker says:
24 May 2015 at 19:53

I earn less than R250,000 per annum so currently I do not need to submit a tax return on my income.However,on this investment I would like to make I realise I would need to pay Provisional tax.Would they still base it on the income of the taxpayer or how would it work?Also how would it work if I would like to make another investment in the future?

TaxTim TaxTim says:
24 May 2015 at 20:04

Unless you only earn a salary with absolutely NO deductions or ANY other form of income then SARS says you do not need to submit a return. However you should always submit returns as in our experience SARS do not always stick to their policy on this matter and often send penalty notices to taxpayers or in future years when circumstances change then they issue penalties for older returns not being submitted.

If you are earning above that threshold then you would need to register as a provisional taxpayer which you can do via eFiling - have a look at our guide on What is Provisional Tax? How and when? You will only pay provisional tax on how much income you earned - worked out to how much tax is owed less the employees tax already paid. In order to budget, you can make use of our SARS income tax calculator just remember that if your are under 65 then the first R23 800 of interest will be tax free.

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