SARS refund on hold - do not have the historic tax returns

  Written by Nicci   Posted 22 August 2025

I don't have copies of my outstanding tax returns for previous years, SARS has put my refund on hold

Everything you need to know about Pay Periods on your IRP5

  Written by Evan   Updated 23 May 2025

What are Pay Periods?

Your IRP5 has two fields on it that relate to Pay Periods:

1. Periods in a year of assessment
2. No. of periods worked
3. Period employed from
4. Period employed to

A Pay Period describes an amount of time within a year that you were employed by your employer.

This can be an amount in:

• DAYS - maximum 365, or 365.0000
• WEEKS -  maximum 52, or 52.000 (can show a partial number, e.g...

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Who is the CIPC?

  Written by Nicci   Posted 6 May 2025

The CIPC stands for the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission in South Africa.

It is a  government agency under the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC), responsible for:

Company Registration:

Registering new companies (e.g. private, public, non-profit)

Maintenance of Company Records:

• Annual returns
• Director changes<...

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IRP5 from an unrecognized company

  Written by Nicci   Posted 5 May 2025

There is an IRP5 from a company I don't recognise, with a value I didn't enter. I have two IRP5's and entered that data but on my final submission I can see three IRP5's. How can I verify if this is correct or not as I don't want to get penalised. It could be from moving a Retirement Annuity but will I have to pay tax on this, or will it effect my tax return in any way?

Unemployed Periods Section on the ITR12 Tax Return

  Written by Nicci   Posted 24 April 2025

There is a section on the ITR12 tax return that asks you to indicate any periods during the tax year when you were not working (i.e., were unemployed).

This section applies only to South African tax residents who are salaried employees and receive an IRP5.

...

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Salary and Consulting

  Written by Alicia   Posted 24 April 2025

I am already paying income tax on my salary, I now want to do consulting work, what is the best way to handle tax in this regard?

I need to add my Capitec banking details

  Written by Alicia   Posted 24 April 2025

I have changed banking details, but have no idea how to do this on SARS eFiling, can you help please?

Provisional taxpayer: what to do if I became one late in the year?

  Written by Nicci   Posted 14 April 2025

I only became a provisional tax payer in December 2024. Prior to that I was under PAYE with my previous employer. How do I submit my tax return and will I need to file two seperate tax returns? Can I submit for only 2 months?

How to claim a home office deduction if I didn't receive an IRP5?

  Written by Nicci   Posted 20 February 2025

I worked for an international company (UK based) during the 2024 tax year. I was a contracted employee, meaning I had to submit salary invoices. Therefore, I was advised to register as a provisional tax payer and submitted an IRP6. I worked 100% from home during this time and would like to claim a home office deduction, which was already taken into account during my IRP6 submission (audited by SARS and accepted). However, when submitting my home office deduction on Tax Tim for my IRT12, it says ...

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Does inheritance have to be completed in IRP6?

  Written by Nicci   Posted 20 February 2025

SARS told me to register as a provisional tax payer and I have completed your form. However I inherited approximately R500, 000 and I don't see where to fill this in?

What happens if I have exceeded my contribution limit at retirement?

  Written by Nicci   Posted 14 February 2025

Saving for retirement is one of the best financial decisions you can make, but sometimes, you may contribute more than the tax-deductible limit in a tax year. In South Africa, the tax-deductible limit for retirement contributions is 27.5% of taxable income, capped at R350,000 per year. If you contribute more than this limit, the excess amount does not provide an immediate tax benefit. However, it is not lost. Instead, these 'excess contributions' are carried forward to be used in the future, ...

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What is included in Statement of Assets and Liabilities on ITR12?

  Written by Marc   Updated 31 October 2024

If I earn business income as a sole proprietor for services delivered as an electronic engineer, do I need to declare all my personal assets (bank balance, investments, motor vehicle, etc.) on the Statement of Assets, or only the assets that I mainly use for business (i.e. laptop computer)? I do not have a separate business bank account. Do fixed bank deposits fall under "Financial instruments" or "Cash in Bank" or does it not really matter? For investments such as unit trusts, do I need to s...

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Travel deduction for an on older car

  Written by Nicci   Posted 13 September 2024

I'm a commission earner and I can claim travel expenses. When I complete TaxTim 'Travel Deduction Optimiser' it will only let me choose the date of the purchase of my car from 2017 onwards. My car was purchased in 2007. Does this mean that I can't use the 'deemed cost' method and can only use the 'actual cost method' - or is there another way to enter the correct year of purchase as 2007?

Vacation Home - What do I submit/declare in my Personal Tax Return?

  Written by Alicia   Posted 17 July 2024

I bought a house December 2023, which are rented out as a vacation home. This is my first house that I bought and do not know what I need to submit/declare in my Personal Tax Return for 2024. Can you please assist?

Cannot access refund due to a special stopper

  Written by Alicia   Posted 13 June 2024

SARS owes me a refund but according to the call centre they placed a stopper on my tax account and now need to see proof of the payment I made that caused the refund. I did make this payment, but the bank account I used to pay it to SARS has since closed.
How else can I prove that I did in fact make this payment?

Can I claim home office expenses I incurred in 2020 a few years later?

  Written by Alicia   Posted 12 June 2024

Good day,

I am writing to ask if it would be possible to make corrections to 2020 tax return assessment. I would like to include the home office expenses claim as I did work from home during the covid 19 lock down period.

Looking forward to your response.

Depreciation on furniture bought for rental property

  Written by Alicia   Posted 12 June 2024

I bought furniture for R 172 000 back in 2018 for my rental property. This was bought through the developer as part of a rental pool offering. Rental pool contract stating furniture costs, e-mail clarifications and proof of payment for this is in my possession but not the actual receipts or individual pricing for the items. According to the TaxTim depreciation calculator, I can claim around R 28 600 in 2022 tax year. My question is, can I claim this with the documentation in my possession and ca...

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Update Banking Details for a refund from SARS

  Written by Alicia   Updated 5 June 2024

Good morning,

I am no longer banking with the bank I used during 2023 and am trying to update my details on SARS eFiling. So far, I have successfully added my new bank and this has been verified by SARS. However, I am unable to remove my old banking details, and select my new bank as the primary transaction account for payments from SARS. Do I need to wait to file my 2024 tax return to effect this change?

Is rental expense a tax deductible expense for Airbnb subletting?

  Written by Alicia   Posted 23 May 2024

I know that the interest on a bond is tax deductible in the case of an Airbnb.
I was wondering if the rental of a property is also tax deductible if you use the arbitrage Airbnb method, i.e. subletting a fixed-term rental as an Airbnb?

Another question, what if the property is not my own, I am renting it from someone and subletting it. Is the rental expense that I pay, a deductible expense of operating the Airbnb business?

I know you have tiers of packages. How much do you charge to do the income tax of individuals that include the rental income? ...

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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?

How do I obtain my ITA34 documents?

  Written by Alicia   Posted 21 May 2024

I have lived abroad for six years and have not paid my taxes in South Africa.
I have now returned and am living in South Africa. I need to obtain my ITA34 documents for the past three years for the bank.

How do I do my taxes as a freelancer?

  Written by Alicia   Posted 16 May 2024

I'm a freelancer  - how do I do my taxes? Do I register as provisional taxpayer or can I still pay PAYE monthly?

One time pin (OTP) is sent to the wrong cell number and email

  Written by Alicia   Posted 16 May 2024

 
I am trying to authorise TaxTim to share access to my SARS profile. When I click on the Manage Tax Types request, the one time pin is sent to the incorrect cell number. What can I do?

Should I trade as a SBC or Sole Proprietor?

  Written by Alicia   Updated 14 May 2024

I've secured a contract of R3. 1m for two years which is going to be invoiced at R130k per month. Whats the best way to go about this? Should I set-up my business as an SBC or sole proprietor?

I'm a remote worker who needs help with their tax

  Written by Alicia   Updated 14 May 2024


I'm an independent contractor working remotely for an international company. The company is not obligated to pay my tax, therefore I need to do it myself.  However,  I'm not sure what the process entails.  Please can you offer help?
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