If you run a business or rental property, which is running at a loss, don’t offset this loss against other taxable income you may have when calculating your estimated taxable income for your provisional return.
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Currently, there is a legal obligation for South African resident employers to register with SARS for employee’s tax (PAYE) so they can withhold tax on a monthly basis from their employees’ salaries, and pay this over to SARS. However, the situation is different for foreign companies who employ South African residents. If these companies don’t have an office or a branch or some other legal representation in South Africa, they don’t have an obligation to register with SARS for PAYE...
Personal Tax Rates (rates below)
Individuals across the country, those qualifying above the new tax threshold of R75 750 (previously R75 000) will be paying increased taxes of R16.5bn (previously R5.65bn in actual tax increase) for the next tax year, most of this will be for high income earners, however. Taxpayers generally across the board will be earning the tiniest bit more money each year as their tax brackets...
Taxpayers who earn rental income from a second property of theirs often don’t know what they need to do when it comes to declaring this income to SARS. Sometimes taxpayers think that they don’t have to declare this extra income, or can hide it from SARS by not entering it on their tax return form - a big mistake!
The truth is that extra income earned from rental is taxable, and SARS needs to know about it. In some cases - if the amount earned (profit) outside of a sala...
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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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)...
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...
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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