Tax isn’t the easiest of subjects to navigate. Besides the long list of legalese to master, there’s the fact that tax legislation
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You may have seen the word PAYE on your IRP5 payslip or heard it mentioned by your employer, but have no idea of its meaning.
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We receive many questions to our Helpdesk from taxpayers who are faced with the following scenario:
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It’s that time of the year again and employers are issuing their employees IRP5s for the tax year. An IRP5 is a tax certificate which shows the total employment income that you earned for the tax year, the total employment related deductions that were taken from your income and paid over to either a retirement fund (pension, provident or retirement annuity fund) or a medical aid and the total tax (PAYE, UIF and SDL) that you paid...
We receive many queries from confused taxpayers who are disappointed to see their tax refunds are smaller than the refund received last year.
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Taxpayers should breathe a sigh of relief as a much lower than expected R36bn in increased taxes was announced by the once-off Minister of Finance. The biggest news amongst the increases was the VAT rise of 1%. For the first time in 25 years, all South Africans will see most goods and services become a little bit more expensive thanks to the Value Added Tax rise. Although controversial, a VAT rise was much needed and will bring in almost R23...
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...
Are you the type of person dashing into the store to grab a birthday gift en route to a party? Or perhaps you’ve found yourself scratching through your craft box at 11pm the night before to make a ‘World Book Day’ outfit for your son? Or possibly you’re one of the hundreds of thousands of South Africans who waits until the last week of November to file your tax return?
While I’m not suggesting that every minute of your life needs to be pre-planned and organised, there are certainly a number of benefits to getting your tax done early...
The 24th of February 2016 was supposed to be a watershed moment for the Economy of South Africa. The old-new Minister of Finance, Pravin Gordhan, was to deliver his budget for the 2016/2017 tax year and save South Africa from a financial pit-fall in the form of an International Ratings Agency downgrade. The jury is still out on whether or not this is possible. Immediately after the budget was revealed the Rand tumbled 2%, which doesn’t bode well for market sentiment. However, ...
Tax compliance makes its way into many aspects of life and business. Perhaps you’re considering applying for a tender, or for a foreign investment allowance to move funds offshore, or even looking to emigrate and leave our shores. These are just a few examples of instances where you may be asked by a third party to provide a Tax Clearance Certificate.
And until now, the course of action to obtain your certificate has been a tedious one.
Upon request, SARS would check its records and verify that the taxpayer had filed all required tax returns, paid all taxes, penalties and interest due, before releasing a Tax Clearance Certificate confirming a good standing...
If you’re diligently putting money away for your retirement in the form of a pension, provident fund or retirement annuity, you may be curious – perhaps even a touch concerned – about the changes SARS has made to the retirement fund tax laws, which come into effect on 1 March 2016.
If you missed the news, here's a quick overview.
SARS have changed how contributions to retirement funds are treated from a tax perspective, as well as how your funds are managed when you retire...
New Finance Minister Nene delivers his first budget with some “better than expected” tax increases. The fight against corruption was highlighted with the minster announcing a series of reforms and procedures to be introduced both to curb corruption and make doing business with the state easier. The minister announced that R25bn would be saved in expenditure over the next two years, but R16.8bn is to be raised this year via tax increases and a remarkably large rise in the fuel and road accident fund levies. To be honest, we expected greater tax increases from the minister, thankfully he spared us some of the pain! ...
In delivering what could possibly be his last annual budget and perhaps in an election year a very pragmatic one, Minister Pravin Gordhan painted a rather positive picture for the future of South Africa, whilst at the same time warning of the impact the global economy is having on the South African economy. He too, had a “good story” to tell of how well managed the economy is and how we have survived the economic downturn of the last half decade. The minister, like his predecessors b...
The last days of the month are often the most exciting for employees as they look forward to spending their monthly pay cheques. Unfortunately for many taxpayers anticipation quickly turns to grief when the money they receive in their bank account is suddenly less than they had expected. Stress and anxiety then result in light of impending debit orders and monthly expenses that need to be paid.
Apart from the ordinary deductions that your employer takes off your salary each month - expenses for your benefit such as medical aid or a retirement / pension plan - there is another deduction that can take place unexpectedly: a garnishee order...
Severe Anxiety from Revenue Services (SARS) is a common affliction affecting millions of South Africans in all major city centres every year. Historically, symptoms begin to present themselves in the winter season from 1 July and continue to increase in severity towards a statistical peak for the epidemic on 22 November every year...
Individual taxpayers have traditionally been told that when it comes to tax returns, they're on their own with regard to submitting each year and their employer does not need to get involved. Despite the employer making payment of PAYE (the majority of their tax liability) on their behalf, after handing over their IRP5 detailing this payment they resume business as usual and the employee is left to navigate the ever-challenging tax system on their own, without any assistance. Fortunately this attitude is changing as more companies recognise the benefits of helping staff with their tax matters. ...