Written by Nicci
Posted 21 February 2024
South Africans were bracing themselves for bad news when Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana delivered his budget speech yesterday. However, in line with expectations during an election year, he delivered the reassuring news that there would be no significant tax hikes, no VAT increase, and no introduction of a new wealth tax. Contrary to earlier speculation, the medical tax rebate is also set to stay for a while longer.
However, this positive news is not without consequences. As South ...
Written by Nicci
Updated 5 February 2024
If you belong to a Medical Aid, there is important information on your medical aid tax certificate which needs to be included in your tax return.
This will ensure you receive the medical aid tax credit that is due to you.
Do you belong to any of the below medical aids?
- Bankmed
- Bonitas...
Written by Neo
Updated 22 January 2024
1. Keep an accurate record of revenue and expenses
You can draw up these records by way of a simple spreadsheet based on your invoices and then confirm these amounts by cross-checking them against your bank statement.
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Written by Alicia
Updated 22 November 2023
Written by Alicia
Updated 21 November 2023
The CIPC recently (1 April 2023) implemented a new register called the Beneficial Ownership (BO) register in an attempt to establish who owns or exercise control over which companies.
In layman’s terms, BO in respect of a company means, an individual who, directly or indirectly, ultimately owns that company or exercises effective control over that company for tax or financial purposes.
This new register is to assist law enforcement with relevant information when it comes...
Written by Marc
Updated 21 November 2023
When a Tax Return is filed usually SARS issues an immediate assessment (ITA34), however sometimes they do need to do a further manual check on their side.
Read more →
Written by Alicia
Updated 21 November 2023
Each time SARS makes changes on eFiling or with their standard operating procedures, TaxTim has to adjust its systems and processes. We usually receive no warning of these technical changes. During this time, some of our users might feel a need to abandon our service and either seek help elsewhere or go and queue at SARS.
We understand this may cause frustration, however we will not refund you in cases where you have worked your way through every section of the TaxTim dialogue a...
Written by Alicia
Posted 17 November 2023
During the tax year, SARS issued SMS's to taxpayer whom they chose to auto-assess.
Those selected individuals would typically be taxpayers earning fixed salaries without additional allowances. If they did have medical aid and retirement annuity fund contributions, these details would have already been sent to SARS by their service providers, and SARS should have automatically included them in the assessment.
We've received many questions on our help desk where users say that t...
Written by Elani
Updated 15 November 2023
It is important to note that verifications and audits are two different processes. In a simple explanation, verification is the "straightforward" process to confirm if the information you declared on your tax return is true and correct, whilst an audit is where the tax return is under deeper investigation which means they look at the finer details.
Supporting documents request
If SARS decides to review your tax return, they will notify you via a SARS let...
Written by Neo
Updated 13 November 2023
Nowadays, work culture has evolved massively and “Flexible employment” has become the new buzzword. This is especially relevant at the moment, where many employees are still working from home due to the global Corona virus outbreak of 2020.
Read more →
Written by Neo
Updated 7 November 2023
Flexible employment is becoming increasingly popular, many taxpayers spend some (or all) of their time working from home. If certain conditions are met, taxpayers are allowed to claim a portion of their office running costs as a tax deduction on their tax return. However, please note that SARS usually flags these returns for audit. If you do work from home, take a read of our home office blog and also check out our handy decision tree to make 100% sure you are claiming this expense correctly.
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Written by Alicia
Posted 6 November 2023
If your 2023 individual income tax return was auto-assessed by SARS earlier this year, and you intended to include extra income or expenses/ deductions but missed the deadline, don't be dismayed, there might still be a way to fix things!
Is SARS rejecting your tax return submission and your dispute too?
Have you requested an extension, but SARS granted it for a day before they replied to you? i.e, you asked for an extension till 10 November 2023, but SARS gave you an extension...
Written by Patrick
Posted 5 October 2023
A pressing concern for many South Africans is whether or not the taxman gets a chunk of the money when the life insurance policy pays out. It’s a big stress factor to wonder how big the tax portion will be and how much will be left over for your family especially in a time when they need it the most. But here's some good news as of 2023: life insurance payouts usually don't get taxed. That means your loved ones get to keep the whole amount, giving everyone a bit of comfort.
&nbs...
Written by Patrick
Posted 5 October 2023
While it might seem like a morbid topic at first, understanding life insurance is pretty important to safeguarding your family's financial future. Life insurance is about more than just providing for your loved ones after you're no longer around, it is the cornerstone of financial stability during hard times like illness or disability as it protects your income. Think of it as a protective bubble that will ensure your family's financial well-being, no matter what life throws your way.
Written by Patrick
Posted 5 October 2023
Delving into tax laws and understanding their impact on life insurance doesn’t have to be headache. At TaxTim, we're here to simplify the world of tax and ensure you stay informed about the key tax implications when it comes to your life insurance. Without diving into too much detail, let's get straight to the point and focus on what you really need to know about the tax implications on your life insurance premiums.
First off, it's essential to know that life insurance premiums ...
Written by Alicia
Posted 4 October 2023
The updated ITR14 on eFiling has some new sections, and one that often raises questions is the part about share classes. Although it might seem confusing, it's actually quite simple. SARS is just asking you to tell them more about your shareholders in the company.
When you begin your ITR14, please have the balance sheet, income statement, and also the share register ready. A share register is is a list of all active and former owners of a company's shares. To complete the capita...
Written by Alicia
Updated 11 August 2023
It seems that dormant companies are on SARS' radar.
If you registered a company with CIPC some time ago and forgot about it, that company could land you in hot water with SARS. Read more to find out what the financial repercussions could be and why you should get a hold on the situation.
A dormant company is classified as a company that has not actively traded for the full year of assessment. Because there is no activity in the compan...
Written by Alicia
Updated 2 August 2023
With the end of the tax year looming, SARS tax collectors are on high alert to collect taxes and meet their revenue targets.
If you owe SARS, you should be receiving constant reminders to pay your debt. This may be in the form of SMS's, phone calls or even posted letters.
If the debt is unfamiliar or if you are not in agreement with the debt, you can File a dispute with SARS , howe...
Written by Alicia
Posted 20 July 2023
SARS have recently introduced a new way to track your tax return online via the SARS website.
See TaxTim's step-by-step guide to help you nagivate this new process:
1. Please go to the SARS website www.sars.gov.za click on "Contact Us"
2. Scroll down the page then click o...
Written by Alicia
Updated 10 July 2023
Step 1:
If you have been auto-assessed by SARS, you may see the screen below when you log into SARS eFiling.
Please click on "View".
You may also see this screen:
If you ...
Written by Nicci
Updated 6 July 2023
Why am I receiving a request for payment for asking a tax question?
During the process of assisting taxpayers with the completion and submission of their tax return, we sometimes receive tax related questions to our Helpdesk which fall beyond the scope of the tax return and therefore requires some more of our time. This is because documents may need to be reviewed or calculations to be performed or even in some cases, external experts to be consulted.
For this reason, you may receive a request for a payment in response to your tax question...
Written by Evan
Posted 5 July 2023
You are doing well. You are earning enough money to cover your monthly expenses, and have some extra cash remaining at the end of each month. You could keep that money in the bank for a rainy day, or you could invest it, with the hopes of growing your savings significantly. This guide aims to help you understand why investing is important, how investments differ and what options are available to you in South Africa.
Your money does not keep it's va...
Written by Neo
Updated 4 July 2023
We are starting to see some common trends whereby taxpayers’ expenses are disallowed because the documents submitted are falling short of SARS’s requirements. To avoid unnecessary frustration and time wasted in raising disputes, read on to see if any of these areas apply to you.
Travel deduction
In prior years, the submission of a logbook detailing your business mileage used to be sufficient to justify your travel claim. In recent years howev...
Written by Evan
Posted 3 July 2023
Life insurance: it sounds about as exciting as watching paint dry, right? However, just like that fresh coat of paint protects your walls from wear and tear, life insurance is all about protecting your loved ones from the financial burdens that could pop up in your absence.
If you've ever been out to dinner with friends and spent more time figuring out how to split the bill than actually enjoying your meal, then you'll understand why some people might find life insurance a tad...compl...
Written by Neo
Updated 3 July 2023
The thought of buying a house can be daunting. It might seem almost impossible when you are just getting started. But like any financial goal, you can achieve it if you understand what's involved, and break the process up into small, bite-size steps.
Buying your first home is also exciting! Choosing where you will live, how many rooms you need, what colour to paint the walls, and what furniture to fill it with are part of the fun. Use that excitement to get you through the admin involved....
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