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. (This only applies in exceptional cases – more often than not, we are happy to answer your questions for free!)

Please note, that these costs are applicable to all of our users including those who have come to us via one of our partners or affiliates i.e. Old Mutual, Momentum, Sanlam and 22Seven.

This charge may apply to questions submitted by taxpayers who have not used our service before. It may also apply to our users who have paid us for a return; however the question they have submitted is not related to the return that we filed for them.

We could charge R150, R399, R799, R1199 or even R1799, based on the amount of time and research your question requires.

Below is a general guide to our pricing:

R150

• assistance with a relatively straight-forward question which requires a little more than just a 'quick' answer.

R399 

• Review and explanation of assessments relating to returns which were not filed by TaxTim
• Tax Clearance applications or Letters of Good Standing
• eFiling profile registrations for companies and individuals
• Other adhoc requests beyond the scope of the tax return

R799

• Simple disputes  (e.g. if a logbook was not in the correct format, medical aid was disallowed, additional income included on the assessment etc)
• Explanation of CGT calculations
• Turnover tax questions
• Lump sum tax calculations and explanations
• Technical questions on the tax treatment of severance versus retirement lumpsums
• Accounting questions e.g. assistance with journal entries or financial statements
• Single penalty remissions where TaxTim did not file the return
• Adhoc calculations

R1 199 

• Complicated disputes e.g. foreign employment income exemption has been disallowed
• Tax treatment of CCMA settlements
• Multiple penalty remission requests

R1 799

• Trusts return completions
• Trust tax calculations
• Questions relating to foreign income (expat tax, DTAs etc)
• Estate planning
• Retirement planning
• Complicated VAT questions

Please note that these prices are guidelines only and may vary depending on the hours and resources that need to be applied to your question.