Written by Hamza
Posted 18 June 2025
Written by Hamza
Posted 17 June 2025
Written by Hamza
Posted 16 June 2025
Written by Nicci
Updated 14 June 2025
As a Director of a Company, your salary is subject to monthly PAYE and UIF deductions. Many small business owners don’t realise that if they operate their business through a company (Pty), the company needs to be registered as an employer with SARS.
This means, the company needs to deduct employee’s tax (PAYE) from the amounts paid to Directors. It’s also required to make monthly EMP201 submissions (this is the PAYE, UIF and SDL return) to SARS. The same applies even in the case of “owner managed” businesses -where there’s only one director and no employees...
Written by Hamza
Posted 13 June 2025
Written by Hamza
Posted 13 June 2025
Written by Alicia
Posted 13 June 2025
We have tried to connect to your eFiling profile, but instead we’ve received this error:
This error could be caused by SARS having old, incorrect or incomplete contact details on file for you. To fix this, could you kindly follow these steps to update your eFiling Security Contact details:
...
Written by Hamza
Posted 12 June 2025
Written by Hamza
Posted 12 June 2025
Written by Hamza
Posted 11 June 2025
Written by Nicci
Updated 7 June 2025
Our helpdesk receives hundreds of questions from commission earners about how their tax is calculated. Many are also confused about which expenses they can claim. Hopefully our FAQ will help other taxpayers who might be puzzling over the same issues.
1. I have a salary and earn a small commission; can I claim for my travel to and from work every day? (The commission is based on the sales that my team makes telephonically per month).
Should the commiss...
Written by Nicci
Updated 6 June 2025
Although the latest budget avoids the steep VAT hike proposed last month, it still puts significant pressure on taxpayers.
All taxpayers will feel the pinch, as tax brackets and rebates have not been adjusted for inflation - for the second year in a row.
VAT is proposed to rise by 0.5 percentage point this year, with another increase planned for 2026, bringing it to 16%...
Written by Alicia
Posted 3 June 2025
The 2025 filing season opens this year on Monday, 21 July.
This year, the tax season is even shorter than last year (and last year was shorter than the prior year!). This means that SARS are giving you less time to file your tax return.
Important Filing Deadlines
20 October 2025: Salary-only employees, who earn no other signficant income (i.e. non-provisional taxpayers) and ALL auto-assessed ...
Written by Patrick
Updated 3 June 2025
What is an auto-assessment?
This is an automatic assessment issued by SARS to certain taxpayers.
Read more →
Written by Nicci
Posted 26 May 2025
A beneficial owner is the person who ultimately owns or benefits from an asset or income, even if it is registered in someone else's name.
For example:
If a trust owns a rental property, and you receive the rental income from it, you are the beneficial owner — even though the property is not in your name.
In the case of a partnership, the beneficial owner is a partner who receives a share of the p...
Written by Nicci
Posted 26 May 2025
An IT3(BO) is a form issued by a partnership to SARS that shows your share of income as a beneficial owner in the partnership.
It provides SARS with third-party confirmation of who the beneficial owner is and what income (or capital) they are entitled to. This is especially relevant when there are multiple partners e.g a large law firm.
Written by Nicci
Posted 23 May 2025
The Section 13sex residential unit deduction is a South African tax break for people who invest in new rental properties. If you build or buy new units to rent out, you can deduct part of the building cost from your taxable income each year. To qualify, you must own at least five new and unused residential units in South Africa that are used for rental.
You can claim 5% of the building cost
Written by Alicia
Posted 23 May 2025
What is a financial instrument according to SARS?
A financial instrument is a contract that represents money or something of value. For one party, it’s an asset (something valuable), and for the other party, it’s a liability (something owed) or equity (ownership).
According to SARS, a financial instrument is defined to include:
“a share, a member’s interest in a company, a debenture, a unit in a unit trust
scheme, a participatory interest in a portfolio of collective investments scheme, a...
Written by Evan
Updated 23 May 2025
Your IRP5 has two fields on it that relate to Pay Periods:
A Pay Period describes an amount of time within a year that you were employed by your employer.
This can be an amount in:
Written by Evan
Updated 22 May 2025
A partnership is an association between 2 - 20 people who are contractually bound to one another in order to operate a joint, profit-making business together. Each member of the partnership contributes their money, goods or services to a shared fund, agreeing that any profits made will be shared between the partners as per a contract between them. A partnership does not have to be registered with the companies registrar CIPC. Partners in a partnership are taxed on their percentage of the taxa...
Written by Nicci
Posted 21 May 2025
In South Africa, a deemed disposal happens when you’re treated as if you sold an asset—even though you didn’t actually sell it. This is important for Capital Gains Tax (CGT), because it can trigger tax on gains you haven’t yet received in cash.
Here are some common examples:
Written by John
Updated 21 May 2025
Taxable income is the amount on which tax will be calculated on.
Formula for Taxable Income:
Taxable income = Gross Income - Exempt Income - Allowable Deductions + Taxable Capital Gains.
Taxable capital gains are the taxable portion of the profit earn...
Written by Alicia
Posted 20 May 2025
Thinking about starting a business with a partner? Whether it’s with a friend, family member, or business associate, a partnership is one of the most straightforward ways to start and run a business together in South Africa. But before you dive in, it’s essential to understand what a partnership is, how it works, and what types are available.
So, What Exactly Is a Partnership?
A partnership (also known as an unincorporated joint venture) is a legal agreement where two or more individuals agree to run a business together...
Written by Elani
Updated 20 May 2025
For SA residents: "Gross income" is the total amount of worldwide (local and foreign) income that you earned during the tax year, excluding income that is of a capital nature. (Income of capital nature is money earned from selling your possessions, e.g. sale of your house).
Please note that "income" also includes money that is owed to you for work you performed, even...
Written by Alicia
Posted 19 May 2025
