Is rental income from my primary residence taxable?

  Written by Marc   Posted 24 January 2014

Occasionally I rent out the spare bedroom in my primary residence. I'm not running a guesthouse - it's just a way of making a tiny bit of extra income and meeting some interesting people. I don't often have people staying - maybe for a total of 30 days out of the year. Do I need to declare this as "rental income"? If so,
1. What expenses can I claim against this income?
2. Where do I put it on my return? I'm already using the section "Local business, trade and professional income" for ...

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How will proceeds of shares sold to protect capital from an unstable market be taxed?

  Written by Marc   Posted 23 January 2014

Over a period of several years I was given about 25000 of my company's shares as performance awards and options. Usually I had to wait 3 years before I could take delivery of them but when I retired in 2012 the last of them became available to me immediately and I took delivery by the end of May 2012, planning to keep them indefinitely for their dividend income. In December 2012 I was worried about the US fiscal cliff situation and decided to sell them and have since kept the proceeds in a Money...

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Capital gains tax on share portfolio?

  Written by Marc   Posted 16 January 2014

I have a stock market share portfolio. I have received a summary of capital gain for the 2013 tax year. Do I declare this gain even though the gain is still in my portfolio & not in my pocket? The amount is not shown on the IT3b as is the interest & dividends.

Is the primary residence exclusion applicable if property was lived in and rented out?

  Written by Marc   Posted 6 January 2014

I have a property that I have recently sold. I lived in it for 7 years and then rented it out for 3.5 years subsequently. Now that it has been sold, do I qualify for primary residence exclusion on any portion of the capital gain? Is it pro-rata for the years that it was my primary residence, or how would I apportion it?

Leasehold improvement - how is this taxed?

  Written by Marc   Posted 30 December 2013

Our company has to make improvements to our offices that we lease. I know we should account for these as leasehold improvements and amortize it over the lease period, but will this amortization be a tax deductible expense? (will the accounting and tax treatment be the same?) The total improvement will be less than R7 000 can I rather treat this as a "small items" deduction?

Resident abroad aiming to cash out shares/ unit trusts, do I need to register with SARS ?

  Written by Marc   Posted 30 December 2013

I am a dual citizen (SA & European). I am currently living abroad on my European passport and never formally emigrated from SA. As a result I still hold a bank account there, as well as unit trusts & shares. I left SA shortly after studying so never had a job there/ paid income tax/ registered with SARS. Although I still visit the country on occasion, I am no longer a resident there. I would like to consolidate all my SA assets (have it all in one place) so I would like to "cash out...

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Tax on Sale of Personal Website?

  Written by Marc   Posted 22 December 2013

I own a website that I started as a Hobby (showcasing information about various sports teams and tournaments). The novelty has since worn off and I now want to sell the website. I have never earned or attempted to earn revenue from the website. Would I have to pay tax on the sale price? If so, what type of tax would I have to pay? (I am currently below the age of 65 and unemployed).

The website was given to me as a gift quite a number of years ago. I have since purchased domain names ...

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What is the source code for share trading income (ie not capital gains)?

  Written by Marc   Posted 25 November 2013

In addition to my salary, I actively trade shares and cfds (a kind of derivative) and there is no doubt, in my case, that this activity is on revenue account and not capital. What source code should I use? I can not find an appropriate code in the SARS source code booklet.

Are proceeds from a pension fund transferred to another fund considered non-taxable income?

  Written by Marc   Posted 18 November 2013

I changed employers, shortly before the beginning of the current tax year. At the time I transferred my pension/provident contributions across to another investment future fund (as you are allowed to do legally) without benefiting or receiving any physical proceeds. I have subsequently received an IT3(a) from the previous pension fund for the lump sum amount which has been recorded on my current pending tax return. I would assume that this is considered as non-taxable income ?

Property tax deductions and CGT implications?

  Written by Marc   Posted 17 November 2013

If Property A was purchased in 2000 and used as primary residence up until 2012, then rented out for a year (due to work relocation to another province) and property then sold with a capital gain?

If property A above was re-bonded[currently settled], can the bond interest be deducted against its rental income or will bond finance interest on a 2nd property, to be used as primary residence, be allowed to be deducted against Property A's rental income?

Offset maintenance for Capital Gains Tax?

  Written by Marc   Posted 16 November 2013

Can one offset maintenance to property for CGT?

Garnishee orders explained: How SARS can deduct penalties directly from your pay cheque and how to stop it

  Written by Marc   Posted 14 November 2013

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...

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Is registering a second bond in order to reduce rental income tax legal?

  Written by Marc   Posted 7 November 2013

I own two properties. Property A is my primary residence, and is bonded for R700k. Property B is a rental property, is valued at R1m and is bonded for R500k. I make a rental profit from Property B after deducting the loan interest and all other deductible expenses, and thus pay tax on that net income. My idea is to register a second bond on Property B for an additional R500k, and transfer that money into the bond of Property A. The increased interest paid on the combined bonds of Property B woul...

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How do you calculate T-no of years after valuation date when using Time Apportionment Base formula f

  Written by Marc   Posted 1 November 2013

I would like to know which year do you start calculating "T" on time apportionment base formula in CGT?

CGT on unit trust sale?

  Written by Marc   Posted 31 October 2013

Do all types of unit trusts attract capital gains tax when units are sold for cash withdrawal? Is there a yearly tax concession limit on investments such as unit trusts which is not taxable?

Investment information to be added on the SARS form and capital gains on what I draw every month?

  Written by Marc   Posted 29 October 2013

Hi, I have and investment, local and foreign dividends, that I draw an amount off every month of R6 000, there is a capital gains on this. I do not own fixed assets of any sorts and do not have a job, so the R6 000 is what I live off. How does this work with the capital gains on the SARS form, surely there should be and exemption for this? Also, the SARS form only asks for foreign withheld tax on dividends and not the local withheld tax. In the exemption area under non taxable what net amount do...

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I sold shares, capital or revenue for tax purposes?

  Written by Marc   Posted 23 October 2013

The shares I sold were before the 3 year automatic capital period, does this make them revenue in nature?

section 8C tax losses?

  Written by Marc   Posted 18 October 2013

Hi what are section 8 c losses?

Penalties on undeclared offshore property?

  Written by Marc   Posted 10 October 2013

If an offshore property was transferred into your name in 2009 as a gift from an overseas family member, and you never declared it to SARS or SARB, what type of penalties do you face. What is the process to declare this now, forms, etc.

Tax on income working permanently in the UAE and declaring of such.

  Written by Marc   Posted 23 September 2013

Hi Tim,
I left SA on 1/9/2011 to take up a permanent employment in UAE, with a UAE company. I also took up residency in the UAE. I sold all my fixed assets in SA, except for my primary residence, which I left for the children to complete their university studies from. I didn't have any intention to return to SA and wanted to relocate elsewhere, after my pension. Unfortunately I was retrenched w.e.f. 10/12/2012 and I returned to SA on 18/12/2012. I visited SA in Nov 2011 for 10 days in Oct 2012 for 5 days. I only started to earned an income in SA in February 2013....

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Tax efficient business type for share traders

  Written by Marc   Posted 23 September 2013

If one were trading JSE shares full time, which would be the most tax efficient business type to trade under, and why?

CGT - Offshore Stock

  Written by Marc   Posted 11 September 2013

Tim

I have a question. I live in the UK. I have been living here for 5 years. I have property and bank accounts in South Africa. I submit my tax returns every year, claiming a loss on my bonds over my properties. I put my foreign income under section S10(1)(o).

I want to know about off shore investments, if I decide to buy US Stock today, will this be the base cost for CGT purposes or will it be the day I return permanently to South Africa?

How would this differ...

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Do you have to fill the yellow blocks on the student assignment?

  Written by Marc   Posted 5 September 2013

Do you have to fill in the yellow blocks in the calculation part of the question?

Inherited house inclusion in taxable income

  Written by Marc   Posted 3 September 2013

Do you include an inheritance of a house when calculating taxable income before you dispose it?

Should one separate share investment and trading activities by creating a legal entity?

  Written by Marc   Posted 3 September 2013

It is apparent that there is a massive grey area when it comes to SARS interpretation on share investment vs share trading and the resultant taxation thereof.

I have a share investment portfolio (exceeding 3 years) and now also want to trade shares short term.These shares will include some of the very same shares that I hold long term in my investment portfolio. Can and will SARS accurately distinguish on an ongoing basis which shares I sell at any given time and tax me accordingly and correctly i.e. capital gains vs income? ...

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