How to claim medical aid costs for a family member

  Written by Nicci   Posted 19 July 2019

At TaxTim we receive many questions from taxpayers who pay medical aid for dependent family members and who want to know if they can claim for this in their tax return.

When paying medical aid contributions for a ‘financial dependent’ the medical scheme fees tax credit applies in respect of fees paid by the person to a medical scheme.  This means that the person who is paying the medical aid will receive the medical tax credits, and not the dependent/member of the medical aid. 

Who is a ‘dependent’?...

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Senior PHP developer interview

  Written by Evan   Posted 19 July 2019

Answer Tim's questions above to see if you have what it takes to work with the TaxTim team!

Why is SARS requesting my supporting documents again?

  Written by Nicci   Posted 15 July 2019

TaxTim is seeing cases where taxpayers who had already submitted their documents in early July to SARS are, around ten days to two weeks later, receiving a further two letters from SARS requesting documents again. The one letter is the generic letter with the long list of documents, which was originally issued, while the second, contains a more specific request relating to the taxpayer’s tax return. 

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What should I do if I have no assessment from SARS after having filed a return?

  Written by Marc   Posted 11 July 2019

Usually SARS issued an immediate assessment, however sometimes they do need to do a further manual check on their side. Often the reason for this is one of the following:

• They are missing an IRP5/IT3a due to you having transferred a lumpsum between any retirement funds. For example if you changed jobs during the year or withdrew your lumpsum from a Pension/Provident or Retirement Annuity Fund then you should have been issued an IRP5/IT3a;
  
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  IRP3(e)

    Written by Nicci   Posted 28 June 2019
  
  

  An IRP3(e) is a tax directive from SARS to instruct an employer, a fund or a commission earner the tax amount that they should deduct from either a lump sum or commission income that an employee might be due to receive.

  
  

  Provisional Tax on Rental Income

    Written by Nicci   Posted 13 June 2019
  
  My wife and I are South African and we are currently based in East Asia. I work here as a teacher and my wife is not employed. We are married in community of property. So, back at home in Durban, we own two properties, one is residential and the other an office space. We receive rental income of about R6000 and R7500 respectively. Both properties are mortgaged and they are part of a sectional title scheme. Should we register as provisional taxpayers and how would we go about doing this?
  

  Top questions on Commission Earners

    Written by Nicci   Posted 7 June 2019
  
  
  
  

  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...

  
  
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  Submitting a tax return and foreign income

    Written by Nicci   Posted 5 June 2019
  
  

  I have been living abroad for a while, since February 2018 to be exact. I filed my tax return for the 2017/2018 financial year, as it reflected my income for the previous year, during which I was employed in South Africa. I would like to maintain an unbroken record with SARS, but I'm not sure how to file for income earned abroad. My current income is well below the R1 million limit impostor in South Africans working abroad. I will be tax returning to SA in March 2019. So, I would like to know wh...

  
  
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  Earnings of a teacher and tax

    Written by Nicci   Posted 5 June 2019
  
  I would like to find out if I should submit a tax return as a teacher that earns R300 000 per annum. Would this be required of me?
  

  Clarifying the tax return threshold set by SARS

    Written by Nicci   Posted 4 June 2019
  
  
  
  

  You may have seen the latest announcement by the SARS commissioner to increase the qualifying threshold for certain taxpayers to submit a tax return from R350 000 to R500 000.

  However as with all previous years, this only applies to certain taxpayers and so it is very important to check if you are one of these.

  The threshold applies to you only if you meet ALL of the criteria below:

  • You have worked for a full 12 months for ONE employer only and received an IRP5;...
  
  
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  Top Questions on tax seasons

    Written by Nicci   Posted 4 June 2019
  
  
  
  

  By now you would have seen the latest announcement by the SARS commissioner to increase the qualifying threshold for certain taxpayers
  
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  Foreign Asset Codes

    Written by Nicci   Posted 3 June 2019
  
  Choose the correct code from the table below: 
  
  
  
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  How to lodge a complaint with SARS

    Written by Nicci   Posted 28 May 2019
  
  
  
  

  There are times when the call centre agent from SARS is unable to resolve your issue and you need to reach out to a more senior person at SARS.

  You can request to speak to a team leader / operations manager or the branch / call centre manager and they should be able to assist you. Always remember to note down the case number for your call. If however, you're not satisfied with the outcome of the issue, you can lodge a formal complaint with an agent at a SARS branch or on eFiling (if y...

  
  
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  Tax on foreign employment

    Written by Nicci   Posted 28 May 2019
  
  I was living in Dubai from March 2014 up until December 2016, I however did not earn any income while living there. I then moved to Namibia, where I am currently employed and getting an income, I am a registered taxpayer in Namibia. Also, I am a registered taxpayer in South Africa because I worked there before moving to Dubai. I've received no income from South Africa since moving out of the country. I'd like to find out if I still need to submit a tax return to SARS?
  

  CGT for Companies

    Written by Nicci   Posted 26 May 2019
  
  Is it correct that for private individuals Capital Gains Tax (CGT) is levied on net gain and of that, 40% is taken into account and that amount is added to individual's taxable income for that specific tax year. How does it work for companies or Trusts, is 100% of net CGT taken into account or what?
  

  Local Asset Codes

    Written by Nicci   Posted 22 May 2019
  
  Choose the correct code from the table below:
  
  
  
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  Wear and Tear (Depreciation) Top Questions

    Written by Nicci   Posted 21 May 2019
  
  
  
  

  This week we zoom into Wear and Tear also commonly known as Depreciation. Below we've covered some of the top questions we've received from our Helpdesk. Take a quick read through our Q&As and see how your pressing depreciation questions can potentially be solved. 
  
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  Tax allocation

    Written by Nicci   Posted 21 May 2019
  
  Where does my tax money go to?
  

  Two incomes and tax calculations

    Written by Nicci   Posted 20 May 2019
  
  I am 51 years old and I receive a monthly taxable salary and a monthly pension. How do I calculate my tax on both incomes?
  

  Backpay and bonus taxed in same way?

    Written by Nicci   Posted 17 May 2019
  
  Can a bonus and an arbitration award backpay be added on one source code?
  
  The employer added the arbitration award backpay for 2014 to 2017 august under one source code of bonus. What is the impact are the two taxed in the same way?
  

  Top Questions on IRP5s

    Written by Nicci   Posted 9 May 2019
  
  
  
  

  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...

  
  
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  Tax Deduction for education

    Written by Nicci   Posted 7 May 2019
  
  Can I receive an income tax deduction for paying for my own university costs?
  

  How to work with multiple streams of income

    Written by Nicci   Posted 2 May 2019
  
  I currently work as a freelancer and I've just started a business and there's another one coming up soon. Do I need to submit these separately with deductions relating to each business or can I submit them as one? Can income from one stream bankroll and help build up another?
  
  I'm also considering registering for Turnover Tax, but I need some clarity on the above before I go ahead with it.
  

  Tax Free Account transfers

    Written by Nicci   Posted 29 April 2019
  
  I have a tax free call account with Standard Bank. I would like to know whether it is possible for me to request that Standard Bank transfers the money that is in the call account to a suspense account at ABSA Bank, from where it will be immediately transferred into a tax free fixed deposit account at ABSA Bank? Will my investment then still be tax free at ABSA Bank? Would I have to cancel the call account at Standard Bank, to ensure that the fixed deposit account at ABSA Bank is tax free?
  

  Tax Treatment for Uber Drivers

    Written by Nicci   Posted 24 April 2019
  
  
  
  

  If you are an Uber driver, you use your own vehicle/s to generate your income and you determine your own working hours, you will be treated as being self-employed  (i.e. an independent contractor) for tax purposes.

  Since you do not earn a salary, you should be registered as a provisional taxpayer with SARS.
  
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