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Two incomes and tax calculations

  Written by Nicci  

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  

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  


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  

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  

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  

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  


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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A basic overview of the Balance Sheet and Income Statement

  Written by Nicci  


From our numerous interactions with small business owners, it seems that many draw up the company’s financial statements by themselves, without engaging the services of a professional. Many don’t use accounting software but opt for a simple excel spreadsheet instead. Although this is cost-effective, it can be a daunting task, particularly for those with a sketchy (or non-existent) accounting background.

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Capital Gains Tax (CGT) Top Questions

  Written by Nicci  


Below we take a look at Capital Gains Tax, particularly relating to the primary residence exclusion. What we’ve covered are some of the most pressing questions asked by our users on our help-desk. Take a few minutes to read the Q&As. Hopefully what has been unpacked in these Q&As will benefit and assist you with any uncertainties you might have experienced regarding this topic.

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Leave days and tax

  Written by Nicci  

How are the leave days calculated when an employee resigns from a company?

Tax and winnings

  Written by Nicci  


It's always wonderful to win a prize or a competition – however, many people don’t realise there may be tax consequences attached.

This week we thought it would be helpful to remind you what to look out for, should you be the lucky recipient of one of the below:

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SARS and medical disability

  Written by Nicci  


We receive many relevant questions from our users about what they can claim as a tax deduction if they or one of their dependants suffers from a disability. This week, we will focus on this issue and hopefully help other taxpayers out there who may have the same questions.

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Business travel from home office

  Written by Nicci  

I work for a multi-national company and I am home based. I would like to find out, when I travel into the office for meetings, can I claim that mileage as business travel? Also, just for interest sake, would it be different if I was a salary earner and I did receive a travel allowance?

Compiling IRP6

  Written by Nicci  

I am a first time IRP6 Provisional Taxpayer and I am looking to complete and submit my tax return through TaxTim. Would you be able to assist me with my tax return? I would also like to find out whether Provisional Taxpayers would need to submit documents and other expenses later in tax season again? Also, will I have an opportunity to submit other expenses later if I accidentally leave out something or over estimated on my IRP6 P1. And finally, how accurate does my IRP6 need to be considering t...



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Rental Property: Top Weekly Questions

  Written by Nicci  


If you own a rental property, then this week’s top questions are specifically for you! Read on to find out more.

1. We paid off our home loan 5 years ago - nil balance due. However, we will have the loan available to borrow from as the term of the loan is not complete (we still have 90 months left).

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Company has no VAT number

  Written by Nicci  

My company doesn't have a VAT registration number, so what should I put in the IT14SD?

Top 5 Weekly Tax Questions

  Written by Nicci  

Read on to see this week’s top five burning questions received to our Helpdesk this past week.  Hopefully this helps you too as we once again shed light on some common tax issues.

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1 March 2020: Expats alert, tax changes are coming your way!

  Written by Nicci  


In 2017, National Treasury announced that there would be changes to the Foreign Employment income Exemption. These changes were intended to target those South Africans working overseas on expat contracts, who had not formally emigrated and were intending to return ‘home’ to SA at a later stage. The proposed amendments would have seen South Africans working overseas in lo...



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Tax Return, Rebate and Refund Explained

  Written by Nicci  


When it comes to tax jargon, most people prefer to bury their heads in the sand instead of trying to understand all the confusing terms that tax practitioners use. Taxpayers just want to do their tax quickly and easily, and if they’re due - receive some money back from SARS. A lot of confusion surrounds the process, but by understanding three simple terms you can make tax season a little bit easier.

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Budget 2019: What did the Minister deliver?

  Written by Marc  


Mr Minister, you did a fine balancing act on this year’s budget; short-term pain for long-term gain.

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Latest Top 5 weekly round up

  Written by Nicci  

Once again we bring you our top five most-asked questions we’ve received to our Helpdesk this past week. Hopefully this may help others who have been puzzling over the same issues.

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Tax when selling the shares

  Written by Nicci  

I previously received an opportunity to invest in shares through my company. I invested a portion of my income every month and every six months shares were purchased on my behalf at a 14% discount. The shares are US based and tax was deducted locally off my payslip. I would now like to sell off my shares, but I don't fully understand how I'd be liable for tax. We were able to sell them as soon as we had them. They were part of an ESPP (Employee Stock Purchase Plan) and were purchased by deduction from salary and taxed (nothing given out-right). On the platform, they do seem to be classified as short/long term but I think this is geared up for US rules of capital gains....



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Budget 2019: TaxTim’s predictions

  Written by Marc  


Budget 2019: TaxTim’s predictions

Finance Minister Tito Mboweni will be in the spotlight next week when he delivers his maiden budget speech on Wednesday, 20 February to the nation. 

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Underestimated tax paid (IRP6)

  Written by Nicci  

I am a provisional taxpayer. I have not yet received my final payslip, but I will be receiving it quite soon. On my IRP6 tax return, I have indicated that the total estimated on the taxable income and actual tax paid is an estimate as of today and not the accurate amount. So, what I would like to find out is, when the final payslips are available and ready for me to use, what will happen if I have underestimated the actual tax paid to date? Will I perhaps still be eligible for any refund?

SARS are sending me SMSs demanding payment but I have raised a dispute - what must I do?

  Written by Nicci  


We have been contacted by many concerned taxpayers who have received SMS’s from SARS demanding urgent settlement of their tax debt in order to avoid legal action.

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