Written by Marc
Posted 11 July 2012
Salaried employees all over the country are busy filing their tax returns in the hope that perhaps they will be due a refund. For most who earn income from their employer they have already paid their taxes in the form of Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE), but now what? Although salaried employees are limited, by tax law, as to what they can deduct from their income, there are a few things that can be claimed. Deductions against income reduce ones Taxable Income and thus reduce the amount of tax owing to SARS. The allowable tax deductions are:...
Written by Marc
Posted 28 June 2012
Not only has TaxTim made it quick and easy to complete your income tax return, but he's recently done the same for submitting your tax return too!
Once your ITR12 has been completed by TaxTim, if you use SARS eFiling, it's now as simple as following the step-by-step guide that Tim has put together. Tim takes you through the entire process, from eFiling registration to logging into your profile, setting up a new income tax return, completing it and then submitting it - with helpful screen shots of the actual SARS eFiling system displayed...
Written by Marc
Posted 6 June 2012
Most employees negotiate their salary based on the gross amount (or cost to company) - the whole amount paid by their employer. Since income tax is deducted from this gross amount, in most cases the taxpayer doesn't know how much money actually goes into their bank account each month, after tax.
SARS levies employee's tax monthly and employers must pay that over to SARS every month. This tax is called PAYE (Pay As You Earn). PAYE is calculated based on your taxable income. This is different to your gross income and is calculated as follows:
...
Written by Marc
Posted 16 May 2012
Did you know that it is your duty by law to register with SARS (the
South African Revenue Service) as a taxpayer if you earn above R63 556
per tax year? By registering and completing your tax returns regularly
each year, you will become a tax compliant, proud South African. You
can register for a tax number with SARS in person (at their offices in
all major centres), or send the required documents by post or email.
...
Written by Marc
Posted 23 April 2012
Written by Marc
Posted 30 March 2012
Taxpayers will no doubt notice a number of emails and letters from banks / financial advisors asking them to submit a form related to dividends tax. What is this all about?
Before 22nd February 2017, the following applied:
A new Dividends Withholding Tax or DWT has been created which replaces the old Secondary Tax on Companies (STC) from 1 April 2012. A shocking fact is that the new version is now a whopping 15%, up from 10%. So for every R1 declared as a dividend, you as the taxpayer, will only receive 85c. The remaining 15c will be paid over to SARS. ...
Written by Marc
Posted 15 March 2012
A burning question people often ask tax professionals is whether or not they are a tax resident in a certain country. The question is important because it distinguishes between tax residents and tax non-residents – both paying tax in South Africa.
...
Written by Marc
Posted 23 February 2012
Eagerly anticipating the budget this year and forever the optimist, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan started off well: R9.5bn of individual tax savings and revenue collection up by R10bn from the latest estimates. However, for the individual taxpayer, things went slightly downhill from there... Let’s unpack this a bit.
Not all Doom and Gloom
Ok, ok so maybe I have been too harsh as only certain individuals (the richer ones) will actually be subject to greater tax, the lower end income earners will benefit quite a bit from the new tax changes...
Written by Marc
Posted 21 February 2012
The 2012 tax year has almost come and gone, and being annual budget time, anxious taxpayers are unsure what to expect. Is there any room to be taxed further? All will be revealed on Wednesday the 22nd, but in the meantime let's focus on the new medical aid tax regime.
Gone are the days of paying your spouse's medical aid and claiming the deduction just because you are in a higher tax bracket. From the 2013 tax year onwards that deduction is no longer allowed. Instead it will be replaced with a tax credit per dependent. "What is the difference?" I hear the average taxpayer ask, and "How does it affect me?"
...
Written by Marc
Posted 14 February 2012
There is this misconception that if one has an expense or makes a donation then “it can be claimed back from tax” While to the non-tax literate this may be true in a sense, having expenses or making donations for this purpose only, could actually backfire from a cash flow point of view. It is correct that you can claim the expense or the donation made as a deduction, this amount only comes off after all your income has been declared. So in affect it only reduces your taxable income and therefore the amount of tax paid...
Written by Marc
Posted 23 January 2012
There is a widely believed myth that all expenses and incomes of a business can lower taxes. The Taxable vs Accounting deductibility argument is one which will forever rage on. The question is: what is the difference?
Many countries around the world stick to a particular set of accounting standards released by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), while those same countries have their own individual tax laws. This leads to a difference between what’s allowable for tax purposes and what’s allowable for accounting purposes....
Written by Marc
Posted 16 January 2012
You always hear of people saying they are terrified of Tax and they just hand it over to some accountant who does it for them and they never actually see it until the next year when the whole process starts again. In most cases the accountant never even asks for any information and just submits a tax return based on a simple IRP5. Now that may be great for someone who earns a salary and has absolutely nothing else going on, tax related that is, but the poor ignorant taxpayer is potentially throwing away hundreds of Rands on an "expert" who isn't even doing their job properly. Not to mention the possible refund the taxpayer is missing out on. ...
Written by Marc
Posted 6 January 2012
So as we are getting closer to Provisional Tax Season the question on taxpayer’s minds is, do I qualify as a provisional taxpayer? The Income Tax Act sets out specifics as to who qualifies and who doesn’t.
If you are a salaried employee then your employer will deduct a monthly amount and pay it over to SARS on your behalf. You will only have to file one tax return at the end of tax season.
Otherwise you may qualify as a provisional taxpayer and will have to submit a return twice a year...
Written by Marc
Posted 3 January 2012
Written by Marc
Posted 22 December 2011
Do Your Tax Return Easily