A lesser-known tax exemption given to individuals lives within the realm of education. This exemption includes bursaries and scholarships granted to an employee or a relative of the employee. A relative, in this regard, is a spouse or person related to the employee or their spouse within the third degree. So, what are the requirements ...

Let’s start this conversation by looking at what it means to ring-fence a tax loss. A tax loss from one source of income (like rental property) is ring-fenced if SARS does not allow you to offset that tax loss against income from another source of income (like your salary). The two sources of income are ...

Following a discussion on the Facebook Fat Wallet Community, we decided to dedicate this month’s blog to an example of taxable fringe benefits (aka perks tax). J is under 65 and unmarried. He earns a gross monthly cash salary of R20,000. His company pays R500 per month for his mobile phone and contributes to his ...

Tax-free savings accounts (TFSAs) were introduced in March 2015 as an incentive to encourage South African households to save for retirement. TFSAs allow you to invest in various investment products, most notably ETFs. The tax savings on these accounts will drastically increase the amount you have available at the end of your investment period, which ...

A Tax Clearance Certificate (TCC) may be required for various purposes, such as: Moving funds offshore as part of your Foreign Investment Allowance; Compliance requirements such as tenders or good standing; Sitting on a board of directors of certain companies; or Tax emigration. Each purpose requires a different type of TCC. The ordinary “good standing” ...

In our previous two blogs, we looked at the different types of residency and explored the exchange control consequences of leaving South Africa. In our final blog on emigration, we will look at the income tax consequences of ceasing to be a South African tax resident. It’s worth noting that the much-feared and widely publicised ...

In Emigration Part One, we looked at the different types of residency. We also highlighted that home affairs residency (citizenship, passports, visas, permits) for exchange control (excon) purposes and residency for income tax purposes are not the same thing. In this blog, we explore the excon consequences of leaving South Africa and the practicalities involved. ...

The financial and tax implications of emigration is often discussed. In the first of our three-part series on emigration, we’ll look at the concept of "residence", as most of the South African income tax and exchange control consequences (both pre- and post-emigration) is determined by residency. There are essentially three concepts of residence: Home affairs ...

A while ago, we discussed the basics of capital gains tax (CGT). Most of us contribute to our investment portfolios over time, which means we buy at different prices. In this article we help you figure out the best methods to calculate the base cost of your investment over time. Remember, when calculating CGT, ‘base ...

Provisional tax exists to secure regular cash flow for government throughout the year, similar to the PAYE system. Where PAYE applies to remuneration, provisional tax applies to non-salary type income. As with PAYE, provisional tax doesn’t operate as a separate tax, but rather as the prepayment of a yet to be determined income tax liability. ...