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“Any taxpayer can be selected by SARS for verification for the purpose of proper administration of tax, including on a risk basis.” (SARS) Companies must, within 12 months of their financial year-end, submit to SARS an Income Tax Return for Companies (ITR14), as well as supporting documents, declaring their full income tax responsibility to SARS. This declaration, return and supporting documents may be selected for verification by SARS. A verification involves the comparison of…  Read more

7 September – Monthly Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) submissions and payments 28 September – Excise Duty payments 29 September – End of the 2nd Financial Quarter, Value-Added Tax (VAT) electronic submissions and payments, CIT Provisional payments where applicable. Disclaimer: The information provided herein should not be used or relied on as professional advice. No liability can be accepted for any errors or omissions nor for any loss or damage arising from reliance upon any…  Read more

“The submission of accurate personal income tax returns on time is important for a seamless filing season. Taxpayers must take control of their own tax affairs to ensure they are aware of their obligations and remain compliant.” (SARS Commissioner Edward Kieswetter) SARS recently announced the dates and changes for the 2023 Tax Season, which opened on 7 July 2023 for individuals (non-provisional taxpayers and provisional taxpayers), as well as for trusts.…  Read more

“The backbone of any successful phishing attack is a well-designed spoofed email or spoofed website, which is why it pays to have a healthy level of scepticism when it comes to opening emails and visiting websites.” (Phishing.org) With Tax Season 2023 upon us, expect an upsurge in scam emails, seemingly from SARS but actually clever attempts by online criminals to swindle you. “Phishing” is a cyberattack that uses fraudulent emails…  Read more

7 August – Monthly Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) submissions and payments 30 August – Excise Duty payments 31 August – Value-Added Tax (VAT) electronic submissions and payments, CIT Provisional payments where applicable, first provisional tax payment (individuals). Disclaimer: The information provided herein should not be used or relied on as professional advice. No liability can be accepted for any errors or omissions nor for any loss or damage arising from reliance upon any…  Read more

“Confidentiality of taxpayer information has always been a fundamental cornerstone of tax systems… taxpayers need to have confidence that the often-sensitive financial information is not disclosed inappropriately, whether intentionally or by accident.” (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development – OECD) The confidentiality of taxpayers’ information has recently come under the spotlight in South Africa. This was first sparked by a public statement from SARS earlier this year on the tax…  Read more

7 July – Monthly Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) submissions and payments 28 July – Excise Duty payments 31 July – Value-Added Tax (VAT) electronic submissions and payments & CIT Provisional payments where applicable. Disclaimer: The information provided herein should not be used or relied on as professional advice. No liability can be accepted for any errors or omissions nor for any loss or damage arising from reliance upon any information herein. Always contact…  Read more

“The government expects that, by encouraging companies to undertake R&D in South Africa, local companies will strengthen their capabilities of developing value-added products, technologies and services.” (Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) – South Africa) Research and development (R&D) is essential to boost innovation in the business sector, as it improves the capability to develop new products and processes and to improve existing ones. This is crucial for improving competitiveness…  Read more

7 June – Monthly Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) submissions and payments 29 June – Excise Duty payments 30 June – End of the 1st Financial Quarter 30 June – Value-Added Tax (VAT) electronic submissions and payments & CIT Provisional payments where applicable. Disclaimer: The information provided herein should not be used or relied on as professional advice. No liability can be accepted for any errors or omissions nor for any loss or…  Read more

“The lack of reliable electricity supply is the biggest economic constraint… I am pleased to announce two tax measures to encourage businesses and individuals to invest in renewable energy and increase electricity generation.”(Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana – Budget 2023) In the 2023 Budget, the lack of a reliable electricity supply was highlighted as the country’s biggest economic constraint. South Africans have been subjected to loadshedding every day of 2023, often…  Read more

“In 2022 South Africa had the 12th highest income tax burden, the 9th highest company income tax burden, and the 14th highest non-resource tax burden worldwide.” (Garth Zietsman, South Africa’s Tax Freedom Day statistician)  Tax Freedom Day marks the day in the year when South Africans stop giving all their money to their government for the year and finally start working for themselves. In 2023, Free Market Foundation statistician Garth Zietsman has worked…  Read more

5 May – Monthly Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) submissions and payments 30 May – Excise Duty payments 31 May – Value-Added Tax (VAT) electronic submissions and payments & CIT Provisional payments where applicable. Disclaimer: The information provided herein should not be used or relied on as professional advice. No liability can be accepted for any errors or omissions nor for any loss or damage arising from reliance upon any information herein. Always contact…  Read more

“…governments internationally have increasingly used tax measures to support efforts aimed at regenerating urban areas.” (SARS Guide to the UDZ Allowance) The urban development zone (UDZ) tax incentive, provided for in section 13quat of the Income Tax Act (the Act), was introduced 20 years ago in 2003, as an accelerated depreciation allowance for property investments in certain central business districts. It aims to promote investment by the private sector in the construction or improvement…  Read more

1 April – Start of the 2022/23 Financial Year 6 April – Monthly Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) submissions and payments 26 April – Excise Duty payments 28 April – Value-Added Tax (VAT) electronic submissions and payments & CIT Provisional payments where applicable. Disclaimer: The information provided herein should not be used or relied on as professional advice. No liability can be accepted for any errors or omissions nor for any loss or damage…  Read more

“This is not an austerity budget. It is a budget that makes tough trade-offs in the interests of the country’s short and long term prosperity.” (Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana – Budget 2023) Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s second Budget contained no major tax proposals, thanks to an improvement in revenue from higher collection in corporate and personal income taxes, and in customs duties. Instead, the focus of Budget 2023 was firmly on…  Read more

The big Budget Speech 2023 tax news was the introduction of tax incentives for investing in rooftop solar and renewable energy. The Budget also detailed tax relief in the form of adjusted tables for tax and rebates for individual taxpayers, adjusted tables for retirement tax and transfer duty, and the expected increases in ‘sin’ taxes. How will these changes affect you directly? To better understand the impact of the Budget…  Read more

7 March – Monthly Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) submissions and payments  30 March – Excise Duty payments  31 March – End of the 2022/23 Financial Year  31 March – Value-Added Tax (VAT) electronic submissions and payments & CIT Provisional payments where applicable. Disclaimer: The information provided herein should not be used or relied on as professional advice. No liability can be accepted for any errors or omissions nor for any loss or damage…  Read more

“Without a logbook, you will not be able to claim a travel deduction.” (SARS Travel Logbook 2022/23) Even while recovering from the economic impact of COVID and facing the challenges of power blackouts, businesses and their employees are also contending with the costs of travel that have reached historic highs. Thankfully, expenses related to business travel can be deducted from taxable income – reducing the tax liability for taxpayers, including…  Read more

“People who complain about taxes can be divided into two classes: men and women.” (Unknown) The assessed loss rules have always allowed companies to deduct from their taxable income each year any assessed losses from previous years. The remaining assessed loss balances could be carried forward indefinitely. This meant that a company would only pay income tax once it made a taxable profit and all previous assessed losses had been deducted from…  Read more

“Finally, we pay tribute to the millions of South Africans, whose resilience and courage during these times of pandemic and economic hardship, is an inspiration to all of us who have the privilege to serve in the public sector.” (From the 2022 Budget Speech) Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has invited the public to share suggestions on the 2023 Budget he is expected to deliver on Wednesday 22 February 2023. Go…  Read more