VAT: The Difference Between Standard-Rated, Zero-Rated, and Exempt Supplies
Value-added tax (VAT) is one of South Africa’s most significant indirect taxes, affecting businesses and consumers alike. However, while most people know that the standard VAT rate is 15%, fewer understand that not all goods and services are treated the same for VAT purposes. The Value-Added Tax Act 89 of 1991 (as amended) divides supplies […]
A Corporate Tax Checklist for Business Owners
Submitting your company income tax return (ITR14) to the South African Revenue Service (SARS) involves far more than simply sending your trial balance to your accountant. Unlike individual tax submissions, corporate returns require detailed reconciliation across multiple operational tax types, including Value Added Tax (VAT), Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE), and Provisional Tax. Missing key schedules or failing […]
New SARS Requirement: Mandatory Online Customs Traveller Declaration
Dear Valued Client We are writing to make you aware of a new SARS requirement that took effect on 1 July 2026, which may affect you and your family when travelling internationally. What has changed All travellers entering or leaving South Africa — by air, land, sea or rail — are now required to submit […]
Getting Ready for Your Second Provisional Tax Payment: 10 Practical Tips
You have only just taken down the Christmas tree, and the last thing on your mind is your second provisional tax payment, which falls due on 27 February 2026. And no – the date is not a typo. Although the normal due date for this payment would be the 28th of February, the general rule […]
Understanding Residency in Terms of Tax
When earning an income in South Africa, you are probably paying tax. The Income Tax Act 58 of 1962 (“the Act”) describes gross income as: “(i) in the case of any resident, the total amount, in cash or otherwise, received by or accrued to or in favour of such resident; or (ii) in the case […]
What’s In a Name?
The differences between an allowance, an advance, and a reimbursement are critical when it comes to tax. What’s the difference between an allowance, an advance, and a reimbursement? To many people, these are different terms for the same thing, but to SARS, the category that a payment falls into is critical when it comes to […]
When SARS Says ‘No’, They Must Tell You Why
Taxpayers have the right to obtain reasons for decisions by SARS. When I was about three years old, my mother admonished me not to play with matches, and like the precocious brat I was, I demanded to know “why”. Many a parent, faced with similar demands from their offspring, would be tempted to exert parental […]
Long-Term Goals, or Short-Term Gains?
More than a million applications have already been lodged with the South African Revenue Service (SARS) to pull funds out of their savings. Given that this amounts to R21.4 billion, that’s a frightening amount of money for a country that doesn’t have a savings culture. What with more people withdrawing cash under the Two Pot […]
Five expensive payroll errors
These common PAYE errors could cost you dearly with SARS. With SARS continually seeking to increase its revenues however it can, organisations with misconceptions about how certain payroll elements should be taxed may unknowingly be exposing themselves financially. We often come across the following top five payroll errors that organisations need to question and correct […]
Expenses must be intended to produce taxable income
To successfully deduct an expense, there must be a link to earning taxable income. Section 11(a) of the Income Tax Act, the so-called ‘general deduction formula’, seems to have produced more court cases than virtually any other Section of the Act. And each time, the courts tell us the same thing: In order for you […]