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Taxation of farming income (as from softline pastel) - 2011-09-23 Farming income is subject to provisions of the First Schedule to the Income Tax Act. Farmers who are natural persons are allowed to average their farming income in determining their tax liability. Summary of The First Schedule’s Main Paragraphs 2 – 5 & 9 Valuation of livestock and produce 6 – 7 Election of standard va... more Capital Gains Tax (CGT) as per softline VIP - 2011-09-09 Effectively 1 October 2011, CGT applies to a resident’s worldwide assets, immovable property or assets situated in the Republic owned by a non-resident, and immovable property of a permanent establishment in the Republic. CGT is triggered on disposal of an asset, and capital gains or loss is calculated on the proceeds, less the b... more Trusts 2010 and 2011 Tax Rates - 2011-09-02 Trusts Taxable income Rate of tax All taxable income ... more Small Business Corporations Taxation - 2011-09-02 Applies if: •All shareholders or members throughout the year of assessment are natural persons who hold no shares in any other private companies or member’s interest in any other close corporations or co-operatives other than those which are inactive and have assets of less than R 5 000. •Gross income for the year of assessment does not excee... more Residence based taxation (section 1) - 2011-08-24 Residence based taxation (section 1) From 1 March 2001 the “Residence Based” taxation system replaced the “Source Based” taxation system that was previously used in South Africa. The residence based system states that an employee must be taxed on his world-wide income in the country where he is resident. Note that citiz... more Different employer/employee relationships (as from VIP payroll reference guide) - 2011-08-18 Employer An employer is defined by the Fourth Schedule as being any person who pays or is liable to pay any person (natural or legal) any amount by way of remuneration. Employee An employee is defined by the Fourth Schedule as: • any person, excluding a company, who receives any remuneration, • any person who receives re... more Provisional Tax - 2011-08-11 Who is a provisional taxpayer? • a person (other than a company) who derives income, other than remuneration or an allowance or advance (as contemplated in section 8(1), such as travel allowance); • a company (including close corporation), excluding public benefit organizations or recreational clubs; • a trust ; or • any person who is noti... more Fringe Benefits - 2011-08-04 Medical Aid Contribution As from 1 March 2010, the full contribution by an employer is a fringe benefit. The amount by which an employer’s contribution to a medical aid fund exceeds R670 (2010 : R625) for each of the first two beneficiaries as defined by the medical aid fund and R410 (2010 : R380) for each additional beneficiary is subj... more Travel Allowance & Expenses - 2011-08-01 Fixed Travel Allowance As from 1 March 2010, 80% (2007 : 60%) of the fixed travel allowance is subject to PAYE and the full allowance is disclosed on the employee’s IRP5 certificate, irrespective of the quantum of business travel. Reimbursive Travel Expenses Where an employee receives a reimbursement based on the actual busines... more Income Protector Plan - 2011-07-19 What if you loose your ability to earn income due to illness or injury? Look after your greatest asset by taking out income protection benefits. Who needs income protector? •If you are self-employed and would have no source of income if you couldn’t work due to illness or disability. •Don’t qualify for paid sick leave with your employ... more Income Protection Deduction - 2011-07-19 Income protection deduction The income tax act allows a taxpayer that is a natural person to deduct contributions made to an income protection policy from taxable income. An Income protection policy is exclusively for protection of income in the event that you are not able to earn an income should you fall ill or become... more Medical Deduction Calculation - 2011-07-12 A taxpayer can deduct medical expenses from taxable income in the form of contributions made to a medical aid fund as well as payments made to doctors and for prescribed medicines that was not allowed by the medical aid subject to certain limitations. If the taxpayer reaches the age of 65 or the taxpayer, spouse or a child has a disabili... more Choosing the right medical scheme - 2011-07-12 The Council of Medical Schemes How do you go about choosing a good medical scheme to join? Or how can you assess if the scheme you belong to is a good one? There are some critical issues to look at and factors to consider when makes this decision. Your five-step guide to choosing the right scheme: (you can also use these point... more Retirement annuities remain a good estate planning tool - 2011-07-07 The opportunity to make additional provision for retirement, together with the potential for tax, and estate duty savings, will ensure the continued popularity of retirement annuities as an estate planning tool. Here are some reasons to consider RA’s : § From an estate duty perspective, the amount contributed to an RA is remov... more Retirement Annuity Fund Deductions - 2011-07-07 Contributions made to a retirement annuity fund are deductable from taxable income for the calculation of your tax liability. The deduction is limited to the greater of : §15% of “non retirement funding income” as described in our previous newsletter. §R3,500 less allowable pension fund deduction. §R1,750 As taxpayer you are ther... more Allowable pension fund contributions - 2011-06-28 The first deduction we are going to focus on is pension fund contributions, but before I can carry on I need to explain “Retirement funding income”. “Retirement funding income” is the total of all earnings on which your monthly pension or provident fund contributions are based. It can be part or whole of your salary, it can include or exclud... more Income Tax : What can I claim ? - 2011-06-28 Deductible expenditure When an individual earns a salary as an employee the income tax act limits the deductions you can claim.The following can be deducted from your taxable earnings : * Contribution to a pension fund. * Contributions to a retirement annuity fund. * Contributions to a medical aid and qualifying medical expense... more Personal taxes - Required information - 2011-06-20 Individual taxpayers are not always sure about which deductions they can claim and what compulsory information to declare that does not appear on their income tax certificates. The easiest way to explain the differences is to divide taxpayers into four categories. The first would be salary earners who receive no additional ... more Take Advantage of the Recession - 2010-09-27 Why Now’s the Perfect Time to Shift Gears By Universal Accounting: In the face of recession the natural tendency is to lay low, to duck and cover. It’s likely that your competitors are doing that already, which is why this is the best time for you to shift gears and take advantage of the economic downslide. Here are six things you can... more |