Accrual vs. Cash Accounting for Your Business: Which One Is Best?
When deciding between accrual and cash accounting for your business in South Africa, it’s important to understand the differences and how each method may affect your business. Both methods come with their own set of advantages and challenges, depending on the size and complexity of your business. This article will help you choose the right […]
Every Contract Has a Tax Consequence
When drafting a contract, ignoring tax will often be to your peril. Every single contract in terms of which money or property changes hands has tax consequences for the parties involved. These consequences have been plainly evident in cases where people bought their fixed property in a Close Corporation or private company, thinking that because […]
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 […]
Protect Your Family’s Assets with Effective Estate Planning
Make sure your assets are managed and distributed according to your wishes. Estate planning is an important step in protecting your family’s future and avoiding any unnecessary complications. Here’s a simple guide to the key steps involved in the process. Define Your Goals Start by outlining what you want to achieve. Whether it’s providing for […]
SARS’ “Lie Detector” Tests
Are you fiddling your taxes? Here’s how SARS can catch you… In the old South Africa, the favourite national pastimes were braaivleis, rugby, and cheating on your tax returns. This was made easier by the fact that the Receiver of Revenue of old operated in an environment where no two offices even talked to one […]
Tax and Retrenchment: A Potential Minefield
Retrenchment can be extremely taxing … in more ways than one! Being retrenched is a traumatic experience regardless of your place on the corporate totem pole. However, the stakes tend to be higher for more senior employees—not only in terms of the larger sums involved when it comes to separation packages, but also the significant […]
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 […]
Filing Season 2024: Make Sure to Check Your SARS Uploads
It seems like it was just the other day that I’d finished submitting the 2023 tax returns for of my clients—mainly because for two of them, it literally was. For the clients
Capital Gains Tax Considerations for Retiring Small Business Owners
Retirement for small business owners is not simply a case of handing in your resignation letter and having a big party at which the company presents