Tax Tip: Get Your Top-Ups in Now

RAs: The big one Retirement Annuities (RAs) offer significant tax breaks as contributions to the investments are tax-deductible, and the growth within the funds is tax-free. You can contribute a maximum of 27.5% of your taxable income to retirement funding each year, up to a maximum of R350,000. The other bonus is that Regulation 28 […]
How to Take Advantage of the Donations Tax Allowance

“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” (Winston Churchill) Donations tax 101 Put simply; you can donate an amount of up to R100 000 per year to any third party, like a child or a grandchild, without having to pay donations tax. For example, you could give […]
Budget 2023: The Minister of Finance Wants to Hear from You!

“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 […]
Capital Gains Tax: 10 Common Questions Answered

1. What’s the difference between CGT and income tax? CGT is a component of your income tax. When you sell an investment, 40% of the profit is added to your income and taxed at your marginal tax rate. CGT can apply to shares, unit trusts, property, crypto currency and the sale of privately-owned businesses. 2. […]
Budget 2022 highlights

Budget 2022 highlights Below is a summary of the highlights of the budget speech. Personal tax SARS has not increased personal tax but adjusted the personal income tax bracket, for example while the maximum marginal rate for natural persons remains at 45% and is reached when taxable income exceeds R1 731 600.00, the minimum rate of tax […]
Proposal to increase retirement funds’ offshore allowance

National Treasury’s proposal to harmonise the offshore limit for all insurance, retirement and savings funds will enable retirement funds to invest up to 45% of their capital offshore. This includes the 10% allowance for investments into other African countries, according to the Budget Review. The proposal implies that the current Regulation 28 offshore limit of […]
Budget 2022: The Executive Summary

SA’s total tax revenue exceeded the February 2021 Budget Speech estimate by R182bn at R1.55trn. A year ago revenue had been estimated at R1.4trn, which was adjusted to R1.5trn in November’s MTBPS. Year-on-year revenue growth in revenue was 24% (2021: R1.25trn). Improved revenue is primarily due to improved commodity prices, with corporate tax receipts from mining […]
Ready, Set, Plan!

Every year, more and more young adults finish school or their degrees and enter the workforce. These young professionals face numerous challenges such as finding employment, entering into contracts on their own, and the most pressing of all – dealing with financial pressure. What financial topics are young professionals most interested in? To answer this, […]
Are retirement annuities still worth it?

With “RA season” in full swing, many investors are asking whether retirement annuities are still worth it with all the speak of prescribed assets and imminent legislation changes. The debate is quite hot. As with most things, you will have to look at your own situation, and more importantly, evaluate your personal financial discipline before […]
SARS sends out notice about offshore assets – what you should know if you get one

The days where SARS shuts its eyes to taxpayers’ offshore holdings are thing of the past, says Jean du Toit, head of Tax Technical at Tax Consulting SA. Du Toit said that SARS is finally utilising the Automatic Exchange of Information regime to pin down taxpayers who have not disclosed their offshore interests, and a […]