Author: Editor

Social grant applications are administered by the South African Social Security Agency  (SASSA). The grants are: Older person’s grant (old age pension) You can get a grant to see you through your old age. An older person’s grant is paid to people who are 60 years or older. This grant used to be called the old age pension. How do you know if you qualify? You must: be a South African citizen, permanent resident or refugee live in South Africa not receive any other social grant for yourself not be cared for in a state institution not earn more than R86…

Read More

Over the past number of years, the importance of being tax compliant has become ever-more relevant.  Certain professions are making it a pre-requisite for membership to their regulatory organisations and more and more financial transactions are requiring a positive tax compliance status. These requirements are also mirrored in the corporate world with access to suppliers and especially tenders requiring the applicant to have their tax affairs in order.    Requirements for tax compliance To be tax compliant essentially requires that the taxpayer adheres to the following 3 obligations: The that taxpayer is correctly registered for all taxes that are applicable to…

Read More

While many textbooks have been written on this topic we will only be able to give a high level overview of the process of determining how to calculate your tax. 

Read More

Contributions to all Discovery Heath Medical Scheme plans did not increase on January 1 2021, and remained at the 2020 rate for the first six months of 2021. Discovery Health announced in May 2021  an increase of 5.9% that would be effective from 1 July 2021.

Read More

In  other articles on Money 101 we have reviewed the taxes that SARS collect and what your obligations to SARS are. What you are probably more interested in is how can you actually try to minimise that tax that you pay.  If we were to go back about 25 -30 years ago there were a number of tax schemes people became involved with and there were also many options for people to try to structure their tax more efficiently. Trusts were also the flavour of the day and thousands were being registered because, among other advantages, they offered tax advantages.…

Read More

In this article we review what your tax obligations are apart from the obvious responsibility of merely paying any relevant taxes applicable to you.   Normal Tax PAYE (Pay as You Earn) While your employer is responsible for deducting PAYE from your earnings and paying this amount over to SARS you may also have obligations depending on your circumstances.  At the end of the tax year (February) your employer must generate an IRP5 certificate which details your earnings as well as any PAYE that has been deducted. These IRP5 forms are submitted to SARS who then uploads them on your personal…

Read More

In this article we look at taxes affecting individuals with regard to what are your responsibilities concerning registration and payment. To understand the different types of taxes levied by SARS please review the article overview of the types of taxes The South African tax system is based on your residence, meaning as a South African taxpayer, you taxed on your worldwide assets. This system has been in place since 2001 when South Africa changed from the “sourced based” system.  Income tax or normal tax.  This is most common category of tax paid by South Africans and includes PAYE, Provisional tax,…

Read More

If you have a physical or mental disability which makes you unfit to work for a period of longer than six months, you can apply for a disability grant. You get a permanent disability grant if your disability will continue for more than a year and a temporary disability grant if your disability will last for a continuous period of not less than six months and not more than 12 months. A permanent disability grant does not mean you will receive the grant for life, but that it will continue for longer than 12 months. How do you know if…

Read More