Monday 28 February marks the end of yet another tax year. It’s a busy time of year for Payroll and HR Professionals as quite the task lies ahead to reconcile the payroll with the soon upcoming employer filing season.
For taxpayers, it’s an opportunity to potentially receive a tax refund from SARS.
Here are a couple of factors to consider to save a bit on tax:
Retirement Annuity
If you have some spare cash, top up your retirement annuity, within the allowed limits of course! A reminder of the retirement fund limits: 27.5% of your remuneration up to the limit of R 350 000 per annum. Remember if you are on the top tax bracket of 45%, you will be saving quite a healthy amount of tax!
Do you have a tax free savings account?
If you don’t have a tax free savings account, it may be worth considering. You can top up your tax free savings account, but remember that the contribution limit is R36 000 and anything that you earn from any excess you put into this account will be taxed quite steeply.
Have you received a Travel Allowance?
If you received a travel allowance during the tax year, be sure to get your logbook in order and up to date. Take a picture of your mileage as at 28 February, this is good practice and handy information just in case you get audited by SARS. If you get this wrong, you could find SARS reassessing your travel allowance and you may be in for an expensive tax surprise.
Does your business keep stock?
If you are in the business of keeping some form of stock, remember to do a stock take and get an updated valuation.
Medical Aid and Medical Bills
Now is the time to start collecting medical bills that weren’t paid by your medical aid company as you may well find that some of these expenses you can quite easily and legitimately claim back.
Donations to a PBO
Did you donate to a PBO? You may be in for a tax rebate here. Get on top of the required paperwork to ensure you don’t miss the opportunity to claim your donations tax rebate!!