Dear fellow taxpayer,

Two rules govern the deductions you may claim:
Rule #1: If you earn a fixed salary or your commission isn’t more than 50% of your total remuneration (the amount your employer pays you), you can only claim the following 11 deductions:

1. Travelling expenses claimed against a travel allowance. You can determine the expenses in one of three ways:

• Use the SARS tables. Take into account the actual mileage travelled during the year, less the first 18 000 kilometres which SARS deems as travel for private purposes;
• If you’ve kept a logbook to prove your actual business mileage, you can use the SARS tables of expenses together with your actual mileage to determine your travel deduction; or
• You can use actual business expenditure if you’ve kept a logbook and records of your actual travel expenses, including petrol, oil, repairs, insurance and wear-and-tear.

2. Subsistence expenses claimed against a subsistence allowance. Base this deduction on the SARS’ daily rates, or use the actual amounts if you have the documents to prove them.

The SARS daily rates for the 2009 tax year are:

      a)   If you travelled within South Africa:

             i)    R240 a day for meals and incidental expenses (drinks, tips,
                   telephone calls and room service); or

             ii)   R73.50 for incidental costs only; or

      b)   $215 per day if you travelled outside South Africa.

Remember: These rates apply only if you’ve travelled away from home for at least one night for business purposes and your employer’s paid you a subsistence allowance to cover your meals and/or incidental costs while travelling.

For the other 9 deductions for salary earners PLUS the second rule governing deductions, turn to your August issue of Simplify your Tax. Subscribe NOW and breeze through this year’s tax filing season!

Until next time,

 
Nothando Hlatshwayo
Managing Editor: Practical Tax and Vat Handbooks