Tag: Income Tax Act
-
Intra-group transactions and tax benefits
The Income Tax Act contains various provisions in terms of which transactions can occur between specified parties without adverse tax consequences being incurred in respect of those transactions. These provisions are contained in sections 41 to 47 of the Income Tax Act and are generally known as the “group relief provisions”. Apart from certain value-shifting…
-
The taxing of capital gain
Section 9HA of the Income Tax Act deals with deemed disposals by a deceased person. This section of the Act often causes some confusion, especially where there are heirs or legatees other than the surviving spouse. In terms of the provision, a deceased person is treated as having disposed of his or her assets at the date of death, for an amount received or accrued equal to…
-
What is meant by “connected persons”?
On 28 January 2020, SARS released interpretation note 67 providing guidance on the term “connected persons” in section 1(1) of the Income Tax Act. The interpretation note itself is voluminous but worthy of a short discussion as one may fall within this definition without knowing. The definition allows for the following scenarios to be regarded…
-
Calculating your foreign currency capital gain
With the fast approaching 2019 tax season, taxpayers who have realised a capital gain in a foreign currency should take note of the special rules that apply to the translation of those gains to Rand. Generally, there are two ways of translating a capital gain or loss into Rand – a “simple method” and a…
-
Transitional rules for interest payable by SARS
The South African income tax system is not cash-based. This means that a person can effectively be taxed on amounts that they have not yet received in cash, but that merely accrued to them within a year of assessment. Cash is also not a requirement to trigger tax – any “amount” that a person receives…
-
Different interest rates in tax
The Income Tax Act[1] contains definitions for various interest rates. These interest rates serve as the basis for interest calculations in income tax in different circumstances and can broadly be categorised into three main areas. Knowing the difference between these different types of interest rates could have a material impact on the amount of interest…
-
Tax on retirement lump sums
Determining the tax consequences in respect of any lump sum benefits from retirement funds can be complex and various legislative changes have been incorporated over the last few years, to regulate and align the tax treatment of these benefits. Lump sum benefits are included in “gross income” in terms of paragraph (e) of the definition…
-
Employees’ tax reconciliation 2018
April to May each year is the time that employers are given to perform their employees’ tax reconciliation. During this Employer Reconciliation process, employers are required to submit an EMP501 declaration which reconciles the taxes collected from employees with the monies paid to SARS and the total tax value of employees, income tax certificates (IRP5),…
-
Tax residence for individuals
According to the South African Revenue Service (SARS), South Africa has a residence-based tax system, which means residents are, subject to certain exclusions, taxed on their worldwide income, irrespective of where their income was earned. By contrast, non-residents are taxed on their income from a South African source. In an increasingly global society where individuals…
