August 11, 2022

 

SARS is sure to audit your claims for home office expenses.

More and more of us are working from home, be it due to rising fuel prices or employers allowing more remote or work-from-home employment.

It is possible to claim back some of these expenses, and SARS is receiving more and more of such claims.

Unfortunately, SARS has also noticed abuse in the system and therefore will audit you if it is the first-time you claim this deduction. It is therefore important that you meet the requirements as set out in the Income Tax Act to not fall foul of a SARS audit. Should SARS audit you and non-compliance is discovered, they may raise an additional assessment, together with imposing penalties and interest.

Your home office must be occupied for purposes of a trade (employment included), it must be specifically equipped for purposes of the trade, and it must be used regularly and exclusively for business purposes. Also, you must perform more than half of your employment duties from the home office during the year of assessment and you must also have incurred the actual expenses (not your employer).

Crucially, you must provide supporting documentation to make the claim, for example:

>     A letter from your employer confirming that you are allowed to work away from the office.

>     A record of the dates that you have worked from home compared to the dates worked from your employer's office.

>     Invoices for actual expenses incurred.

>     A floorplan or building plan of the premises to indicate the floor area of the home office.

>     A proper and acceptable calculation of apportionment of expenses where necessary.

>     Photos of the home office may be requested; and

>     If SARS is not satisfied with the above, they may conduct a site visit of the employee's home office.

The New LegalWise Tax Benefit

We are pleased to announce the launch of our new tax advice and assistance department which opened on 1 July 2022.

We know that dealing with SARS and trying to understand (sometimes) complex tax processes and procedures is daunting to many of our Members and now offer tax advice and assistance to all main Members.

Our team is diverse with a unique blend of skills and talents that will assist you with your tax matters (please refer to Section 6 of the LegalWise Membership Agreement to see which exemptions apply).

To access the service and speak to one of our consultants or book an appointment, just give us a call, use our website, App, Facebook Messenger, Twitter, or use WhatsApp (add LegalWise 071 640 0337 as a contact). 

SARS 2022 Individual Tax Season deadlines

For personal income tax return filing.

1 July 2022 to 24 October 2022

>     Taxpayers who file via eFiling.

>     Taxpayers who cannot file online, who can go to a SARS branch (by appointment only). 1 July 2022 to 23 January 2023

 >    Provisional taxpayers including Trusts who file via eFiling or on SARS' MobiApp.

If you are under 65 years of age and your income during the 2022 tax year exceeded R87 300, or if you are over 65 and your income exceeded R151 100 you will probably have to submit a return.

If you earned less than R500 000 from a single employer, had no other sources of income, and you do not need to claim any deductions for business expenses, you are not required to file a return.

Many individual taxpayers will be auto-assessed again this year, and you will receive an SMS from SARS if this is the case. When received, simply log into eFiling or the MobiApp to view your assessment. If you agree with the assessment there is nothing more to do; the return will be regarded as submitted and final. If you however disagree with the assessment, you have 40 working days from the date of assessment to access your return and complete it yourself.

It is vital that you submit your return before the deadlines as SARS will now impose administrative penalties for late submissions.

Did you know… If you are not tax compliant, you could end up in jail.