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Can interns claim for travel expenses?

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Cape Town - To help make the filing process as seamless as possible, Fin24 has joined forces with the SA Institute of Tax Professionals (SAIT), to answer users' tax questions as far as possible. In the next question a Fin24 user wants to know if she can claim for her travelling expenses while completing an internship.

The user writes: I was on an internship last year and I was getting a stipend of R5 000. I would like to find out if I can claim for travels between Heidelberg and Rivonia daily for five days a week. I did not receive any extra travelling allowance.

Piet Nel, SA Institute of Tax Professionals responds:

We assume that you received the stipend continuously, i.e. it was not a once-off payment.  As such it will be remuneration potentially subject to employee tax - depending on the number of hours. 

With regard to your question the answer is that you cannot make a deduction of travel related expenses. 

The principle is that one can't deduct in respect of private travel and travel between home and work is private travel.  This would be true also if you received a travel allowance. 

* Have a question? Send it to us and we will find an expert to answer.

Please note: The important deadline dates in the 2015 tax season are:

September 30 2015: Manual/postal submissions
November 27 2015: At a SARS branch (non-provisional)
November 27 2015: eFiling (non-provisional)
January 29 2016: Provisional taxpayers via eFiling

ALSO SEE previous tax questions from users:

Can interns claim for travel expenses?

Home care and medical rebates

What to do when tax docs burn

Expat receiving pension from SA: Do I pay tax?

What are the limits on claiming travel expenses?

Can I claim for using my own car for work?

Temp teaching for 6 months, must she pay tax?

Working in Saudi, do I also pay tax in SA?

Can I claim for travel expenses?

Tax filing: No financial records yet, what now?

Filing returns for an education trust

Disclaimer: Fin24 cannot be held liable for any investment decisions made based on the advice given by independent financial service providers. Under the ECT Act and to the fullest extent possible under the applicable law, Fin24 disclaims all responsibility or liability for any damages whatsoever resulting from the use of this site in any manner.

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