Cape Town - Fin24, in collaboration with the SA Institute of Tax Professionals (SAIT), will as far as possible answer users' tax questions to help make the filing process as seamless as possible.
User question:
Can a normal taxpayer working for an employer get a tax deduction for using his own car to do his job, without receiving a car allowance from the employer?
Piet Nel, SA Institute of Tax Professionals responds:
The expenditure incurred by an employee for the purposes using his car to do his job would potentially be deductible under one of the section 11 deductions in the Income Tax Act.
However, section 23(m) of the Income Tax Act prohibits many deductions from being claimed by an employee (who earns remuneration from an employer). This applies where the employee’s income isn’t primarily commission.
An employee who doesn’t get a car allowance (and isn’t reimbursed by his employer) for the expenses incurred as a result of using his car for his job will not get a tax deduction.
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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
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