Doing your taxes doesn’t have to be hard, even if it's your first time. This is a summary of the basics:
- A tax year is from 1 March of one year to 28 February of the following year. Make sure you keep all your documents for the tax year. Whatever expenses you want to claim for must fall in that year.
- Salary/pension: Your employer must give you an IRP5, even if it already appears on your eFiling. Check your personal and bank details. By law, you need to get payslips and also keep them to check against your IRP5 at the end of the tax year.
- Travel claims: If you get a travel allowance, you must keep a logbook. You have to log all your business trips, but also all the personal trips in-between. Driving between your home and your office is not considered business kilometres, and you can't claim for this.
- Medical expenses: If you have medical aid, you will need to keep your medical aid’s tax certificate for the year (this shows the total contributions of you and your family’s medical aid). But you must also keep proof of payment of all medical expenses that you could not claim from your medical aid – like prescription medication. If you are permanently disabled and claim extra medical expenses, there are separate forms you need to submit.
- Investments/policies: For any interest you earn on any investments, you must get an IT3(b) certificate from the bank or company for the specific tax year to submit with your return.
(Please note: This is only general advice and should not be relied on solely. The law is complicated and there are many influencing factors that can change the above).