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// A WORKED EXAMPLE

ONE REAL FILE,RUN LIVE,NOTHING TYPED IN.

Most tax tools ask what you remember. This one checks what your records actually say. Below is a real worked example, run live by the same engine that runs a paying return. No numbers have been typed into this page by hand.

Same functions. Same answers. No screenshots.

1. The three-way compare

What SARS already holds, against what the taxpayer said, against what the bank and slips support. Anything that disagrees is either money or a problem, and the difference matters.

Money on the table
R68 000
3 lines SARS cannot see on its own
Must be declared
R14 200
income SARS already holds that was not mentioned
Line SARS holds Client said Records show Verdict
Retirement fund contributions
IRP5 code 4001/4006 and RA certificate
 R38 400 — — Money on the table
SARS already holds R38 400 here and it is not being claimed.
The certificate is already with SARS, so this needs no chasing. Put it on the return.
Home office expenses claimed
Rates, electricity, bond interest, floor area
 — R24 600 R24 600 Money on the table
R24 600 that SARS knows nothing about.
This is a claim, not an omission. It needs the supporting evidence before it can go on.
Section 18A donations
Section 18A certificates
 — R5 000 R5 000 Money on the table
R5 000 that SARS knows nothing about.
This is a claim, not an omission. It needs the supporting evidence before it can go on.
Local interest received
IT3(b)
 R14 200 — — Must be declared
SARS already holds R14 200 of income here and you did not mention it.
This must go on the return. Leaving it off is what turns into a penalty.
Travel deduction claimed
Logbook
 — R61 200 R58 900 Does not agree
Claiming R61 200 but the slips and statements only support R58 900.
The difference of R2 300 is unsupported. Find the missing evidence or reduce the claim before filing.
Salary, wages and director fees
IRP5 code 3601/3615
 R420 000 R420 000 — Agrees
Travel allowance received
IRP5 code 3701/3702
 R96 000 R96 000 — Agrees
Medical scheme contributions paid
Medical scheme tax certificate
 R28 800 R28 800 — Agrees
PAYE already deducted
IRP5 code 4102
 R118 400 R118 400 — Agrees

Read the last three rows again

  • A tool that only asks what you remember finds the home office, because you remembered it. It cannot find the retirement contribution you forgot, even though SARS is already holding the certificate.
  • It also cannot warn you about the interest. That one is not a refund, it is a penalty waiting to happen, and no refund-maximiser is looking for it.
  • And it will happily let you claim more travel than your logbook supports, which is the fastest way to turn a refund into an audit.

2. One slip, split

A bank feed sees ENGEN GARDENS R1 191.26 and stops there. A fleet card refuses to sell you the pie. Nothing on the market splits the slip itself. Here is what the same slip looks like line by line.

What we were given
ENGEN GARDENS
VAT REG 4210178842
2026-03-14  14:22
PUMP 4
DIESEL 50PPM   45.32 L @ 22.14        1003.38
COCA COLA 500ML                         22.99
STEERS BURGER MEAL                      74.90
OIL 5W40 1L                             89.99
TOTAL                                 1191.26
CARD PAYMENT
What came out
DIESEL 50PPM
Fuel, priced per litre. Deductible business travel under s8(1)(b) to the extent of business use.
45.32 litres at R22.14 · zero rated, no input VAT
R1 003.38
travel
COCA COLA 500ML
Food and drink. Private consumption by default, because you would have eaten anyway.
R22.99
personal
STEERS BURGER MEAL
Food and drink. Private consumption by default, because you would have eaten anyway.
R74.90
personal
OIL 5W40 1L
Vehicle running cost. Claimable under s8(1)(b) alongside fuel.
R89.99
travel
Claimable R1 093.37
Left out on purpose R97.89

The Coke and the burger are recorded, not deleted. Showing what was excluded is what makes the rest of the claim defensible if anyone ever asks. Every line reconciles to the printed total.

3. Why it is not anonymous

You will see tax tools that promise a refund estimate without asking who you are. That is a real convenience and we cannot match it, because the first column of the table above is your SARS record, and nobody can pull your SARS record without knowing you are you.

So the honest version is this: an anonymous tool can tell you what you already remember. It cannot tell you what SARS is holding, and it cannot tell you what your own bank statements prove. Those are the two places the money is.

Run it on your own numbers

The first report is free and needs no account. You only sign up if you want to keep it.

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