YOU BOUGHT A THING.WHAT HAPPENS?

A portable heater or fan is written off as equipment, but a fixed split unit installed into the wall usually becomes part of the building and is treated as capital improvement rather than a quick deduction.

The answer turns on the facts · Anyone

The facts that decide it are whether the unit is movable or permanently affixed, and whether the room qualifies as a home office at all. A plug-in heater used in a qualifying office is equipment under s11(e), apportioned for private use, and often under the small item threshold. A fixed installation attached to the structure of a private home is more likely to be capital expenditure on the residence, which adds to base cost rather than giving a deduction. A sole proprietor operating from a genuinely separate structure may have a different and better answer.

A freestanding bookshelf is office furniture written off under wear and tear, but built in shelving fixed to the wall is an improvement to the house, not a deduction.

The answer turns on the facts · Anyone

The dividing fact is whether the item is movable furniture or permanently attached to the structure. Freestanding shelving follows the furniture write-off period and may fall under the small item threshold. Built in joinery becomes part of the residence, so it is capital expenditure that may increase the base cost of the property for capital gains purposes instead of producing an income tax deduction.

Your own coffee and tea at home is a private living expense and is not deductible, no matter how much of it your job requires.

There is no relief for this · Anyone

Food and drink you consume yourself is domestic in nature, and the fact that you happened to be working when you drank it does not change that. A salaried employee is blocked twice over, by the private nature of the spend and by s23(m). A sole proprietor may deduct refreshments genuinely provided to clients and staff as entertainment, which is deductible for income tax purposes even though the VAT input is denied, but the household's own groceries are not that.

A monitor bought for work is written off under wear and tear over the computer equipment period, reduced for any private use.

Written off over time, not all at once · Anyone

Monitors fall under computer equipment in the SARS write-off table, which runs over a shorter period than furniture. If the monitor cost less than the small item threshold it can generally be written off in full in the year. Employees claim it under s11(e), which survives the s23(m) block, and it does not depend on passing the home office room test.

Blinds for a qualifying office room may be claimable as low value equipment or as part of fitting out the office, but on a private home the domestic character of the spend usually wins.

The answer turns on the facts · Anyone

The facts that decide it are whether the room passes the s23(b) exclusivity test, whether the item is movable or fitted, and how private the character of the spend is. Movable curtains in a genuinely exclusive office used to reduce screen glare have an argument under wear and tear, most likely below the small item threshold. Fitted shutters attached to the building are an improvement to the residence. A salaried employee faces the additional s23(m) filter, though wear and tear does survive it.

A salaried employee can only claim a home office if a whole room is set aside, kitted out for work and used regularly and exclusively for work, and that is where you mainly do your job.

Claim the business share only · Salaried employee

The premises test in s23(b) requires the part of the home to be occupied for trade, specifically equipped for it, and used regularly and exclusively for it. On top of that an employee must perform their duties mainly in that space, which SARS reads as more than half the working time. If you pass, you claim the floor-area share of rent or bond interest, rates, electricity and repairs, usually declared under the home office code on the ITR12. If you fail any leg, you claim nothing, not a smaller amount.

A self employed person with a proper dedicated office room can claim the floor-area share of the home running costs, and the rules are noticeably kinder than for a salaried employee.

Claim the business share only · Sole proprietor or freelancer

You still have to pass s23(b): the room must be occupied for trade, specifically equipped for it, and used regularly and exclusively for it. What you do not face is the extra employee hurdle of performing your duties mainly there, and you are not boxed in by s23(m), so genuinely business items like stationery, printing and business phone costs are deductible under the general deduction as well. Apportion the premises costs by floor area of the office over floor area of the home.

A desk in the corner of a room you also live in fails the exclusive-use test, so the home office premises claim falls away completely.

There is no relief for this · Anyone

Section 23(b) asks whether a part of the home is occupied for trade, specifically equipped for it and used regularly and exclusively for it. A lounge with a desk in it is used for living as well as working, so it is not exclusive. SARS has treated the requirement as an all or nothing gate on the premises costs: failing it does not give you a reduced claim, it gives you no claim. The desk, chair and computer themselves are a different question and may still qualify for wear and tear.

A domestic worker is a private household expense, and only a genuinely business specific portion of cleaning could ever be claimed, which for most people is nothing.

The answer turns on the facts · Anyone

The facts that matter are whether there is an identifiable business cleaning function, whether it is separately contracted and paid for, and whether you can evidence it. A sole proprietor who pays a cleaner specifically to service a customer facing office space has an argument for that portion. A salaried employee has almost none, because s23(m) leaves only premises expenditure and equipment allowances open. Remember the domestic worker still has UIF and, above the earnings threshold, PAYE and compensation fund obligations regardless of any deduction.

The floor-area share of your electricity is claimable if the home office qualifies, and nothing is claimable if it does not.

Claim the business share only · Anyone

Floor area is the accepted default apportionment. If your office genuinely draws far more power than the rest of the house you can argue a different basis, but you need actual measurement to support it rather than an assertion. Prepaid electricity is claimable on the same basis provided you can prove what you bought, so keep the prepaid receipts or the app history.

A filing cabinet is office furniture, so it is written off over the furniture period or in full if it falls under the small item threshold.

Written off over time, not all at once · Anyone

Same treatment for an employee and a sole proprietor, because s11(e) survives s23(m). It does not depend on the home office room passing the exclusivity test. If the cabinet also holds the household's personal papers, that is arguably still incidental, but a cabinet used mainly for family documents is not a business asset.

Garden and pool services are private household costs and have nothing to do with earning your income, so they are not deductible.

There is no relief for this · Anyone

Even a fully qualifying home office does not make the garden a business expense, because the deduction attaches to the part of the premises used for trade and the garden is not it. The position does not change because clients occasionally park in the driveway. A dedicated business premises with a maintained public frontage is a different case entirely.

The office share of building insurance may be claimable where the home office qualifies, but contents cover on private belongings is not, and SARS does not treat this as an automatic item.

The answer turns on the facts · Anyone

The facts that decide it are whether the premium relates to the structure that houses the qualifying office, whether the policy covers business equipment at all, and whether an insurer would even pay out on a business claim under a domestic policy. A specific business equipment or business interruption policy taken out for the trade stands on much firmer ground than a slice of an ordinary domestic policy. Insurance is not on the short explicit list of home office costs that SARS usually names, which is why it needs care.

A hybrid employee who still spends most working time at the employer's office fails the 'mainly performed at home' test and gets no home office claim.

There is no relief for this · Salaried employee

For an employee, s23(b) requires that the duties are mainly performed in the part of the home used for trade, and SARS reads mainly as more than half. Splitting the week between the employer's office and home, with the majority at the employer's office, fails that. A commission earner whose income is mainly commission based on sales has a different route, where the test is that duties are mainly performed otherwise than in an office provided by the employer. What you can still claim is wear and tear on your own equipment, which s23(m) does not block.

A sole proprietor can claim the business share of the fibre bill, while a salaried employee usually cannot claim it at all because of the s23(m) restriction.

The answer turns on the facts · Anyone

The deciding facts are the taxpayer type and who pays. For a sole proprietor it is a normal running cost apportioned for household use, and a defensible split needs some basis such as a usage log or a second dedicated line. For a salaried employee SARS treats connectivity as falling outside the narrow permitted list, so the practical answer is to get the employer to pay the account directly or reimburse it. Note that a work-from-home internet allowance paid by an employer has its own payroll treatment.

A kettle or microwave in your home is a household appliance, not office equipment, so a salaried employee gets nothing for it.

There is no relief for this · Salaried employee

The item has to be used in the production of your income before any wear and tear allowance is possible, and boiling water for your own coffee is not that. It is a domestic appliance that happens to live in the study. A sole proprietor with a genuine business premises, or a customer facing office with staff, has a better argument that a kitchen appliance is part of the business set-up, but a kettle in a spare bedroom in a private home is still going to look domestic to SARS.

A separate line installed and used only for the business is the strongest version of this claim, while a share of the family landline is weak and is generally blocked for employees.

The answer turns on the facts · Anyone

The facts that matter are whether the line is dedicated to the trade, whose name the account is in, and whether the calls can be identified. A sole proprietor with a dedicated business line deducts it in full as a running cost. A shared household line is apportioned and needs itemised billing. A salaried employee faces s23(m), which does not open the door to telephone costs, so the claim usually fails no matter how good the records are.

You claim wear and tear on the business use portion only, so a laptop used half for work gives you half the annual allowance.

Claim the business share only · Salaried employee

The allowance under s11(e) is available to employees despite s23(m), spread over the computer write-off period in the SARS table. You must reduce it by the private use portion, and you need a defensible basis for the split rather than a round number pulled from nowhere. If the employer supplied the laptop there is nothing to claim, because you incurred nothing.

Lunch at home is not deductible, and the subsistence allowance rules do not apply because you are not away from home.

There is no relief for this · Anyone

The subsistence deemed amounts exist for a taxpayer who is obliged to spend a night away from their usual place of residence on business. Working in your own house is the exact opposite of that, so the deemed amounts are simply not available. Ordinary meals are private consumption under the general prohibition on domestic expenditure, and s23(m) blocks it again for employees.

Business data and airtime are deductible for the self employed on an apportioned basis, and generally blocked for a salaried employee.

The answer turns on the facts · Anyone

The facts that decide it are taxpayer type, whether the contract is in the business name, and whether you can show the business portion. A sole proprietor with itemised billing or a separate work SIM has a clean claim on the business share. A salaried employee runs into s23(m), which does not list communication costs among the permitted deductions. An employer paid cellphone or a reimbursement against actual business use is the practical route for employees, and how it is structured affects whether it is taxable in your hands.

Rates and taxes are a premises cost, so the floor-area share is claimable once the home office passes the exclusivity test.

Claim the business share only · Anyone

Take the rates on the municipal account, exclude the refuse, sewerage and consumption lines if you are treating those separately, and apply the office floor area percentage. This is available to a salaried employee who qualifies as well as to a sole proprietor, because it is expenditure in respect of the premises contemplated in s23(b).

Patching a leaking roof is a deductible repair on the office share, while replacing the entire roof is almost always capital and gives you no deduction now.

The answer turns on the facts · Anyone

The facts that decide it are whether the work restores the roof to its previous condition or replaces the whole thing with something new or better. Fixing a leak over the office is a repair, apportioned by floor area unless the work is confined to the office. A full re-roof, or replacing tiles with a superior material, is an improvement to a capital asset. Capital work of this kind is not deductible but the cost may be added to the base cost of the property for capital gains, so keep the invoices for as long as you own the house.

An office chair you paid for yourself and use for work is claimed as wear and tear over the write-off period, or in full if it is under the small item threshold.

Written off over time, not all at once · Anyone

The chair is office furniture, so it follows the wear and tear table. An employee can claim it despite s23(m) because s11(e) is one of the permitted deductions. A sole proprietor claims it the same way as a business asset. The chair does not have to sit in an exclusive-use room to qualify, because the exclusivity test in s23(b) applies to premises costs, not to the equipment.

A desk you bought yourself for work is written off over its useful life under the wear and tear allowance, not deducted in one go.

Written off over time, not all at once · Salaried employee

Section 23(m) blocks most employee deductions but it does not block s11(e) wear and tear, so an employee who buys their own equipment and uses it to produce their salary can claim a wear and tear allowance on it. The write-off period for office furniture comes from the SARS wear and tear table, and there is a small item threshold below which an asset may be written off in full in the year of purchase. If the desk is also used privately, apportion the allowance for private use.

The printer itself is an asset written off under wear and tear, apportioned if the household also prints on it.

Written off over time, not all at once · Anyone

Printers sit in the office equipment part of the SARS write-off table, and a cheap printer will often fall under the small item threshold and be fully written off in the year of purchase. The consumables are treated separately from the machine. For an employee the machine qualifies under s11(e), which s23(m) leaves intact.

For a self employed person consumables used in the business are an ordinary deductible expense in the year you incur them.

You can claim this · Sole proprietor or freelancer

These are running costs in the production of income under the general deduction, with no s23(m) restriction because your income is not mainly remuneration. If the household also prints on the same machine, deduct only the business share. Keep the till slips, because low value repeat purchases are exactly what SARS asks you to substantiate.

SARS's position is that consumables like toner and paper are not on the short list of things a salaried employee may deduct, so they are usually blocked.

There is no relief for this · Salaried employee

Section 23(m) shuts off the general deduction for a person whose income is mainly remuneration, leaving only a narrow permitted list which includes wear and tear on equipment and expenditure in respect of the premises where s23(b) is met. Consumables are neither an asset nor a premises cost, so they fall outside. If your employer will reimburse you against an invoice, that is the practical route and it keeps you whole.

Repairs and repainting done specifically to the qualifying home office room are deductible in full, because the whole cost relates to the part used for trade.

You can claim this · Anyone

SARS accepts repairs to the premises as a home office expense, and where the work is confined to the office you do not apportion it, you claim it all. A repair restores something to its former condition. If the work goes further and improves or enlarges the space, it is capital and is not deductible, although it may add to base cost. This is one of the few premises costs a qualifying salaried employee can still claim, because s23(m) leaves s23(b) premises expenditure open.

Painting the whole house is only claimable for the floor-area share attributable to the qualifying home office, not in full.

Claim the business share only · Anyone

Because the work benefits the whole property, you apply the same office over total floor area percentage that you use for rates and electricity. The work must still be a repair rather than an improvement. If the home office does not pass the exclusivity test, none of it is claimable and the entire cost is a private household expense.

Only the interest portion of the bond counts, apportioned by floor area, and only if the office passes the exclusivity test.

Claim the business share only · Anyone

The bond instalment is made up of capital and interest, and only the interest is ever deductible. Take the annual interest from the bank's tax certificate or bond statement, apply the office floor area percentage, and claim that. Capital repayments, the bond initiation fee, bond registration costs and transfer duty are all capital in nature and are not deductible, although some of them may go into base cost for capital gains purposes.

If the home office passes the exclusivity test you claim the floor-area share of your rent, and if it fails you claim nothing.

Claim the business share only · Anyone

The accepted method is the floor area of the office divided by the total floor area of the home, applied to the rent for the period you used it. Rent is squarely a premises expense, so it is one of the few costs a salaried employee can still claim once s23(b) is satisfied, because s23(m) leaves premises expenditure contemplated in s23(b) intact. Apportion for part of a year if you only started mid year.

A standing desk is treated exactly like an ordinary desk: wear and tear over the furniture write-off period, apportioned for any private use.

Written off over time, not all at once · Anyone

Nothing about the motor or the health benefit changes the tax treatment. It is office furniture used in the production of income. Where the cost is under the small item threshold in the SARS wear and tear ruling it may be written off in full in the year of purchase. A doctor's note recommending it does not turn it into a medical expense.

Stationery you buy for your job is generally not deductible as a salaried employee, even if you genuinely needed it and even if you work from home.

There is no relief for this · Salaried employee

This is the s23(m) restriction doing its work: for someone earning mainly remuneration the general deduction is switched off except for a short permitted list. Stationery is not on it. Passing the home office room test does not rescue it, because that only opens the door to expenditure in respect of the premises.

Business stationery is fully deductible in the year for a self employed person.

You can claim this · Sole proprietor or freelancer

It is a normal trade expense under the general deduction, not subject to the employee restriction. Keep it separate from household purchases on the same till slip, because a Makro slip with groceries and printer paper on it is not a clean record. Larger bulk purchases of stock you will only use over several years may sensibly be matched to when they are used.

Claiming a home office means part of your house was used for trade, and that part does not get the primary residence exclusion when you sell.

The answer turns on the facts · Anyone

The primary residence exclusion in the Eighth Schedule shelters a set amount of gain on the home you live in, but where part of the residence is used for the purposes of trade the exclusion is apportioned and the trade portion is fully exposed to capital gains tax. The apportionment follows both the area used and the period it was used that way, so a two year home office claim on a small study in a house you owned for twenty years has a far smaller effect than a permanent third of the house. Nobody tells taxpayers this at the time they start claiming, and the effect only lands years later.

Water is a premises running cost, but it is a weak claim because a home office consumes almost no water and SARS looks at it that way.

Claim the business share only · Anyone

Where the home office qualifies, the floor-area share of water on the municipal account is arguably claimable in the same way as rates and electricity. In practice the amounts are tiny and the connection between an office and water consumption is thin, which makes it a poor place to be aggressive. For a business that actually uses water in its trade the position is different and stronger.