AI tool subscription
Apportioned
An AI subscription used in your trade is deductible like any other software, apportioned if you also use it personally.
Claim the business share only · Sole proprietor or freelancer
There is no special AI rule. It is a software service, deductible in full in the year on the business use portion. Most of these bill in dollars on a personal card, so keep the statement line and claim the rand amount debited. Usage-based API credits are deductible as consumed on the same basis.
Where people go wrong
A single personal account used for both business work and personal curiosity, claimed at 100 percent. It is the same apportionment problem as the phone, on a smaller bill. Also, do not double-claim by putting the same subscription through both a business and a personal return.
Work out your share
Enter a cost and a percentage. The percentage has to be one you can defend with
something real, floor area for a room, a logbook for a vehicle, an itemised bill
for a phone.
Does buying it save you tax?
Deductible, cheap, and it can genuinely displace outsourced work. As always the saving is your marginal rate, so subscribe because it does work for you, not for the deduction.
Authority s11(a)
governed by General deduction for expenditure in producing income
Technology
Research, not advice.
This has not yet been checked against the Act or a SARS guide, so treat it as a starting
point and a question for your practitioner, not a claim you can make.
Accounting or invoicing software subscription
Deductible
Fully deductible, and it is one of the few purchases that reliably pays for itself by protecting other deductions.
You can claim this · Sole proprietor or freelancer
The subscription is revenue expenditure deductible in the year. The wider value is that it produces the records SARS asks for on verification, which is what determines whether your other claims survive. Setup and migration fees charged by a bookkeeper are also deductible.
Where people go wrong
Buying the software and not reconciling. Software you do not use produces the same deduction and none of the protection.
Does buying it save you tax?
Genuinely yes, and for the right reason. It is deductible, it is cheap, and the reason it is worth it is not the deduction, it is that clean books are what stops a verification turning into a disallowance.
Authority s11(a)
governed by General deduction for expenditure in producing income
may unlock Record retention obligation
Technology
Research, not advice.
This has not yet been checked against the Act or a SARS guide, so treat it as a starting
point and a question for your practitioner, not a claim you can make.
Airtime and prepaid data
Apportioned
Airtime and data used for the business are deductible, but prepaid is the hardest version of this claim to prove.
Claim the business share only · Sole proprietor or freelancer
Consumed in the production of income, airtime and data are ordinary running costs deductible in the year. The difficulty is that prepaid vouchers carry no itemised record of what the airtime was used for, so you are relying on a reasonable and consistently applied percentage. A dedicated business SIM or a business data account makes the claim far stronger than a stack of prepaid slips.
Where people go wrong
Claiming the whole household data account because you work from home. The family's streaming is not a business cost. Where the same line serves both, apportion.
Work out your share
Enter a cost and a percentage. The percentage has to be one you can defend with
something real, floor area for a room, a logbook for a vehicle, an itemised bill
for a phone.
Does buying it save you tax?
Small but real and it recurs monthly, so it adds up over a year. Get a separate business line if the amounts are meaningful; the record keeping alone is worth it.
Authority s11(a)
governed by General deduction for expenditure in producing income
governed by Record retention obligation
Technology
Research, not advice.
This has not yet been checked against the Act or a SARS guide, so treat it as a starting
point and a question for your practitioner, not a claim you can make.
Barcode scanner and label printer
Wear and tear
Stock handling hardware is business plant, usually cheap enough to write off in full in the year, and the label rolls are a consumable.
Written off over time, not all at once · Sole proprietor or freelancer
The scanner and printer are plant subject to wear and tear, generally under the small item threshold so they come off in the year brought into use. Labels, ribbons and rolls are consumables deductible as used. There is essentially no private use argument with this kind of equipment, which makes it one of the cleanest claims on the list.
Where people go wrong
None material. If anything the trap is not claiming it because the amounts feel too small to bother with.
Does buying it save you tax?
Small, clean, uncontested. Claim it.
Authority s11(e)
governed by Wear and tear on business assets
Technology
Research, not advice.
This has not yet been checked against the Act or a SARS guide, so treat it as a starting
point and a question for your practitioner, not a claim you can make.
CRM subscription
Deductible
A CRM used to win and service customers is a normal deductible operating cost.
You can claim this · Sole proprietor or freelancer
Deductible in full in the year incurred as expenditure in the production of income. Where it is billed in foreign currency, claim the rand amount your bank actually debited. Where a large annual plan is prepaid across a year end, the prepayment rules may spread it.
Where people go wrong
Very few, other than the prepayment timing point and the currency point. This is a clean deduction.
Does buying it save you tax?
Deductible, but a CRM nobody uses is money burnt at 100 percent and recovered at your marginal rate. Buy on whether it changes how you sell.
Authority s11(a)
governed by General deduction for expenditure in producing income
Technology
Research, not advice.
This has not yet been checked against the Act or a SARS guide, so treat it as a starting
point and a question for your practitioner, not a claim you can make.
Cloud storage subscription
Apportioned
A cloud storage subscription used for business is fully deductible in the year, apportioned if the same plan holds your personal files.
Claim the business share only · Sole proprietor or freelancer
Subscription fees are revenue expenditure with no asset to write off, so they come off in full in the year incurred. Many of these are billed in dollars, so convert at an appropriate rate and keep the card statement showing the rand amount actually charged. A family plan shared with a household is not a full business cost.
Where people go wrong
Foreign currency subscriptions get claimed at a made-up rate. Claim what your bank actually debited in rands; that is your incurred expenditure and it is on the statement.
Work out your share
Enter a cost and a percentage. The percentage has to be one you can defend with
something real, floor area for a room, a logbook for a vehicle, an itemised bill
for a phone.
Does buying it save you tax?
Yes, a small, clean, recurring deduction. Use a business-only plan if you can, so there is no apportionment discussion at all.
Authority s11(a)
governed by General deduction for expenditure in producing income
Technology
Research, not advice.
This has not yet been checked against the Act or a SARS guide, so treat it as a starting
point and a question for your practitioner, not a claim you can make.
Costs of a data breach or ransomware attack
Depends
Cleaning up after a breach is generally deductible, but any fine or penalty imposed on you is not, and a ransom payment is legally fraught.
The answer turns on the facts · Sole proprietor or freelancer
Forensic investigation, system rebuild, legal advice, notification costs and cyber insurance premiums are expenditure incurred in carrying on the trade and are generally deductible. A penalty imposed by the Information Regulator or any other administrative fine is expressly not deductible. A ransom paid to a criminal is a separate problem: quite apart from deductibility, it may be unlawful, and payments that are unlawful are denied. Any insurance recovery you receive is brought into income against the costs.
Where people go wrong
Assuming the whole incident cost is one deductible number. Split it: remediation on one side, fines and penalties on the other, and do not net the insurance payout out of sight.
Does buying it save you tax?
Nothing about this is worth it. The deduction returns your marginal rate on money you never wanted to spend. The lesson is that prevention and cyber insurance are cheap by comparison.
Authority s23(o)
excluded by Fines, penalties and unlawful payments are not deductible
governed by General deduction for expenditure in producing income
Technology
Research, not advice.
This has not yet been checked against the Act or a SARS guide, so treat it as a starting
point and a question for your practitioner, not a claim you can make.
Cyber security and antivirus software
Apportioned
Security software for business systems is deductible in full in the year, apportioned if the licence also covers family devices.
Claim the business share only · Sole proprietor or freelancer
Annual or monthly security subscriptions are revenue expenditure deductible when incurred. Hardware firewalls are assets subject to wear and tear. A multi-device family licence covering the household is not a full business cost, so claim the business device share or buy a business licence.
Where people go wrong
Buying a five device family antivirus licence and claiming all of it because one of the devices is the work laptop.
Work out your share
Enter a cost and a percentage. The percentage has to be one you can defend with
something real, floor area for a room, a logbook for a vehicle, an itemised bill
for a phone.
Does buying it save you tax?
Deductible and cheap relative to a breach. See the data breach item for why the downside is not symmetrical.
Authority s11(a)
governed by General deduction for expenditure in producing income
Technology
Research, not advice.
This has not yet been checked against the Act or a SARS guide, so treat it as a starting
point and a question for your practitioner, not a claim you can make.
Desktop computer or workstation
Apportioned
Same as a laptop: written off over the accepted period for computer equipment, and only for the business share.
Claim the business share only · Sole proprietor or freelancer
A desktop or workstation used in the trade is written off under wear and tear. Components bought and assembled into one machine are one asset, not several small ones. Peripherals bought at the same time can often be treated as part of the same asset. If the machine doubles as the household computer, apportion.
Where people go wrong
Splitting a high-end build into components on separate invoices to get each piece under the small item threshold and write the lot off in year one. SARS looks at the functioning asset, not the invoice count.
Work out your share
Enter a cost and a percentage. The percentage has to be one you can defend with
something real, floor area for a room, a logbook for a vehicle, an itemised bill
for a phone.
Does buying it save you tax?
Worth claiming. Not worth upgrading for. A machine you did not need still costs you the price minus your marginal rate.
Authority s11(e)
governed by Wear and tear on business assets
Technology
Research, not advice.
This has not yet been checked against the Act or a SARS guide, so treat it as a starting
point and a question for your practitioner, not a claim you can make.
Device bought on contract versus bought outright
Depends
Bought outright you write the device off over time; taken on a contract you are financing it, so the device part is still an asset and only the interest and service charges are running costs.
The answer turns on the facts · Sole proprietor or freelancer
Buying a device gives you an asset with a cost, written off under wear and tear from the date it is brought into use. Taking the same device on a 24 or 36 month contract does not turn it into a monthly expense: in substance you have bought it on credit, so the device portion is capitalised and written off, the finance charge is deductible interest, and the airtime and data portion is a running cost. A true rental where the device goes back and never becomes yours is different and is deductible as rent.
Where people go wrong
Deducting the full monthly contract instalment as an expense. Where the contract is a financed purchase, you are deducting the repayment of capital, which is not deductible, and you are probably also claiming wear and tear on the same device. That is a double claim and it is exactly the kind of thing that unravels on audit.
Does buying it save you tax?
Tax should not decide this. Compare the total cost of the contract against the cash price plus a prepaid plan, because contract pricing usually carries a high effective interest rate that no deduction makes up for.
Authority s11(e)
governed by Wear and tear on business assets
may unlock Interest incurred on business borrowing
Technology
Research, not advice.
This has not yet been checked against the Act or a SARS guide, so treat it as a starting
point and a question for your practitioner, not a claim you can make.
Domain name registration or renewal
Depends
The annual renewal is a small deductible running cost, but buying an existing premium domain from someone is capital.
The answer turns on the facts · Sole proprietor or freelancer
A yearly registration or renewal fee is revenue expenditure deductible in the year. Paying a significant amount to acquire an existing domain from a third party is acquiring an enduring asset and is capital, so it is not deductible in the year and instead forms part of base cost or possibly qualifies for an allowance if it is intellectual property.
Where people go wrong
A large once-off payment for a valuable domain claimed as if it were a renewal. The amount and the nature of the transaction give it away.
Does buying it save you tax?
Renewals are trivial and deductible. A premium domain purchase should be judged as an investment, not a deduction.
Authority s11(a)
governed by General deduction for expenditure in producing income
may unlock Base cost includes far more than the purchase price
Technology
Research, not advice.
This has not yet been checked against the Act or a SARS guide, so treat it as a starting
point and a question for your practitioner, not a claim you can make.
E-commerce platform subscription
Deductible
The monthly platform fee is fully deductible in the year, and so are the app and theme subscriptions that run alongside it.
You can claim this · Sole proprietor or freelancer
Recurring platform fees are revenue expenditure deductible when incurred. A once-off premium theme or a custom store build is closer to a website build and can be capital, so treat those separately. Foreign currency fees are claimed at the rand amount debited.
Where people go wrong
Lumping a custom store build in with the monthly subscription. The build carries the capital risk; the subscription does not.
Does buying it save you tax?
Deductible and unavoidable if you sell online. The real question is whether platform fees plus gateway fees plus apps still leave a margin, not what the deduction is worth.
Authority s11(a)
governed by General deduction for expenditure in producing income
Technology
Research, not advice.
This has not yet been checked against the Act or a SARS guide, so treat it as a starting
point and a question for your practitioner, not a claim you can make.
Fibre or ADSL at home
Apportioned
Home internet is claimable only on the business use share, and for a home office claim it rides on the same rules that govern the office itself.
Claim the business share only · Sole proprietor or freelancer
For a sole proprietor, the internet line is a home office running cost. Some practitioners apportion it on floor area with the other home office costs; others apportion on actual usage where that can be shown. Either way you need a basis you can explain. For a salaried employee, s23(m) and R-EMP-008 block most of it, and even for a qualifying employee home office the claim is narrow.
Where people go wrong
Claiming 100 percent of the family fibre line because you work from home. Everybody in the house uses it. This is a classic over-claim and it is easy for SARS to challenge because the account is in a domestic name at a domestic address.
Work out your share
Enter a cost and a percentage. The percentage has to be one you can defend with
something real, floor area for a room, a logbook for a vehicle, an itemised bill
for a phone.
Does buying it save you tax?
Worth claiming the honest portion, particularly if you already qualify for a home office claim so the apportionment work is done anyway. Not a reason to upgrade your package.
Authority s11(a)
excluded by Salaried employees cannot deduct ordinary work costs
governed by Home office for a sole proprietor
may unlock Home office expenditure
Technology
Research, not advice.
This has not yet been checked against the Act or a SARS guide, so treat it as a starting
point and a question for your practitioner, not a claim you can make.
Fibre or leased line at business premises
Deductible
Internet at dedicated business premises is a straightforward full deduction in the year, with no apportionment argument to have.
You can claim this · Sole proprietor or freelancer
Where the line serves premises used only for the trade, the whole monthly cost is incurred in the production of income and is deductible in full. Installation charges are usually deductible too where they are a service fee rather than the acquisition of an asset; where the provider installs equipment you own, that part may be an asset.
Where people go wrong
Almost none, which is the point. This is one of the cleanest deductions a business has, and it is why running the business line separately from the home line is worth doing.
Does buying it save you tax?
Yes. No apportionment, no argument, full deduction. If you can move business connectivity onto a separate business account, do.
Authority s11(a)
governed by General deduction for expenditure in producing income
Technology
Research, not advice.
This has not yet been checked against the Act or a SARS guide, so treat it as a starting
point and a question for your practitioner, not a claim you can make.
Laptop bought by a freelancer or sole proprietor
Apportioned
You write a business laptop off over its useful life, and you claim only the business use share of it, not the whole thing.
Claim the business share only · Sole proprietor or freelancer
A laptop used in a trade is written off under wear and tear over the period SARS accepts for computer equipment, which for laptops is short. If the machine is also your personal computer, only the business portion of each year's allowance is claimable. Low value assets below the small item threshold can be written off in full in the year, and some laptops fall under it: check the current threshold rather than assuming. Keep the invoice, it is the first thing requested on verification.
Where people go wrong
This is the single biggest over-claim in the technology list alongside the phone. Almost nobody uses their laptop 100 percent for business, yet almost everybody claims 100 percent. Pick a defensible percentage, write down how you arrived at it, and use the same basis every year. Switching from 60 percent to 100 percent between years is a flag.
Work out your share
Enter a cost and a percentage. The percentage has to be one you can defend with
something real, floor area for a room, a logbook for a vehicle, an itemised bill
for a phone.
Does buying it save you tax?
Legitimately claimable and worth doing, but it is a write-off of an amount you already spent, returned at your marginal rate over a few years. It does not make a laptop cheap.
Authority s11(e)
governed by General deduction for expenditure in producing income
governed by Wear and tear on business assets
Technology
Research, not advice.
This has not yet been checked against the Act or a SARS guide, so treat it as a starting
point and a question for your practitioner, not a claim you can make.
Laptop bought by a salaried employee for work
Not deductible
If your only income is a salary, buying your own laptop for work almost certainly gets you nothing.
There is no relief for this · Salaried employee
Section 23(m) blocks ordinary work-related expenditure for employees whose income is mainly remuneration. Wear and tear on your own equipment used for employment is one of the narrow exceptions that survives, but you must actually be using it in the performance of your duties and the claim is still restricted, apportioned for private use, and spread over the write-off period. Commission earners whose commission makes up more than half of their remuneration sit under a different, wider rule.
Where people go wrong
Employees enter the full purchase price in the other deductions field expecting a refund. What comes back, if anything, is a small annual wear and tear allowance on the business portion only, and claiming the full price is the fastest way to trigger a verification.
Does buying it save you tax?
Almost never. If your employer needs you to have a laptop, ask them to buy it or reimburse you. A reimbursement costs you nothing; a deduction returns you a fraction of your marginal rate over several years, if it survives at all.
Authority s23(m)
excluded by Salaried employees cannot deduct ordinary work costs
may unlock Commission earner business expenses
may unlock Wear and tear on own equipment used for work
Technology
Research, not advice.
This has not yet been checked against the Act or a SARS guide, so treat it as a starting
point and a question for your practitioner, not a claim you can make.
Mobile phone handset
Apportioned
A phone is deductible only for the business use portion, and this is where most people over claim by a mile.
Claim the business share only · Sole proprietor or freelancer
The handset is an asset written off under wear and tear, or in full if it falls under the small item threshold, and only the business use share is claimable. The share has to be based on something real: a month or two of itemised billing, or a call and data log, gives you a percentage you can defend and reuse. There is no deemed business percentage for phones that you can simply assert.
Where people go wrong
Claiming 100 percent of a phone that is also your personal phone, your WhatsApp, your banking app and your camera. If you have one phone, you have private use, full stop. If you genuinely want a full claim, carry a second phone that is only ever used for business and can be shown to be.
Work out your share
Enter a cost and a percentage. The percentage has to be one you can defend with
something real, floor area for a room, a logbook for a vehicle, an itemised bill
for a phone.
Does buying it save you tax?
Claim the honest portion. Do not upgrade your phone for the deduction: at a typical business share you recover a fraction of a fraction, and the personal use element makes it one of the most audited lines on a small business return.
Authority s11(e)
excluded by Salaried employees cannot deduct ordinary work costs
governed by Wear and tear on business assets
Technology
Research, not advice.
This has not yet been checked against the Act or a SARS guide, so treat it as a starting
point and a question for your practitioner, not a claim you can make.
Monthly cellphone contract
Apportioned
The monthly subscription is deductible in the same business use proportion as the phone itself, and the handset baked into the contract is treated separately from the airtime.
Claim the business share only · Sole proprietor or freelancer
A contract bill usually bundles a device instalment with a service and data component. The service portion is a running cost deductible on the business use share; the device portion is really the financing of an asset. In practice most people claim the business percentage of the total bill, which is acceptable if the percentage is honest and consistently applied, but be ready to explain the split.
Where people go wrong
Putting a contract in the business name and claiming 100 percent while using the phone as your personal phone. Whose name is on the account does not determine deductibility; actual use does.
Work out your share
Enter a cost and a percentage. The percentage has to be one you can defend with
something real, floor area for a room, a logbook for a vehicle, an itemised bill
for a phone.
Does buying it save you tax?
A real and ongoing deduction, worth setting up correctly once so it runs every year. The saving is your marginal rate on the business share of the bill, not the bill.
Authority s11(a)
excluded by Salaried employees cannot deduct ordinary work costs
governed by General deduction for expenditure in producing income
Technology
Research, not advice.
This has not yet been checked against the Act or a SARS guide, so treat it as a starting
point and a question for your practitioner, not a claim you can make.
NAS or external hard drive for backups
Apportioned
Backup storage used for business records is claimable, and if it holds your tax records it also helps you meet a legal retention obligation.
Claim the business share only · Sole proprietor or freelancer
The device is plant written off under wear and tear, or in full if below the small item threshold. Where the same NAS holds family photos as well as business data, apportion honestly. Note the wider point: the Tax Administration Act requires you to keep records for a set period, and a backup device is a practical way to comply.
Where people go wrong
Buying a large NAS mainly for a media library and claiming it as a business backup device. The tax treatment follows actual use.
Work out your share
Enter a cost and a percentage. The percentage has to be one you can defend with
something real, floor area for a room, a logbook for a vehicle, an itemised bill
for a phone.
Does buying it save you tax?
Cheap, deductible, and losing your records to a dead drive costs far more than the device. One of the few purchases worth making for reasons that include tax.
Authority s11(e)
governed by Wear and tear on business assets
may unlock Record retention obligation
Technology
Research, not advice.
This has not yet been checked against the Act or a SARS guide, so treat it as a starting
point and a question for your practitioner, not a claim you can make.
One phone or laptop used for both work and personal life
Apportioned
You may only claim the business portion, you must be able to explain how you worked it out, and 100 percent is almost never the right answer for a device you also live on.
Claim the business share only · Sole proprietor or freelancer
There is no deemed or safe harbour percentage for devices. The accepted approach is to work out a defensible business use share from real evidence, for example itemised billing over a representative period, a call and data log, or a screen time record, and then apply the same basis consistently year to year. Record the calculation at the time and keep it with your records. If the split changes materially, document why. A salaried employee is blocked from most of this in any case by s23(m).
Where people go wrong
The two failure modes are round numbers with no working behind them, and 100 percent on a device that is obviously also personal. If SARS asks how you got to your percentage and the answer is that it felt about right, the claim is gone, and once one line is disallowed the rest of the return gets read carefully too.
Work out your share
Enter a cost and a percentage. The percentage has to be one you can defend with
something real, floor area for a room, a logbook for a vehicle, an itemised bill
for a phone.
Does buying it save you tax?
Claiming the honest share is worth it and is entirely legitimate. Inflating it is not: you are risking a disallowance, an understatement penalty and interest to gain your marginal rate on the difference. If a full claim really matters, run a separate business-only device.
Authority s23(g)
excluded by Salaried employees cannot deduct ordinary work costs
governed by General deduction for expenditure in producing income
governed by Wear and tear on business assets
Technology
Research, not advice.
This has not yet been checked against the Act or a SARS guide, so treat it as a starting
point and a question for your practitioner, not a claim you can make.
Outsourced IT support and managed services
Deductible
IT support fees are a normal deductible business service, whether on a retainer or per call out.
You can claim this · Sole proprietor or freelancer
Fees paid for maintaining and supporting business systems are revenue expenditure deductible in the year. Where the same provider also does a capital project, for example building a new network or a new server room, that project portion may be capital and should be invoiced separately. Watch the employees tax angle: a support person who is really an employee dressed as a contractor creates a PAYE obligation, and there are also rules that can restrict deductions where the arrangement is a personal service provider.
Where people go wrong
Paying a regular IT person monthly with no contract and no invoice. That is both an unsupported deduction and a potential PAYE exposure. Get invoices.
Does buying it save you tax?
Yes, fully deductible and usually cheaper than the downtime. Just keep the capital projects on their own invoices.
Authority s11(a)
governed by General deduction for expenditure in producing income
Technology
Research, not advice.
This has not yet been checked against the Act or a SARS guide, so treat it as a starting
point and a question for your practitioner, not a claim you can make.
Payment gateway and card transaction fees
Deductible
Gateway and merchant fees are fully deductible, and the trap is that many people never claim them because the fee is netted off before the money lands.
You can claim this · Sole proprietor or freelancer
These are ordinary costs of collecting income, deductible in full in the year. The problem is visibility: most gateways deposit the net amount, so if you record only what hit the bank you have understated both your turnover and your expenses. Declare the gross sale and claim the fee. The VAT position on the fee depends on the supplier and whether they charge VAT, so check the statement rather than assuming.
Where people go wrong
Recording the net settlement as your income. It gets you to roughly the same taxable profit by accident, but it understates turnover, which matters for VAT registration thresholds, turnover tax eligibility and small business corporation tests, and it means your books do not reconcile to the gateway statements.
Does buying it save you tax?
Absolutely claim it. It is often several percent of turnover and is one of the most commonly missed deductions for online sellers.
Authority s11(a)
governed by General deduction for expenditure in producing income
may unlock Compulsory and voluntary VAT registration
Technology
Research, not advice.
This has not yet been checked against the Act or a SARS guide, so treat it as a starting
point and a question for your practitioner, not a claim you can make.
Point of sale system and card machine
Depends
A card machine you buy is an asset written off over time, one you rent is a straight monthly deduction, and the transaction fees are separate from both.
The answer turns on the facts · Sole proprietor or freelancer
Bought outright, the terminal and any till hardware are plant subject to wear and tear, and small units usually fall under the small item threshold so they can be written off in full. Rented, the monthly charge is deductible in full as it is incurred. POS software subscriptions are deductible monthly. The per-transaction merchant fee is a separate deduction again.
Where people go wrong
Claiming the full price of a rented machine as if you bought it, or claiming a bought machine twice by also expensing the monthly statement in full when part of it is really the purchase instalment. Read what the monthly charge actually covers.
Does buying it save you tax?
You need it to take money. All three components are claimable in some form, so the only thing to get right is which form.
Authority s11(e)
governed by General deduction for expenditure in producing income
governed by Wear and tear on business assets
Technology
Research, not advice.
This has not yet been checked against the Act or a SARS guide, so treat it as a starting
point and a question for your practitioner, not a claim you can make.
Printer, scanner and ink or toner
Apportioned
The printer is an asset and the ink and paper are consumables, both claimable on the business use share.
Claim the business share only · Sole proprietor or freelancer
The machine is written off under wear and tear, or in full if it is under the small item threshold, which most home and small office printers are. Ink, toner and paper are consumables deductible in the year. Where the printer also prints the children's school projects, apportion.
Where people go wrong
The consumables are usually the bigger cost over the printer's life and are the part people forget to claim. Keep the till slips.
Work out your share
Enter a cost and a percentage. The percentage has to be one you can defend with
something real, floor area for a room, a logbook for a vehicle, an itemised bill
for a phone.
Does buying it save you tax?
Claim it, it is legitimate. It is also a reminder that the running cost of cheap hardware is where the money actually goes.
Authority s11(e)
governed by General deduction for expenditure in producing income
governed by Wear and tear on business assets
Technology
Research, not advice.
This has not yet been checked against the Act or a SARS guide, so treat it as a starting
point and a question for your practitioner, not a claim you can make.
Repairing or upgrading an existing computer
Depends
Fixing a broken business machine is deductible in the year; upgrading it to be better than it was is capital and joins the asset.
The answer turns on the facts · Sole proprietor or freelancer
A repair restores the asset to its previous condition and is deductible under the repairs rule. An upgrade that improves the machine beyond what it was, for example doubling the memory or adding a much larger drive, is an improvement and is added to the cost of the asset for wear and tear rather than deducted. Replacing a failed battery or a cracked screen is a repair; turning a slow machine into a fast one is an improvement.
Where people go wrong
Calling everything a repair because the machine is old. The test is whether you restored it or improved it, and the invoice wording matters.
Does buying it save you tax?
A repair is a clean immediate deduction, so where a repair genuinely fixes the problem it beats replacing on both cash and tax timing.
Authority s11(d)
governed by Repairs to business property
may unlock Wear and tear on business assets
Technology
Research, not advice.
This has not yet been checked against the Act or a SARS guide, so treat it as a starting
point and a question for your practitioner, not a claim you can make.
Router, mesh wifi or network switch
Apportioned
Networking hardware for the business is claimable, usually in full in the year because it is a low value asset.
Claim the business share only · Sole proprietor or freelancer
Routers, switches and access points used in the trade are plant subject to wear and tear, and almost always fall under the small item write-off threshold so they come off in the year brought into use. If the router serves the whole house as well as the home office, apportion on the same basis you use for the internet line.
Where people go wrong
Claiming a full home mesh system that covers the whole house because one node sits in the office. Apportion, or claim only the units genuinely dedicated to business use.
Work out your share
Enter a cost and a percentage. The percentage has to be one you can defend with
something real, floor area for a room, a logbook for a vehicle, an itemised bill
for a phone.
Does buying it save you tax?
Small, clean claim. Take it, do not build a strategy on it.
Authority s11(e)
governed by Wear and tear on business assets
Technology
Research, not advice.
This has not yet been checked against the Act or a SARS guide, so treat it as a starting
point and a question for your practitioner, not a claim you can make.
SSL certificate
Deductible
A paid SSL certificate is a small annual running cost, deductible in full.
You can claim this · Sole proprietor or freelancer
Certificates are issued for a limited period, so the fee is revenue expenditure deductible when incurred. A multi-year certificate prepaid across a year end may be spread under the prepayment rules. Free certificates obviously produce no deduction, because there is no expenditure.
Where people go wrong
Nothing meaningful. This is a small clean claim.
Does buying it save you tax?
Deductible, tiny, and mandatory in practice if you take payments. Claim it and move on.
Authority s11(a)
governed by General deduction for expenditure in producing income
Technology
Research, not advice.
This has not yet been checked against the Act or a SARS guide, so treat it as a starting
point and a question for your practitioner, not a claim you can make.
Second monitor for a desk
Apportioned
A monitor for business use is claimable, usually in full in the year because it falls under the small item threshold, apportioned for any private use.
Claim the business share only · Sole proprietor or freelancer
Most monitors cost less than the small item write-off threshold, so instead of spreading them they can generally be written off in full in the year brought into use. Confirm the threshold applicable to your year. The business use share still applies.
Where people go wrong
A large monitor that doubles as the lounge TV or the family gaming screen is not a 100 percent business asset. This is a small claim and not worth defending an inflated version of it.
Work out your share
Enter a cost and a percentage. The percentage has to be one you can defend with
something real, floor area for a room, a logbook for a vehicle, an itemised bill
for a phone.
Does buying it save you tax?
Yes, small, clean and immediate. But it is a productivity purchase, not a tax strategy.
Authority s11(e)
governed by Wear and tear on business assets
Technology
Research, not advice.
This has not yet been checked against the Act or a SARS guide, so treat it as a starting
point and a question for your practitioner, not a claim you can make.
Software subscription such as Microsoft 365 or Adobe
Deductible
Software you rent monthly or annually is deductible in full in the year, unlike software you buy outright.
You can claim this · Sole proprietor or freelancer
A subscription buys a right to use for a period, so it is revenue expenditure deductible when incurred. A perpetual licence bought outright is different: it is an asset and is written off over time. If you prepay a subscription that runs past your year end, there are rules that can spread the deduction across the period the service covers rather than allowing it all up front.
Where people go wrong
Prepaying three years of software just before year end to create a big deduction. The prepayment rules exist precisely to stop that and can push most of it into later years.
Does buying it save you tax?
Deductible and unavoidable if you need the software. But subscriptions accumulate silently: the tax saving is your marginal rate, so cancelling one you do not use beats deducting it.
Authority s11(a)
governed by General deduction for expenditure in producing income
Technology
Research, not advice.
This has not yet been checked against the Act or a SARS guide, so treat it as a starting
point and a question for your practitioner, not a claim you can make.
Tablet such as an iPad
Apportioned
A tablet is claimable on the same basis as a laptop, but the private use share is usually higher and harder to defend.
Claim the business share only · Sole proprietor or freelancer
Written off under wear and tear over the computer equipment period, or in full if it falls under the small item threshold. The business portion is what you claim. Where the tablet is a genuine work tool, for example a designer's drawing tablet or a technician's site device, the business share can legitimately be high; where it is the household Netflix device it cannot.
Where people go wrong
Claiming a tablet at 100 percent when the App Store history says otherwise. Tablets are the device SARS is least likely to accept as exclusively business.
Work out your share
Enter a cost and a percentage. The percentage has to be one you can defend with
something real, floor area for a room, a logbook for a vehicle, an itemised bill
for a phone.
Does buying it save you tax?
Marginal. Unless it is genuinely a work tool, the small deduction is not a reason to buy one.
Authority s11(e)
governed by Wear and tear on business assets
Technology
Research, not advice.
This has not yet been checked against the Act or a SARS guide, so treat it as a starting
point and a question for your practitioner, not a claim you can make.
Two-factor authentication or password manager subscription for the business
Deductible
A deductible security running cost, apportioned only if the same licence covers personal accounts.
You can claim this · Sole proprietor or freelancer
Treated the same as any other software subscription already in the catalogue.
Where people go wrong
Claiming the full licence fee where the same account also secures personal logins.
Does buying it save you tax?
Worth claiming; a genuine and inexpensive business running cost.
Authority s11(a)
governed by General deduction for expenditure in producing income
Technology
Research, not advice.
This has not yet been checked against the Act or a SARS guide, so treat it as a starting
point and a question for your practitioner, not a claim you can make.
Website build or redesign
Depends
Building a brand new website is usually capital and not deductible in the year, while updating an existing one is usually a deductible running cost.
The answer turns on the facts · Sole proprietor or freelancer
A first website, or a full rebuild that creates a new and enduring asset, has the character of capital expenditure and is not deductible under the general deduction rule. Ongoing content updates, small design changes, plugin fixes and maintenance are revenue and deductible when incurred. Where the build creates intellectual property or software you own, a capital allowance may be available rather than an outright deduction. The line between a rebuild and a refresh is a genuine fact question and the invoices should describe the work, not just say website.
Where people go wrong
A single invoice that says website with one large amount. If a chunk of that work was actually maintenance, hosting and content, you have converted deductible spend into non-deductible capital by not itemising. Ask the developer to split the invoice between build and ongoing work.
Does buying it save you tax?
You need the website regardless. Just get the invoice itemised so the deductible part is visible and claimable.
governed by General deduction for expenditure in producing income
may unlock Wear and tear on business assets
Technology
Research, not advice.
This has not yet been checked against the Act or a SARS guide, so treat it as a starting
point and a question for your practitioner, not a claim you can make.
Website hosting
Deductible
Hosting is a monthly running cost and comes off in full in the year, unlike the build itself.
You can claim this · Sole proprietor or freelancer
Recurring hosting, server and bandwidth charges are revenue expenditure deductible when incurred. This is true whether it is a small shared hosting account or a cloud bill. If billed in foreign currency, claim the rand amount debited. Annual hosting prepaid across a year end may fall under the prepayment spreading rules.
Where people go wrong
Bundling hosting into a lump sum website invoice, where it disappears into a capital amount and stops being deductible. Keep hosting on its own line or its own invoice.
Does buying it save you tax?
Yes, straightforward and recurring. Nothing clever to do here beyond keeping the invoice separate from the build.
Authority s11(a)
governed by General deduction for expenditure in producing income
Technology
Research, not advice.
This has not yet been checked against the Act or a SARS guide, so treat it as a starting
point and a question for your practitioner, not a claim you can make.
