Advanced Tip:
You probably don’t want to claim if you own the house, but it would be an advantage to claim if you pay rent to a landlord.
Due to Interpretation Note 28 from the South African Revenue Service, you are no longer allowed to claim the cost of interest on your bond as of 1 March 2022.
The time spent on the paperwork is likely to not be worth the claim and further – claiming this expense would mean that when you one day sell your primary residence – your primary residence exclusion that you get of R2mil (Which FYI is a huge tax benefit against capital gains tax), will now be apportioned.
If you meet the below requirements, then you can claim a portion of your home expenses on your tax return (ITR12):
If you earn a salary (or similar) and you work from home more than 50% of the time, then you can start to go through the below questions to determine if you will qualify for this claim.
If your answer is yes to all the below questions – then you will be allowed this deduction against your income.
- Do you have a dedicated room in your premises?
- Is this room specifically equipped for the purpose of that remuneration?
- Is this room regularly used for purposes of performing the duties in relation to that remuneration?
- Did you incur home office expenditure (Refer to list below)?
How does this claim work?
To keep it simple: your total home office expenses will be apportioned according to the square meters used for office premises divided by the total square meters of the property (Under roof).
What expenses do you need to prove to make this claim with SARS?
Typically…
- rent of the premises;
- cost of repairs to the premises; and
- expenses in connection with the premises, which could include:
- rates and taxes;
- cleaning costs; and
- electricity.
Other typical expenditure…
- general wear and tear on items used for trade purposes in the office;
- office equipment, furniture and fittings, and repairs thereto;
- phones;
- internet;
- stationery.
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