travel allowance

[raf]

hi guys i just wanted to know, if i have for example a travel allowance of R2000 and the rest of my salary cost to company do i need to keep a log book with milage! what will the tax man ask for and how will they work it out. E.g are different cars (bmw, mini) worked out differently.

[duncan drennan]

It depends very much how you use your vehicle. You can keep a log book, or you can just record the odometer readings once a year. The taxable allowance depends on the cash value of your vehicle, and the number of kilometres travelled.

Have a look at the last page of the guide to completing your IT12C, as well as what is required on you tax form.

I don't have a travel allowance, so I didn't fill that in this year. Maybe someone who did could provide more details?

[IanF]

do i need to keep a log book with milage! what will the tax man ask for and how will they work it out. E.g are different cars (bmw, mini) worked out differently.

RAF
With these things it is hard to give a definitive answer. You need to sit with an accountant or HR person who has this setup and then work through the scenarios. We print a car allowance logbook Print Image Logbooks
Have a look this may help

[Dave A]

The way I understand it, there is a "default" method of calculating the taxable benefit and annual mileage is now part of that formula. However, in instances where you do significant mileage for business purposes, it can be more tax efficient to use the actual split between business and private use. In order to calculate and claim this split, you need accurate records.

There is a maxim that if in doubt, collect the information anyway. From there you can choose the method that would give you best results. I'd rely on my tax folks to work out the best way to go from there, but if you don't keep a log book, you are losing the option of what might be the better way to go.

[Yvonne]

Gauteng now requires the vehicle mileage when renewing the annual license! Could this be for the S.A.R.S. to verify annual mileage from our tax returns.
Yvonne

[Chatmaster]

Gauteng now requires the vehicle mileage when renewing the annual license! Could this be for the S.A.R.S. to verify annual mileage from our tax returns.

Or maybe they are planning on charging licensing fees in future based on your average mileage per year? I doubt SARS are tapped in on their system. SARS already has limitations on the mileage that you can claim from tax, as well as the way depreciation is calculated, so I do not think they need to confirm the mileage from the license department. Besides that will be way to easy to cheat on.

[Dave A]

It might be to catch folks who give vehicles a hair cut at sale time. You know, wind down the odometer.

[SilverNodashi]

In the USA & some EU countries, vechiles older than a certain amount of years are no longer permitted on the roads. And this isn't to make money out of the people (in fact their cars are more than often 50% cheaper), but to keep them safe. It's also cheaper to maintain a newer car than an older one

To get back to the question. Regardless if you have a car allowance or not, you can get more tax money back if you have a detailed log book for work / business. You simply need to keep a log of where you travel to / from, when & how many Kilo's.

If you do have a travel allowance, you could easily get 45% back on that, which is a lot of money