From 1 March 2018, Section 12T(8) of the Income Tax Act will allow for transfers of Tax Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs) between product providers, in part or full, without incurring a reduction of your annual (ZAR33,000) and lifetime (ZAR500,000) limits. Previously, if you wanted to transfer your TFSA from one provider to another, it would […]
Category Archives: Investments
Tax Free Savings Accounts – Why TFSAs are a no-brainer for kids
Tax Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs) have been part of the investment landscape in South Africa for a few years now, and while they can be a powerful savings tool, they don’t always make sense for adult investors. For minors however, investment options are limited, especially those offering tax benefits to parents. Traditionally these would take the […]
Hooray for RAs
Retirement Annuities (RAs) have been around for a long time, and are basically private pension plans that help you to save for retirement. As we near the end of yet another tax year, we move into a period that is often referred to as RA season, which is a good time to weigh up the […]
Are Tax Free Savings Accounts the best option for you?
Many South Africans have started taking advantage of Tax Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs), which were established by the Government as an easy and safe way for citizens to increase their savings. When investing in a TFSA, you won’t be taxed on any growth on your investment — you won’t pay tax on dividends, interest or […]
SARB allowances: Don’t be caught napping!
Exchange Control Regulations dictate how much an individual may transfer out of South Africa each calendar year via a system of allowances. The year end is fast approaching and we are now in the final weeks of the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) annual allowances for 2017 which will expire on 31 December: Single Discretionary […]
What taxes do I pay when I invest offshore?
Investing offshore allows you to diversify and benefit from a broader universe of investment ideas, but what about the tax you may have to pay? As with any other investment, it is important to get the full picture before you make any decisions. When you invest offshore, the tax you may be required to pay […]
Trouble in Paradise?
Another week, another leak! This time 13.4 million confidential financial documents dubbed the Paradise Papers from the Bermuda-based law firm Appleby, which also has offices in the British Virgin Islands, the Isle of Man and Guernsey. What do these island economies all have in common? Well to some they are all Offshore Financial Centres, but to […]
The Bitcoin Bubble
Cryptocurrency: “A digital currency in which encryption techniques are used to regulate the generation of units of currency and verify the transfer of funds, operating independently of a central bank.” For example, Bitcoin. It was in May 2014 that Oxford Dictionaries Online (distinct from the Oxford English Dictionary) added the relatively unknown word ‘cryptocurrency’ to […]
SA has run out of money. And time. And ideas.
Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba, in his maiden Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) on Wednesday, revealed in an honest and worrying account the extent of South Africa’s fiscal and economic woes. It now seems inevitable that SA will suffer further downgrades, perhaps even as soon as next month when Moody’s and S&P are next scheduled to review SA’s […]
To Airbnb or not to Airbnb?
According to a 2016 Fin24 interview, Nicola D’Elia, the managing director for Airbnb Africa and Middle East, noted that Airbnb hosts in South Africa earn on average ZARR28,000 a month by letting their property on a short-term basis through this popular rental website. Furthermore, Nested released an encouraging report that found that South Africans could […]