There are numerous tax-deductible business expenses that apply to most types of businesses. Below is a list of tax-deductible business expenses in South Africa.
Day-to-day tax-deductible business expenses
These include all expenses that are incurred as part of running your business, such as:
Material and equipment costs
Employee costs and administration costs
Business/office rental costs
Office supplies
Phone costs
Travel and transport, including business vehicle costs
Uniforms (if needed)
Wholesale purchase costs for goods resold
Financial charges (such as bank fees), utilities
Legal fees
Insurance fees
Marketing, advertising and promotion costs
If you have a home office, you can also claim a percentage of your home expenses for work use. This includes:
Rent or mortgage
Insurance
Rates and taxes
Repair costs to the premises
Utilities
Cleaning
The percentage you can claim depends on how often you work from home and how much of the space is used for business purposes. It’s a good idea to check with a tax advisor on how much you can deduct.
Capital expenses
Capital expenses are purchases of major physical goods or services intended to be used long-term by your business. This includes:
Equipment and machinery
Business vehicles
Renovation costs
Hardware, such as computers
See more here - Understanding Capital Expenses and the Difference Between Repairs and Improvements
Education Expenses
If you invest in education for yourself or your staff that directly relates to operating your business, you can deduct the cost as a business expense.
Entertainment expenses
All expenses incurred while entertaining clients are tax deductible. This includes drinks, meals, live entertainment and venue hire. However, you must be able to prove to SARS that the expenses were incurred in pursuit of business.
Business Start-up expenses
These are expenses relating to your business that were incurred before your first year of trade. For example, if you purchased equipment for the purpose of running your business three months before starting to trade, you could claim it as a tax-deductible business expense.
Net operating losses
Any losses you have incurred in the same business in previous years can be carried forward as a tax deduction.