There are only two certainties in life
DEATH AND TAXES!
Could your business make massive Income Tax savings?
There are only two certainties in life: Death and Taxes! Who would have thought that when these words were penned by Benjamin Franklin in 1789 that they would consume so much of our time as business owners?
While avoidance is commonplace and an accepted practice in dealing with both these issues, unfortunately the same cannot be said for evasion, which is not an option!
The sad truth is, as a Small Business Corporation, the majority of small business owners spend far too much time worrying about what they might pay in Income Tax, when in reality, you only have to worry about income tax if you make a profit of more than R87 300 a year and sadly the majority do not .
With that said, tax planning is a very important tool that is often overlooked during the initial set up stage of a business. Below is a simple illustration of the benefits of being a small business corporation:
Is your business viewed as a Small Business Corporation by SARS?
- Is your business Turnover less that R20 million per year?
- Are the shareholders in your business all natural persons?
- Do you only own your one business?
- Does less that 20% of your turnover come from “investment” income?
- Is less than 20% of your income from rendering a “personal” service?
If you have answered YES to all the above questions your business could be making massive Income Tax savings.
Are the Small Business Corporation Income Tax Savings worth it?
The table below will illustrate the savings:
| Taxable Profit | Small Business Tax | STD Business Tax | Tax Saving |
| 0 – 87 300 | 0 | 24 444 | 24 444 |
| 87 301 – 365 000 | 19 439 | 102 200 | 82 761 |
| 365 001 – 550 000 | 58 289 | 154 000 | 95 711 |
| Above 550 000 | 28% | 28% | Nothing from here |
Besides the Income Tax savings, how else to you gain from being a Small Business Corporation?
- SBC’s are allowed to depreciate their productive assets at a faster rate than other businesses. Depreciation, although not a physical cash cost, is captured as an expense on your income statement thereby reducing your profit and as you can see from the table above, smaller profits equal less tax.
- Shareholders of SBC’s who pay the maximum rate (i.e. 45%) on their income, have the opportunity to gain a tax benefit by using a mixture of salary and dividends.
As you can see the correct tax planning will save both you and your business money, therefore when chatting to your advisor be very open about your goals and how you plan to reach them.
The more information we have the better we can assist you with a suitable plan, however, please bear in mind that although we advise you not to obsess about your tax planning, you should review your plan every six months at least.
Next month we will look at the other “headache” that most small business owners have – Employees!
Our Services:
At SME.TAX we do more than just assist clients with their provisional taxes.
We are your “one stop SME shop”, assisting with everything from Accounting, Business Management, BEE, Consulting, Company Registration to Payroll and Mentoring.
For more information, please visit our website www.sme.tax or give us a call on 072 207 4789
