Home office expenses thread:

Will you be claiming your home office expenses (portion of rent/interest on bond, repairs & depreciation) for the 2021 tax year?

SARS now has Judge Davis on their side and I about 99.9% sure that home office claims will be audited.

1. If you do claim, make sure your tax house is in order for inspection:

i - Letter from your employer stating that you're allowed to mainly work from home
ii - Dedicated office space (not living room or kitchen etc)
iii - Proper measurements of house/office

2. SARS can, and have asked in the past for actual photos as proof of dedicated office space.

If you are claiming depreciation or repairs, make sure you have proof of purchase/receipt for these expenses and that the depreciation is correctly calculated.

3. A sneaky rule in the Capital Gains section says that if you used a space in your house as dedicated office space, that portion will be excluded from the primary residence exclusion.

This means that you'll pay normal CGT on that portion of the house.

4. Normal office costs such as internet, telephone costs and office stationary can't be claimed for deductions by "normal" employees.

SARS can and will disallow these.

5. I know this thread sounds negative, but here's the main takeaway:

If your ducks are in a row, SARS will be a happy duck.

6. Rent / Bond interest deduction calculation example: House size: 100m2; office space: 10m2, therefore 10% of the expense will be allowed:

R 120,000 total rent paid x 10% of office space = R 12,000 home office expense claim