We have a client who is a commission earner. She is a real estate agent. Every year we calculate her business petrol expenses and claim a portion of her motor vehicle's depreciation. For the 2014 & now 2018 Tax Year, SARS has now requested a logbook. Can
Important:
This answer is based on tax law for the year ending 28 February 2018.
Answer:
SARS can request a logbook – it is relevant material. According to SARS (in their logbook guide) “it is now compulsory to keep a logbook of all your travel in which you record what travel was for business and what travel was for private purposes if you want to claim a travel deduction.” This follows the withdrawal of the practice generally prevailing, in 2010, and in the withdrawal notice SARS specifically said that the logbook is not only required by persons in receipt of an allowance, but also to independent persons, which of course include a commission only earner.
If SARS required a logbook and the taxpayer didn’t have one, they would be correct to say that the required relevant material wasn’t provided. It should have been submitted with the objection.