Tuesday, 31 January 2012
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How to keep a logbook for SARS | Tax Return
We all dread that time of the year when the Taxman comes for a visit. It means having to find everything we already know is either lost or stuffed right into the back of our storage areas in boxes that look identical.
This feeling is made worse for those of us who are made to keep track of their mileage driven on company time or for tax related returns. However, just because you have a logbook and sometimes remember to fill in what you’ve been doing doesn’t mean that you’re doing it correctly.
The process is made even more difficult and tedious because we rarely know exactly what we’re supposed to be doing. Here are a few tips on how to keep a paper logbook:1. The easiest way to forget to log your mileage is by forgetting to keep the book with you. A simple solution: Find a place inside the vehicle where it will be clearly visible during your trip. This way, you’re reminding yourself every time you see it.
2. Make it a habit. When you make an act part of your daily routine, it becomes quite difficult to stop yourself from doing it without much of an effort. By doing this, you allow yourself to keep it in the back of your mind without regretting it later.
3. Record everything. If you decide to only track your trips that are relevant to work, or only record longer trips, you risk forgetting the smaller trips which all add up substantially. By recording every single trip (which is again made much easier if you have picked up the habit of doing it), you will never have to worry about forgetting about any of your trips. Remember to fill in the relevant info (i.e destination address, distance travelled, reason for visit) every time you reach a destination, no matter how short or menial the trip is. Even a trip to the local grocery store warrants an entry.
4. Be accurate. SARS requires your logs to be 100% accurate, down to the last kilometre. If one trip ends on 100.5km, the next one then MUST start on 100.5km in order to account for every meter of your trip. This is why it is important to keep a detailed account of every single trip.
5. Once you have filled an entire book, replace it with a new one immediately. Take the full book and keep it in a safe place until you need it again (to record or hand in to your employer/tax consultant). It is important to keep all of your full booklets together in one place in order to avoid losing one and being stuck with a big gap in your yearly log.
Now, if this list has helped you figure out how to keep a logbook without pulling your hair out, there is one more solution. Paper is no longer the easiest way of logging mileage and distances. Electronic logbooks such as those made by The Little LogBook have made the whole process so much easier and don’t require half the effort on your part. Their GPS trip logger simply plugs into your vehicle, and does all of the work for you. It generates detailed trip reports that are compliant with SARS outlines, and can be password protected for your ease of mind. If you feel your day would be made easier with the use of lists instead of a single plug-in device, feel free to take my above advice, but it is always easier to let someone else do the work for you.
Call The Little LogBook now on (011) 050 0999 or visit their website directly from the above link to find out more about their fantastic product and where to find it.
Wednesday, 18 January 2012
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Wednesday, 11 January 2012
How to make the most of your travel claims: keeping a SARS compliant log book
Do you know what travel expenses you can and cannot claim? Do you know when or when not to use a logbook? Find out how to make the most of your travel expenses.
Save R 26 606.40 by keeping an accurate logbook
Maintaining an accurate logbook is a tedious affair but the benefit of additional tax savings may make it worthwhile.
An accurate logbook means you can base your claim for travel expenses for business and private use on the actual distances travelled. You may also be able to reduce the taxable benefit of the company vehicle used by you. No logbook puts you at the mercy of the provisions of the Income Tax Act, that can in some cases be extremely costly.
In fact, since 1 March 2010, if you’re using the gazette rates per kilometer method for calculating your travel claims, then no logbook means no claim!
Our practical example below shows you how you can easily save R 26 606.40 by keeping an accurate logbook.
Who can benefit from an accurate logbook?
• Sole proprietors, commission earners
• Employees who receive travel allowances
• Employees, directors, members, etc. using a company owned vehicle
Example
Vincent, a commission earner, is entitled to claim his actual motor vehicle expenses as a deduction from business income received. The cost price of the vehicle used was R300 000. The total motor vehicle expenses for the year are the following:
Motor vehicle expenses
Fuel and oil R9 554
Insurance R9 780
Maintenance R3 564
Licence R120
Lease payments R90 000
Total R113 018
Vincent is not, however, entitled to deduct the total cost incurred. An adjustment must be made for costs attributable to the private use of his motor vehicle. The quantum of this adjustment can be determined in two ways:
1. Where accurate records of private and business distances travelled were not kept:
Private usage is determined in the same way that the private use of a company car is determined where no travel allowance is received. Assuming that Vincent carries the full costs of the running the vehicle the private use of the vehicle is calculated as follows:
R 300 000 x 100/114 = R 263 158 (VAT to be excluded)
(R 263 158 x 2.1%) x 12 = R 66 315.82
Total expenses R113 018
Business use of vehicle
R 113 018 – R 66 315.82 = R 46 702.18
Allowable deduction R 46 702.18
2. Where accurate records of private and business distances travelled were kept:
Private usage is calculated on the actual business distances travelled in relation to the total mileage.
Summary of information recorded in an accurate logbook
Private km 10 983 km
Business km 20 276 km
Total distance 31 259 km
Allowable deduction where an accurate logbook is kept
Total expenses R113 018
Deemed business use of vehicle
113 018/31 259km x 20 276km
Allowable deduction R73 308.58
An ACCURATE LOGBOOK would increase Vincent’s tax deduction by R26 606.40!
Tuesday, 10 January 2012
Monday, 9 January 2012
(http://ping.fm/QrHnD)
Little LogBook is an uncomplicated solution to a pressing problem in South Africa. Current tax laws require that ALL taxpayers with a car allowance submit a detailed logbook of business mileage. Without this logbook, the monthly tax benefits received are lost and the shortages would need to be paid back to SARS at the end of the tax year.
Sunday, 8 January 2012
What is the Little LogBook?
Little LogBook is an uncomplicated solution to a pressing problem in South Africa. Current tax laws require that ALL taxpayers with a car allowance submit a detailed logbook of business mileage. Without this logbook, the monthly tax benefits received are lost and the shortages would need to be paid back to SARS at the end of the tax year.
For example, a car with a value of R250 000 with 20 000 business kilometers traveled, could result in a payment to SARS of R15 892 at the end of the year (see case study). This is an unnecessary amount to lose, specifically because an inexpensive solution is available…

Little LogBook is a GPS device, no larger than a flash drive. It uses a minimum of four satellites to log your kilometers as you drive. This information is translated into a SARS-compliant report, using powerful software developed and supported in South Africa.
The beauty of Little LogBook is the simplicity of use and wealth of information gained.
Start by plugging the device into the cigarette lighter to power up.
Little LogBook will automatically log all mileage on the device as you drive around.
End by downloading the information via your USB port on your PC to Little LogBook software.
Quickly identify unknown trips by viewing the trip at street level on Google Maps™ (subject to acceptance of Google Maps™ Terms & Conditions of Use, http://maps.google.com/help/terms_maps.html).
Mark trips as private or business – if business, add relevant trip information.
The software automatically identifies the GEO locations, e.g. Randburg. These can be renamed, e.g. Office. Every time you return to that point, the software will instinctively recognise that you are at the “Office”.
It couldn't be easier!
