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Quick Look Course Summary:VAT & Tax Basics for Finance Professionals (1 day)
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Length: 1 day(s)
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Price (at your venue): 1 Person R 8,159 EX VAT 3 Person R 5,295 EX VAT 10 Person R 3,794 EX VAT
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Certification Type:Non-Accredited
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Locations & Venues: Off-site or in-house. We train in all major city centres throughout South Africa.
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VAT & Tax Basics for Finance Professionals (1 day)
Your finance team gets VAT and payroll taxes right, submits on time and keeps the records SARS asks for.
VAT errors are easy to make and expensive to fix. A supplier invoice missing a required detail can cost you the input tax claim; treating an exempt supply as zero-rated, or the reverse, puts the return out; and late or incorrect submissions bring penalties and interest from SARS. Payroll taxes carry the same risk every month. This one-day VAT training course gives finance and admin staff a clear, working understanding of South African VAT and the other business taxes they handle, so returns go in correctly and on time.
The morning covers VAT in practical detail: registration, output and input tax at the standard rate of 15%, zero-rated and exempt supplies, valid tax invoices, blocked input tax and completing the VAT return on SARS eFiling. The afternoon covers employees' tax – PAYE, UIF and SDL and the employer returns that go with them – then provisional tax and company income tax at awareness level, and the record-keeping that sees you through a SARS verification or audit.
The day is hands-on. Delegates calculate VAT on everyday transactions, check sample tax invoices for errors, work through a VAT return from start to finish and draw up a tax compliance calendar and checklist for their own organisation. Bring the questions your team struggles with: the facilitator builds them into the examples.
Why this course
For your organisation
- Fewer errors on VAT returns and payroll tax submissions
- Input tax claimed properly, with blocked items kept out of the claim
- Fewer penalties and interest charges from late or incorrect submissions
- Records ready when SARS asks for supporting documents
- Finance staff who know when a question needs your tax practitioner
For your delegates
- A clear picture of how VAT and the main business taxes fit together
- Confidence to check a tax invoice and prepare a VAT return
- Worked examples you can follow back at your desk
- A tax compliance calendar and checklist to take away
What delegates will be able to do
- Explain how VAT works and calculate output tax, input tax and the amount payable at the standard rate of 15%
- Distinguish standard-rated, zero-rated and exempt supplies and apply the right treatment to common transactions
- Check a tax invoice for the details SARS requires before input tax is claimed
- Identify blocked input tax and account for credit notes, debit notes and bad debts
- Prepare, submit and pay a VAT return on SARS eFiling
- Explain the employer's PAYE, UIF and SDL obligations and the returns that go with them
- Describe how provisional tax and company income tax work and what information finance staff must supply
- Keep tax records that will stand up to a SARS verification or audit
- Build a tax compliance calendar and checklist for your organisation
Who should attend
Bookkeepers, creditors and debtors clerks, payroll administrators, finance officers, office managers and small-business owners who handle VAT, payroll taxes or SARS submissions. It also suits junior accountants and finance staff who need a practical grounding in South African tax before they take on more responsibility. Delegates should understand basic bookkeeping; no prior tax knowledge is needed.
Course outline
Day 1 – South African VAT and business tax in practice
The South African tax landscape
- How the Income Tax Act, the VAT Act and the Tax Administration Act fit together
- The taxes a typical business deals with: VAT, employees' tax, provisional tax, income tax and dividends tax
- Who does what: finance, payroll, the public officer and your tax practitioner
- SARS eFiling profiles, user rights and keeping access secure
- Tax compliance status and why customers and tenders ask for it
- How the rules change: the annual Budget and SARS guidance
How VAT works and who must register
- Output tax, input tax and the amount payable or refundable
- The standard rate of 15%: calculating VAT on exclusive and inclusive prices with the tax fraction
- Compulsory and voluntary registration and the turnover tests that apply
- Registering on eFiling and what changes once you are a VAT vendor
- Tax periods, filing categories, and the invoice and payments bases
- Time of supply and value of supply: when VAT becomes due and on what amount
Standard-rated, zero-rated and exempt supplies
- The difference between the treatments and why it matters for input tax
- Common zero-rated supplies: exports, certain basic foodstuffs and fuel subject to the fuel levy
- Common exempt supplies: financial services, residential letting and local public passenger transport
- Why exempt supplies carry no right to claim input tax
- Mixed businesses: apportioning input tax between taxable and exempt activities
- VAT on imported goods and imported services, in outline
Tax invoices, input tax and the VAT return
- What a valid tax invoice must show: full and abridged tax invoices
- Credit notes, debit notes and bad debt adjustments
- Blocked input tax: entertainment, motor cars and club subscriptions, and the main exceptions
- Supporting documents and the time limit for claiming input tax
- Completing the VAT return from a worked example
- Submitting and paying on eFiling with the correct payment reference number
- Refunds, SARS verification and requests for supporting documents
Employees' tax: PAYE, UIF and SDL
- Registering as an employer and when PAYE, UIF and SDL apply
- How PAYE is calculated on salaries, bonuses, allowances and fringe benefits, in outline
- The monthly employer declaration and payment
- The interim and annual reconciliations and employee tax certificates
- UIF: contributions paid through SARS by most employers, and declarations to the Department of Employment and Labour
- The skills development levy and the Employment Tax Incentive, in outline
- Common payroll tax errors and how to prevent them
Provisional tax, income tax, records and SARS audits
- Who pays provisional tax: companies and individuals with income other than a salary
- Provisional tax estimates, payment periods and underestimation penalties, in outline
- Company income tax: taxable income versus accounting profit, deductible and non-deductible expenses
- Record-keeping under the Tax Administration Act: what to keep, in what form and for how long
- Keeping payroll and supplier records secure, with POPIA in mind
- SARS verification, audit, objection and appeal: what happens and how to respond
- Penalties, interest and the voluntary disclosure programme
- Your tax compliance calendar and checklist
How it is delivered
One day, 08:30-16:00. In person at your offices anywhere in South Africa, at a BOTI venue, or live online. One delegate or a group of up to 20; examples tailored to your sector on request. Workbook, worked examples, a VAT return exercise and a tax compliance checklist included. Delegates should bring a calculator.
What our clients say
“All training programmes were delivered in a highly professional manner, with effective coordination and strict adherence to our scheduling requirements. The facilitators demonstrated a commendable level of expertise, and the quality of delivery consistently met our expectations.”
“The course was efficiently scheduled and planned around our timetable. We were impressed by the quality of training”
“All training sessions were well-coordinated, professionally delivered, and aligned with our scheduling requirements. We were particularly impressed by the high standard of facilitation and the depth of expertise demonstrated throughout the programmes.”
Frequently asked questions
Can you run this course at our offices?
Yes. Most groups are trained at the client's premises anywhere in South Africa; we can also host it at a BOTI venue or deliver it live online.
How many people can attend?
From one delegate to groups of about 20. The price per delegate drops as the group grows – see the price table, or ask us for a quote.
Is it accredited?
No – it is a non-accredited short course and delegates receive a BOTI certificate of attendance.
Is this tax advice?
No. This is general training on how South African VAT and business taxes work, based on the law and SARS guidance at the date of training. Rates, thresholds and deadlines can change, usually with the annual Budget, so confirm specific transactions and current figures with SARS or your tax practitioner.
Can the examples be tailored to our business?
Yes. Tell us your sector and the transactions that cause the most questions – imports, mixed supplies, staff benefits, refunds – and the facilitator builds them into the worked examples.
Do delegates need bookkeeping knowledge first?
A basic understanding of bookkeeping helps. Delegates who are new to it should start with the Basic Bookkeeping Course. For running PAYE in practice on payroll software, see our Sage payroll courses.
Related courses
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