OneFileMoney‹ All calculators · Refunds and deductions
Travel allowance and logbook claim
If you get a travel allowance and keep a logbook, SARS lets you claim business kilometres at its deemed cost per km. When that's more than the 20% that wasn't taxed, you get tax back.
Possible tax backR14,880Claim of R60,000 at R7 a km
- Cost per km (SARS table)R6.65
- Claim for business kmR60,000
- Allowance taxed through PAYE (80%)R48,000
- Overtaxed amountR48,000
- Tax back at your rateR14,880
How it works, with your numbers
- Your car's value falls in SARS's 2027 band up to R460,000: fixed cost R125,393 a year, fuel 173.4c and maintenance 74.0c a km.
- Fixed cost spread over all 30 000 km: R125,393 ÷ 30000 = R4.18 a km. Add fuel and maintenance: R6.65 a km.
- Claim: 12 000 business km × R6.65 = R60,000 (never more than the allowance).
- Your employer taxed 80% of the allowance: R48,000. Only R0 should have been taxed, so R48,000 was overtaxed.
- At your 31% rate that's about R14,880 back.
Good to know
- SARS needs a logbook with each business trip: date, where to, why and the km. Trips from home to your regular office don't count.
- Used the car for business for only part of the year? SARS cuts the fixed cost in proportion to the days.
- You can also claim actual costs instead, if you keep every fuel and service slip.
OneFile Money's logbook and car cost tools keep this ready for filing.
Start freeUses SARS rates for the 2027 tax year. For illustration only. This is a guideline to help you plan, not tax advice: a registered tax practitioner must review and approve the final figures before you file.