Can I claim my cellphone on tax in South Africa?

Yes if you earn mostly commission or run your own business, for the share you use for work. Usually not on a salary.

It depends on how you earn

• Own business or sole proprietor: the work-use share of your contract, airtime and data counts as a business cost.
• Commission earner: if more than half your pay is commission, you can claim work costs like your phone, in the share you use for work.
• Salary (PAYE): SARS generally doesn't allow work costs against a salary, so a phone you pay for yourself usually doesn't count.

Working out the work share

Look at a typical month and estimate how much of your calls and data were for work. Say 60%: then 60% of the contract counts. Keep a note of how you worked it out.

The phone itself

A phone bought outright is written off over a few years (wear and tear), or in full in the year you bought it if it cost less than R7,000. A phone on contract is covered by the monthly cost.

Keep the contract and monthly bills. In OneFile Money, search "Vodacom" (or your network) and mark the payments as work in one tap.