The annual tax filing season has started and taxpayers must be aware of some significant changes to the new return for the 2017 tax year. The most significant change is the way individual taxpayers report on their deductions for contributions to medial aid schemes and medical expenses, as well as contributions to retirement annuities, travel allowances and foreign employment income. Marc Sevitz, director and chief financial officer of TaxTim, warns that this will mean more paperwork for taxpayers. The South African Revenue Service (SARS) now requires a differentiation between contributions to a medical aid where the taxpayer is the member, and contributions made for financial dependents such as parents or a child. "Taxpayers with disability expenses are now required to submit a lot more information about the disability, including detail such as the practice number of the doctor involved." In future the name of the medical schemes and the policy numbers must be supplied. This require...

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