2025 Budget Speech 2.0 | How it affects you and your business

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s 2025 Budget proposes several key tax and fiscal changes that will directly impact individuals and businesses. The most notable change is the phased increase in VAT, with a 0.5 percentage point hike planned to take effect on 1 May 2025 and another on 1 April 2026, increasing the VAT rate from the current 15% to 16% over two years. To mitigate the impact on lower-income households, the basket of VAT zero-rated food items will be expanded to include additional essential goods.

For individual taxpayers, there is no inflation adjustment to personal income tax brackets for the second consecutive year, leading to bracket creep as salary increases push individuals into higher tax brackets. Medical tax credits also remain unchanged.

Property buyers will benefit from an upward adjustment of 10% in transfer duty brackets from 1 April. Meanwhile, social grant recipients will see above-inflation increases, and the Covid-relief Social Relief of Distress grant has been extended until March 2026.

Government has unexpectedly opted not to increase fuel levies for the fourth consecutive year, while excise duties on alcohol and tobacco will rise above inflation, and the carbon tax on fuel and diesel will also increase.

With likely parliamentary opposition to some of the proposals, particularly the VAT hike, stand by for further changes!

SARS has also just released their “Budget 2025 Tax Pocket Guide” which provides a useful summary of the tax tables and their impact on taxpayers.

 

Your Tax Deadlines for March 2025

 

  • 07 March – PAYE submissions and payments
  • 25 March – VAT manual submissions and payments
  • 28 March – Excise duty payments
  • 31 March – End of the 2023/24 Financial year, VAT electronic submissions and payments, & CIT Provisional Tax payments where applicable.

How to Save Big on Corporate Travel in 2025

“He who buys what he does not need, steals from himself.” (Swedish Proverb)

Many think of corporate travel expenses as being a non-negotiable, and expensive part of doing business. The thing is, it is possible to cut back on travel expenses without cutting out the necessary requirements and little luxuries. Here are our four top tips for saving money on your corporate travel account.

  1. Plan ahead

    Most corporate travel is not an emergency. Whether you need to pitch to new clients in London, attend a conference in Los Angeles or visit a supplier in China, proper planning can save a great deal of money. All travel expenses increase the closer you get to the departure date. Simply looking at the necessary travel for the year ahead, scheduling it in advance and booking comfortably ahead of time will save you a significant amount. Flights are generally at their cheapest between 30 and 60 days before departure.

    Taking this one step further, you can also make sure you aren’t travelling during peak times. If you need to visit your clients every second month, make sure your trips don’t coincide with large conferences or entertainment events as these can drive up hotel costs.

    For domestic travel it makes sense to try and fly on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, as flights are generally cheaper than on other days. Early morning or early afternoon flights (before 3 PM) are not only cheaper, but also tend to have fewer delays and cancellations – which means there’s less chance of additional accommodation or car hire charges.

  2. Set up a travel policy

    In order to effectively plan ahead and book all that’s needed, you need to implement a company-wide travel policy. This policy should cover all aspects of travel including:

    • The booking process for accommodation, flights, transfers, vehicle rentals and everything else.
    • Expenses and meal allowances.
    • The approval and reimbursement process.

    Making sure everyone is on the same page when it comes to travel means there are no unnecessary or unexpected expenses. As your accountants, we can help you to construct a travel policy that aligns with your budget and cash flow.

  3. Be as loyal as possible

    Hotels and airlines offer loyalty programs that reward their most frequent travellers with perks like airport lounges and dining discounts, but they also offer important benefits for the business. Airline loyalty members often get to cancel their bookings or change dates at a reduced fee, and the frequent flyer miles and rewards can add up to other free travel benefits. Hotels are much more forgiving on loyalty members when it comes to late and early check-ins and room upgrades. And they typically offer a guaranteed discount on their room rates.

  4. Use an agent

    Travel agents are basically a free (or at least very cheap) service for the people who use them. Often the prices are the same whether you book yourself or do it through an agency because the agent commissions are already built into the prices of the rooms, flights and car rentals. Booking with an agent can save your HR, receptionist or PA valuable hours that could be put into something more productive.

    Agents are already experts so paying them a small service fee (if required) to keep them on your books will allow them to search further for the best possible prices and benefits using their back-end travel systems. This may not save you money on flights as the airlines are generally pretty transparent, but it can make a big difference on insurance, car rental and accommodation. Agents are also much more likely to be able to wangle last-minute refunds or changes.

    If your company is really big (or if you and your staff travel a lot) it may make sense to allow a corporate travel specialist to manage all of your travel requirements.


Bon voyage!

Corporate travel can be a very good investment – but there’s no reason to pay more than you should. Speak to us if you want any help trimming your business travel costs.

5 Things to Consider When Buying vs Leasing Equipment

“I do not gather things, I prefer to rent them rather than to possess them.” (Jerzy Kosinski, Polish-American writer)

Deciding whether to buy or lease equipment can sometimes seem like an impossible choice. There are so many factors at play that it can feel like whatever you do will be wrong. We’ve put together a short list of five things to consider that should make the process a little easier.

  1. When do you need the money?

    Leasing has lower up-front costs than buying, but in the long term could end up costing your company more. Leasing can make it easier to conserve working capital and maintain a stronger cash flow, especially in the early days. However, if you buy, you will eventually pay the equipment off meaning your long-term costs will drop.

  2. Are you going to need to upgrade?

    Will the equipment you are looking for need to be upgraded? Or is it something you can use, as is, for years? Leasing equipment often comes with the option of upgrading it on the spot when newer versions come out. This gives companies more flexibility and the chance to be fully up-to-date at all times. If you’re sure of the long-term efficacy of a machine, however, it may make more sense to buy.

  3. Are there tax benefits?

    Some products will provide more benefits come tax time than others with deductions on offer for both leasing and buying. As your accountants we can help you to understand the exact implications of renting/buying your particular equipment and the amount and timing of tax relief that is available.

  4. Do you want to pay for maintenance?

    Leasing equipment can often mean that you don’t have to worry about maintaining it. While this will undoubtedly be built into the cost of your leasing contract, there’s great comfort in knowing that the maintenance is taken care of – and that if something goes really wrong you can get an immediate replacement. Do just check your lease agreement for any exclusions or restrictions – there is often an exclusion for “damage due to client negligence,” for example.

  5. Do you need to customise your equipment?

    If you lease your equipment, you probably won’t be able to customise it. It makes sense that the rental company needs to be able to lease the equipment to someone else when you’re done with it. If you own a machine you can generally do with it as you like, meaning you can take care of your special requirements.

The bottom line

Choosing between leasing and buying ultimately depends on your business’ unique set of circumstances.