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If you are running your own business from home, you can claim a percentage of all your home/office expenses (incl. the gardener, maid repairs to your home etc)  As far as the assistant goes, if SARS queries the UIF status of the wages claim, then register and pay the 2%.  If your wife or assistant is not earning any other income, you can pay them R60000 p.a. tax free.  (and R1200 UIF if you have to register)
As far as the travel expenses go, is your driving purely for leisure purpose, or do you need to travel to the bank to sort out your finances, or the post office to collect your share books, or the stationers to pick up supplies, or to meet with other traders ..............  I am sure you're business would not be the same if you had to walk everywhere  so I think you can justify a % work and % play.

What is a home study or home office?
Any area of your house (eg. a room or separate entrance or garage) which you use mainly to run your business.

Basic requirement:
An office at home must be specifically set up for a persons trade and used exclusively or regularly for that purpose

Example of home office relating to different trades:
- A self employed consultant will use part of his living room equipped with computer equipment
- Catering business who usually use the garage to store your table and chairs,
- Construction worker who have storage for their tools and an office set up at home for admin
- A person who run a food service (samoosa or koeksister maker) from home
- Photographer who uses part of his house for a studio
- A motor mechanic who uses his garage as his workshop
- Cabinet maker uses his garage or separate entrance mainly for his trade

Home office expenses:
1) House expense
-Rental paid for the house or
-Interest paid on the mortgage bond
-Repairs and maintenance to premises
-Water and Electricity
-Rates and taxes
-Cleaning cost (domestic worker)
-Security (Armed response)
-Insurance
-House phone

2) Office expense
-Wear and tear (use of you computer or any equipment needed for your trade)
-Other office equipment (chair, desk etc)
-Stationery
-Business calls from cell phone

One more thing Orca. You mentioned earlier [color=blue]"Recalculated all my losses and gains from 2008 and presented them to SARS. I was only owing R12K for last year if the R170K loss was carried over"[/color]
 
If you had traded through a registered company, your losses would have carried over and could have been offset in the subsequent year where there was a gain.  Unfortunately as a Sole Proprietor, your loss can't carry foward.

 
If you had traded through a registered company, your losses would have carried over and could have been offset in the subsequent year where there was a gain.  Unfortunately as a Sole Proprietor, your loss can't carry foward.

Scitrader - your totally incorrect in the above statement, losses for sole proprietors/traders DO carry forward.  Orca's circumstances on how the disallowance arose was very unique and not related to the manner or legal form in which he carried on his trade.

Quote from: scitrader on November 14, 2013, 09:06:58 pm

So long as you are REASONABLE and wherever you can legally save why not do it ! 

Your maid and gardener may not help you trade, but as a business owner operating from home, you are entitled to claim a % of the total home running expenses. 

Hi Scitrader.  Your totally correct in saying any "home office" expenses incurred in carrying on a trade MAY qualify as a deduction, and certainly if they are genuine and have been incurred in the production of business income, they can be deducted.

However are you aware that any portion of your home utilized for business purposes (I.e. The % referred to above) will then be excluded from the "primary residence" exclusion when you sell the property (and thus be subject to CGT)?

Generally I find that in many cases, taxpayers are too aggressive in attempting to claim home office expenses, without understanding the implications.  My all time favourate was a taxpayer wanting to claim a percentage of his estimated dog food expenditure - apparently it was a security cost.

would that be just for the costs associated directly with the buildings (interest/maintenance)?

thanks - makes sense! 

no, I would think that "trading account", by it's very name, would mean that each transaction will be taxed as Income

Another thing to consider is this scenario.

Your wife gives you R300k by depositing it into your bank account. You transfer the money to your brokerage account and buy shares.
This is what we did this week and I bought OMN with it. I now have to transfer it into a new account under my name as my wife will be responsible for any tax gains and not me.
This was a personal choice to have both in my name but still share the tax burden.