“You’re Not Broke, You’re Uninformed”: SA Woman Shares 4 Ways She’s Learned To Reduce Taxes

• SA business owner Sakhile Kayla Mahlangu shared tax-saving tips she learned as a young entrepreneur
• She outlined four legal ways to reduce taxable income, including retirement fund contributions and tax-free savings accounts
• Her video caught attention during tax season, with South Africans responding to her advice online

South African business owner Sakhile Kayla Mahlangu shared four tax-saving tips she wishes she learned at school. In an Instagram video posted on 10 July 2026, she explained that growing her business pushed her to understand how South Africa’s tax system works.

"This is the kind of things that should have been taught in school, but I'm only really learning about it right now...Here's how you can legally pay less in taxes in South Africa. "

4 Ways she's learned to reduce her taxes

• Retirement contributions: Putting money into a pension, provident fund or retirement annuity can lower your taxable income. For example, if you earn R20,000 and save R2,000 for retirement, SARS taxes only R18,000. You can claim up to 27.5% of your income, within the yearly limit.
• Tax-free savings accounts: A tax-free savings account lets you invest up to R46,000 a year, with all growth, interest and dividends earned staying tax-free. The lifetime contribution limit is R500,000 per person, meaning a couple could protect up to R1 million from tax.
• Medical aid credits: Medical aid contributions can reduce your tax through a medical tax credit. You can get R375 per month for yourself and your first dependent, plus R254 for each additional dependent. A family of four could save over R50,000 a year through this credit.
• Charitable donations: Donations to approved public benefit organisations can be deducted from taxable income, up to 10% of your annual income, if you have a Section 18A certificate.

Read also

SARS doubles VAT threshold to R2.3 million for South African small businesses

Her message ended simply:

"You're not broke. You're uninformed."

Nedbank explains legal ways to cut your tax bill

According to Nedbank, these are some of the approaches that need to be taken when it comes to your tax bill.

• Understand your tax and claim deductions
• File your tax return
• Save for retirement
• Use tax-free savings accounts
• Claim work-related expenses
• Claim charitable donations
• Track business travel
• Manage tax as a self-employed taxpayer

View the Instagram video below:

More Briefly News on Tax

• A South African tax expert warned taxpayers to carefully check their SARS auto-assessments, highlighting six common errors that could lead to incorrect refunds or tax payments.
• SARS introduced new travel-related tax rules requiring certain information from travellers entering or leaving South Africa, with the changes aimed at improving compliance and monitoring.
• A financial advisor explained how Bafana Bafana players may be taxed by SARS on FIFA-related earnings, breaking down the tax obligations that can apply to football income.

Source: Briefly News