Section 23(m) and a Side Trade — The Exception Is the Trade, Not the Job

What 23(m) actually blocks

Deductions against remuneration (salary, wages, most employment income) are tightly limited. Software, courses, fuel to a fixed office, and a work phone on a salary-only year stay out. What still stands: 11F retirement, 18A, medical credits, and a narrow home office when the tests are met.

The side-trade opening

If you carry on a separate trade — freelance design, rental, e-hailing, a shop — expenses incurred in producing that income can be deducted under section 11 against that trade. The day-job costs remain 23(m). One Takealot box cannot serve both stories.

What “trade” needs to look like

Income, or a serious attempt at income, with records. A dormant “I might invoice” is not a trade. Losses can face section 20A ring-fencing on certain trades. Keep the invoices even when the year is small.

How we apply it

Your Taxzi profile (employed, plus a secondary trade or not) changes which lines enter the estimate. Marking a grocery mix as “for the side hustle” without side income will not pass a review. You confirm. You file. Read 23(m) in the Act and on sars.gov.za.

Questions

I issued one invoice in February. Is that a trade?

It can be a small trade. The costs you deduct must be for that invoice work, not for the day job.

Does a CIPRO company automatically beat 23(m)?

No. The company’s expenses are the company’s. Your salary from it is still remuneration in your hands.