Can a salaried employee claim a work laptop?

Usually no, if you have no separate trade. Section 23(m) blocks most employment expenses.

Can I still claim my retirement annuity?

Yes. Section 11F is one of the deductions that still applies to employees.

Deductions · 8 min

Section 23(m) — What a Salaried Employee Can Still Claim

If you only earn a salary, software, fuel, and Takealot are not deductions. Here is what the Act still allows.27 September 2026 All articles

The gate

Section 23(m) of the Income Tax Act limits deductions against remuneration. If you are an employee with no separate trade, most “work” costs on your bank statement — laptop, phone contract, Uber to the office, courses — do not reduce taxable income. Taxzi treats that year as salaried-only and keeps those lines out of the estimate.

What still counts

Section 11F retirement contributions (pension, provident, retirement annuity) within the 27.5% / R430,000 cap for the 2027 year of assessment. Section 18A donations to an approved public benefit organisation, with a valid certificate, capped at 10% of taxable income. Section 6A and 6B medical tax credits. A home office that is a dedicated room used regularly and exclusively for work, and for employees is typically your main workplace because the employer does not provide an office. Interpretation Note 28: from the 2023 year of assessment, mortgage interest is not part of an employee home-office claim.

Travel is not automatic

A travel deduction against a travel allowance needs the allowance on the IRP5 and a logbook. Commuting from home to a fixed office is not business travel. No allowance and no commission/trade — no vehicle claim.

Salary plus a side trade

If you have a real second trade (freelance, rental, gig work), expenses incurred in producing that income can sit against that trade under section 11(a). Job costs are still 23(m). Buying a laptop on Takealot and calling it “the job” does not convert a salary year into a trade year. Keep the side-income invoices.

How Taxzi uses this

Your tax profile (employed, no secondary trade) turns 23(m) on for the live report — not only at first analysis. Claiming a mixed-retail line with a note still will not put it into a salaried-only total.

Questions

Can a salaried employee claim a work laptop?: Usually no, if you have no separate trade. Section 23(m) blocks most employment expenses.
Can I still claim my retirement annuity?: Yes. Section 11F is one of the deductions that still applies to employees.

Disclaimer: This is general guidance based on the South African Income Tax Act and published SARS Interpretation Notes as at the 2026/2027 year of assessment (1 March 2026 – 28 February 2027). It is not professional tax advice. Deductibility depends on your facts. Confirm current figures on sars.gov.za before you file.

Find the deductible expenses in your bank statements

Upload bank statements. Taxzi flags lines that may qualify under SARS rules. Mixed shops stay out until you say what they were. You confirm every claim. This is guidance — not a filed return.

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