Charitable giving is good for your soul – and your wallet, thanks to Section 18A

Did you know that when you make a donation to a registered charity like the Durban & Coast SPCA, you receive a Section 18A Certificate – which you can submit with your tax return to claim a rebate from SARS?

How much can you save?

How much you can claim depends on how much give, and how much you earned. For example, if you earn R25 000 per month, your taxable income for the year would be R300 000. The tax man will allow you to claim up to 10% – or R30 000 – in charitable donations. So if you gave R30 000 to charity during the year, your taxable income would drop to R270 000.

However, you cannot claim more than R100 000 back in charitable donations, even if this is less than 10% of your taxable income for the year.

In these examples, R30 000 to R100 000 is the maximum you could claim. But any amount you donate – R500, R1 000, etc – reduces your taxable income, leaving you with less tax to pay.

Wouldn’t you rather help abused, neglected or abandoned animals than pay more to SARS?

How do you claim?

Our SPCA is a registered Public Benefit Organisation (PBO) which means we are authorised by SARS to issue Section 18A Tax Certificates in return for qualifying donations.

As an individual, you need to be a South African taxpayer to claim your rebate, and provide us with details like your full name, address, email address, phone number, ID number and income tax number. For donations by an organisation or company, we need the company name (and T/A name if different) and the company registration name.

If you make more than one donation to the Durban & Coast SPCA during the tax year, they’ll all be included on the certificate so you only have to submit one document with your tax return to claim your rebate. If you don’t receive your tax certificate, just email our office at info@spcadbn.org.za with your details and we’ll sort this out for you.

Can I claim on adoption fees and clinic payments made to the SPCA?

Unfortunately not. You cannot qualify for a Section 18A Certificate for any payment where you received something in return. The SARS rebate is intended to encourage philanthropic support for organisations that render services for the public good. It’s like a ‘thank you’ from the government for caring about homeless animals and helping to provide shelter and care for them, so they are not left to roam the streets.

Not all charitable organisations are authorised by SARS to issue Section 18A Certificates. So before you make a donation, you should enquire about the organisation’s Section 18A status, if you want to be able to claim a tax rebate.

Help protect animals

All donations to the Durban & Coast SPCA go towards providing shelter, food and veterinary care for homeless animals, rescuing animals from cruelty and neglect, and getting lost and abandoned pets back into loving, forever homes.

You can be sure your donation will be received with gratitude, and make all the difference to a suffering dog or cat. Plus, you will get a little something back when it’s tax time as a reward for your kindness to animals.