This course helps bookkeepers confidently determine which expenses allow input VAT deductions, which do not, and how to capture and support VAT expense claims in a SARS-ready way. It focuses on practical decision-making: verifying supplier VAT status, checking tax invoices, identifying blocked or risky input VAT categories, handling mixed-use expenses, and ensuring VAT claims reconcile cleanly to the VAT201 and VAT control accounts.
Module 1: Input VAT Deductions — The Big Picture
Content: What “input VAT” is, why SARS scrutinises expense claims, and how input VAT ties into the VAT201 and VAT control accounts.
Module 2: The 5-Step Bookkeeper Check for Claiming VAT on Expenses
Content: A practical decision workflow: Is the supplier a vendor? Is the expense business-related? Is it taxable (not exempt/out-of-scope)? Do you have a valid tax invoice? Is it blocked or partly blocked?
Module 3: Tax Invoices and Proof — The Non-Negotiables
Content: What a valid tax invoice must contain, dealing with missing/incorrect invoices, alternative proof in practice, and building an expense support file that stands up to SARS queries.
Module 4: Everyday Expense Categories — What’s Usually Claimable
Content: Typical claimable expenses for vendors (rent where taxable, utilities, office supplies, professional fees, maintenance, software subscriptions—depending on facts) and common coding traps.
Module 5: Blocked or Restricted Input VAT — Where Bookkeepers Get Caught
Content: High-risk categories (entertainment, staff perks, private use, certain passenger vehicle-related costs in principle), and how to identify and code these correctly to avoid over-claiming.
Module 6: Mixed-Use Expenses — Partial Claims and Clean Splits
Content: Phone/internet, home office-type costs, vehicles/travel-related costs, shared assets—how to establish a reasonable split, keep evidence, and apply consistent treatment.
Module 7: Supplier Issues — When the Invoice VAT Can’t Be Claimed
Content: Non-vendor suppliers, incorrect VAT numbers, foreign suppliers, VAT not charged, and what to do when the supplier invoice doesn’t support an input VAT claim.
Module 8: Credit Notes, Discounts, and Adjustments on Expenses
Content: How supplier credit notes affect input VAT, preventing duplicate claims, handling returns, and keeping adjustments traceable and reconciled.
Module 9: Posting and Reconciliation — Making Sure Claims Flow Correctly
Content: VAT coding into the GL, how to prevent VAT report distortions, reconciling input VAT to VAT control accounts, and spotting unusual spikes before submission.
Module 10: SARS Query-Proofing Input VAT Claims
Content: The common reasons SARS disallows input VAT (insufficient proof, blocked categories, timing issues, mixed-use errors), and a practical checklist to reduce audit and verification pain.
• Bookkeepers and accounts clerks capturing purchases and expenses
• Junior accountants reviewing input VAT claims before VAT201 submission
• Finance managers overseeing VAT risk and controls
• Small business owners doing their own bookkeeping who want fewer VAT mistakes
