How to claim VAT back on till slips
A VAT vendor claims input tax from a till slip by keeping the slip, confirming it qualifies as a tax invoice for its amount, and entering its VAT in the return for the period. The rules are mechanical: under R50 the slip alone is proof enough, up to R5 000 an abridged tax invoice works, and above that you need a full invoice carrying your own details.
- 1Capture the slip. Scan it the day of the purchase, while every line is still legible.
- 2Check it qualifies. Confirm the supplier's VAT number, the date, a description, and VAT shown or stated as included. Above R5 000, request a full tax invoice with your details.
- 3Separate business from personal. Only supplies used for making taxable supplies count. Keep business purchases in their own account from the start.
- 4Sum the period. Total the VAT across qualifying slips for the VAT period, and keep the slips filed against that return for five years.
What disqualifies a slip
No VAT number, because the supplier is not a registered vendor. No description of the goods. A total with no VAT shown and no statement that it includes VAT. An amount over R5 000 on an ordinary till slip. Any of these turns a real business expense into an input claim that cannot survive verification.
Faded print disqualifies in practice rather than in law: a claim you cannot evidence is a claim you do not have. Thermal slips erase themselves, so the scan has to happen early.
Slipsort keeps every slip legible for as long as SARS can ask.
Scan in about a second, numbers read for you, one pack per month for your accountant.
Get Slipsort free on iPhoneKeeping the file audit-ready
SARS verification asks for the documents behind a period, sometimes years later. The workable shape is one bundle per period per account: every slip image, the extracted numbers, and the VAT total that went into the return.
That bundle is what a Slipsort pack is. The cover page sums the period's VAT input total and counts which slips qualify as valid tax invoices, and every slip page carries the full image next to its numbers. Verification becomes forwarding a PDF.
Quick answers
- Can I claim VAT on petrol slips?
- Fuel is zero-rated, so there is no VAT on the fuel itself to claim, though the slip still matters for income tax and logbook purposes. Shop purchases at the garage are standard-rated as usual.
- Do I need the original paper slip?
- SARS accepts electronic records. Keep a legible scan; keep the paper too if you like, but do not rely on it staying readable.