Disabled child expense and the South African Revenue Service

Abstract

As from the 2010 year of assessment, a taxpayer-parent caring for a disabled child can only deduct an expense necessarily incurred and paid in consequence of the child’s disability, if it also appears on the South African Revenue Service’s prescribed list of disability expenses. The aim of the research was to evaluate the completeness of this list. A questionnaire was developed to be used for semi-structured interviews with 20 parents of severely disabled children. These interviews provided real-life examples of expenses which do not appear on the list, but which seem to be necessarily incurred and paid in consequence of the relevant child’s disability. It was found that the South African Revenue Service should reconsider the completeness and clarity of the list from the perspective of a parent caring for a severely disabled child.