Many shy away from dealing with Income Tax as part of the financial planning process when it must be the starting point. Not only must it be the starting point, but it must be considered throughout the process and every time the planning is reviewed or when changes are recommended.
Income Tax offers many opportunities to financial planners, advisers and other professionals, but also pitfalls if one is not knowledgeable and skilled in the area of Income Tax. Income Tax is the one area where changes are introduced every year, therefore it is important to stay up to date with these and to understand how such changes impact current planning and structures.
The biggest pitfall of all is ignoring income tax altogether. The second biggest pitfall is using marginal tax rates to account for income tax in the planning process.
Income Tax is also the area that most students struggle the most with when completing their financial planning and accounting studies.
What to expect
This course focuses on Personal Income Tax and specifically how it impacts and is impacted by, Financial Planning. This course will equip you to do 4 things:
- Correctly calculate a client’s income tax for a specific year;
- In a practical manner, determine the impact of a Financial Plan (or different scenarios) on a client’s tax position;
- Identify Financial Planning Opportunities from a client’s tax assessment; and
- Make informed recommendations.
As part of the program, you will receive:
- Personal Income Tax for Financial Planning Handbook (PDF Download)
- Video Lessons
- Examples to help you understand the concepts more easily
- Practical Case Studies
- Challenges to help you gauge your progress
- Downloadable templates
Learning Outcomes / Objectives
- Identify opportunities to structure a client’s remuneration in a tax efficient manner;
- Understand the impact of different types of investments on the client’s tax position and vice versa;
- Understand the impact of risk strategies on the client’s tax position;
- Calculate the tax payable by a client for a given tax year for different scenarios;
- Know, understand and apply the Anti Avoidance Measures;
- Know and understand the latest tax changes (both implemented and proposed);
- Determine the maximum allowable deduction for Retirement Fund Contributions;
- Understand and utilise excess rollover contributions;
- Calculate and apply Medical Aid Tax credits correctly;
- Assist clients with Travel Allowances to determine how much they should ideally receive annually;
- Company Car Fringe Benefit Value Calculations;
- Employer Contributions and how it is treated;
- Calculate Tax on Retirement Fund Lump Sums.
Pre-requisites
- Basic understanding of Income Tax will be beneficial;
- Good understanding of financial products;
- Eagerness to learn.
Who must enroll in the course
- Financial Planners & Advisers;
- Accountants
- Bookkeepers
- Tax Consultants
- Broker Consultants who want to provide enhanced value to their panel;
- Paraplanners;
- Sales and Branch Managers;
- Franchise Principals;
- Key Individuals;
- Support staff that helps with the Financial Planning process;
- Students studying an NQF5, 6, 7 or 8 qualification in Wealth Management / Financial Planning.
Difficulty Level
The course starts off with some basics and it quickly builds from there to an intermediate and advanced level.
The course is rated as Intermediate/Advanced, as it is expected that you have a basic understanding of the subject already. You will greatly benefit from this course and have more knowledge and skills to grow your practice and to increase the value you offer your clients. We go into detail and therefore this is not an introductory course. It is an intermediate/advanced course that includes some introductory elements.
CPD Points
CPD can be claimed for all our programs. Our programs comply with all the requirements for Fit and Proper with the FSCA as well as the Financial Planning Institute. Therefore, CPD may be claimed for both purposes.
- Total CPD points on successful completion: 6.5
- Approval number: FPI190500118
