A research aid for South African tax.
A research aid retrieves the authorities and drafts a working set you can check. Taxbot is that aid for South African practices: plain-language questions, answers cited to the Income Tax Act, SARS guidance and case law. It is not a filing service and it is not a signed opinion. Verify before you file or rely. Not legal advice.
Ask your first tax question free What tax research help includes
What the aid does
- Takes a tax question in ordinary language, including a section number if you have one.
- Retrieves from the Acts, SARS interpretation notes and guides, and the cases.
- Answers with the authorities attached, so the working set can go in a practice file.
- Keeps client documents off the shared research corpus.
Use Speed when you need the current-year provision or a rate. Use Reasoning when the answer is a mix of statute and judgment — a general deduction that turns on capital or revenue is the usual case. Balanced sits between them for work that needs more than a quick lookup and less than a full mixed-authority pass.
What a research aid does not do
- It does not submit a SARS return, make a payment, or stand in for eFiling.
- It does not register as your tax practitioner or sign tax advice.
- It does not turn a draft into an assessment. You verify the citation before you rely on the sentence next to it.
- It is not built as a consumer refund chatbot. The audience is a practice: independent tax practitioners, sole CAs, boutique tax counsel, SAICA / SAIPA / SAIT members, and mid-tier firms in South Africa.
How to use the working set
- Read the section the answer relies on. If the year is wrong, the conclusion is wrong.
- Open the SARS note or guide it names. If it names none, ask whether SARS has published one.
- Open the case before you repeat a ratio in a client letter.
- Hand the checked set to the registered practitioner or adviser who will sign — Taxbot does not file on SARS.
More on the research job itself: tax research help. A personal “where do I start with SARS” question: help with tax.
Common questions
What is a tax research aid?
A tax research aid retrieves the authorities on a question and drafts a working set you can check. It does not replace reading the source, it does not sign advice, and it does not file a return. Taxbot is that aid for South African practices, at taxbot.co.za.
What does the Taxbot research aid cite?
The South African Acts (including the Income Tax Act, the VAT Act and the Tax Administration Act), SARS interpretation notes, guides and rulings, and case law. Speed is for a current-year provision or rate. Reasoning is for a question that needs the statute and the cases together. Client files never join the research corpus.
Does a research aid file my SARS return?
No. Taxbot does not submit returns, make payments, or act as SARS eFiling. Calculators and drafts are not assessments. File on SARS, or have a registered tax practitioner file, after you have verified the research.
Who is this research aid built for?
Independent tax practitioners, sole CAs, boutique tax counsel, SAICA / SAIPA / SAIT members, and mid-tier firms in South Africa. It is a practice tool. It is not a DIY-taxpayer, freelancer or SME product.