What Taxes Do Authors Pay in South Africa?

Money from book sales is income — and SARS expects its share. Navigating your tax obligations as a self-published South African author is important from the start.

Whether you earn income from direct book sales, speaking fees, or any other author-related source, these are taxable income in South Africa and must be declared to SARS (South African Revenue Service).

For most self-published authors, income from writing is added to your total personal income and taxed at the applicable marginal rate. You file an annual income tax return (ITR12) and include all author-related income.

Authors can deduct legitimate business expenses against their author income, reducing taxable profit. Deductible expenses include: professional editing and proofreading; cover design and layout; website hosting and domain; author platform software; books purchased for research; a portion of home office costs; and travel to events and book launches.

When you engage Creative Books SA for editing, design, typesetting, or printing services, their invoices constitute legitimate business expenses that are deductible against your author income. Keep all receipts and invoices from your publishing production process.

Consult a tax practitioner familiar with creative industry income. Keeping meticulous records of all income and expenses from the start will make tax season significantly less stressful.