The Swan Effect - Creating and Sustaining Your Financial Wellbeing

S5 E4 Your Side Hustle Needs A Tax System

Arthi Rabikrisson and Malika Petersen Season 5 Episode 4

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Side hustles feel like freedom until tax reality arrives and you realise every deposit is not fully spendable. In this episode cohosts Arthi and Malika break down the simple systems that keep you compliant with South African Revenue Service (SARS), clear on profit, and calm when filing season hits.

Listen to them explore: 

  • Why side hustle income is not always fully “spendable” 
  •  The difference between revenue, expenses, and profit
  •  Why organisation is not just a habit — it’s a financial strategy 
  •  The importance of separating personal and business money 
  •  What provisional tax means and when it may apply 
  •  The truth behind “just write it off” 
  •  The difference between income tax and VAT (and why people confuse them) 
  •  Updated VAT thresholds and what they mean for growing businesses 
  •  Why structure is not a status symbol — and what actually matters 
  •  The role of systems vs labels in building a real business


Find our more about the 20-minute money date and the Side Hustle SARS Clarity Checklist
📢Call to action

➡️Pick one thing from today’s checklist and do it in the next 24 hours. Just get it done. 
➡️Send this episode to that friend who needs a tax system.


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Thanks for listening!

— Arthi & Malika

Arthi Rabikrisson:

Your legacy isn't just about numbers, it's about the confidence that comes with knowing your wealth is expertly managed at old mutual wealth. We offer solutions that go beyond investment management. We're your trusted partner in achieving financial success together with your financial planner, we uncover what matters most to you, crafting a personalized plan tailored to your unique goals, backed by a team dedicated to your wealth journey. We provide innovative strategies in depth research and award winning investment expertise. Partner with us to take your wealth further with advice led personalized Wealth Management offering clients and financial planners a full suite of industry leading investment solutions. Visit www.oldmutual.co.za/wealth to learn more. Hi there. I'm Arthi Rabikrisson,

Malika Petersen:

hello. I'm Malika Peterson.

Arthi Rabikrisson:

Welcome to

Malika Petersen:

the swan effect podcast.

Arthi Rabikrisson:

We're your go to podcast to simplify the complexities of money management, investing and wealth management,

Malika Petersen:

so that you can gain confidence in your relationship with money and become financially literate, independent and free.

Arthi Rabikrisson:

That first step towards freedom is knowledge, and you can start with gaining that right now by listening to this upcoming episode. Hello, wonderful listeners joining us again on the swan effect podcast with this season, we're unpacking debt, death and taxes, and today we're specifically focusing on side hustles and taxes. And we made that link from our previous episode, so if you haven't actually listened to that yet, please go back and have a review. Hi, Malika. How are you?

Malika Petersen:

Hi Arthi. And welcome to our loyals and all of our new listeners. Welcome Now, if you've ever said it's just a side hustle or out, sort out this stack stuff later, right? I'm not worried about it. Or if you've ever heard someone say, No man, just register a company and you can write everything off. You need to stay with us, right? Because today, we are separating tax facts from tax fiction.

Arthi Rabikrisson:

I like that. Tax fiction. Oh, it's like we are decoding The X Files here, Malika, especially when it's related to our side income, all right? And what sort of side income do we mean? Everybody we're talking about what happens when extra money starts coming in? That could be from baking, braiding hair, consulting, content creation, even tutoring or creating events and managing them, as well as selling products online,

Malika Petersen:

yeah, because I think it's important to note side hustle culture sells the cool with it, or made it part. And you know, it's that money in the bank, invoice paid part. Oh, yeah, that you just got a new client alert. I like to call these the soft like, captions,

Arthi Rabikrisson:

you know, and no one then actually gives you or shares the hard reality part, the part where SARS, and that's for those who don't know and who are outside of South Africa, that's the South African revenue service is quietly watching the same deposits that you're celebrating,

Malika Petersen:

yes. And then one day you're sitting there confused, saying, but how is it possible that I even owe money I never, I never got to the part where I felt rich?

Arthi Rabikrisson:

Exactly. So today, Malika and I are going to unpack this tax reality of side hustles and small businesses in South Africa too, and we're going to look at what gets taxed, what the structure means, what people misunderstand about things like value added tax that and write offs, and what systems can actually help you stay compliant without becoming overwhelmed.

Malika Petersen:

Yeah, because at the swan effect podcast, our aim is transformation across multiple levels, right? Not just getting straight to making more money, right? We really want our followers and listeners to be able to keep more of your money to plan for it better, and not to be taken out by all the admin, right? So let's start with the feeling like we've been come to be known for the feeling, right, the people makes you money. So people usually begin with a side hustle because they're trying to get ahead. Maybe they want to pay off debt, or maybe they want a school fee breather, or maybe they're just funding a dream. And then tax enters the chat, and suddenly it feels like punishment for your ambition, right?

Arthi Rabikrisson:

Oh, Malika, that feeling is very real. I mean, I started my first side hustle because it was a fun, creative hobby that I realized I could get some money for. And you know, there was not going to be any PAYE, pay as you earn, being deducted like it does on my salary. So I felt like, you know, if that money landed in my account, it looked complete. It felt like it was all mine. But you know what? Here's what I actually learned. It's that all of that money that was coming in, not all of it was spendable,

Malika Petersen:

yeah, and I think that's a very important distinction. Money received is not always money available,

Arthi Rabikrisson:

exactly. And in South Africa, SARS works on the tax year that runs from the first of March to the end of February. So if you thinking about your money in the normal, traditional calendar year, meaning Jan to December, you can already start creating some blind spots for yourself.

Malika Petersen:

Okay, so I think it's important that we simplify this for listeners. There are three words you need to remember, revenue, expenses and profit. Now, revenue is what comes in. It's all of the money that comes in, right?

Arthi Rabikrisson:

Yes, yes.

Malika Petersen:

Expenses is basically what it costs you to earn that money, right? Anything that you needed to spend money on in order to be able to earn that money. Profit is what's left after those expenses. And generally in South Africa, income tax is about the taxable profit, not just the money landing in your bank account. So if you're not tracking your expenses properly, it can look like you've made more profit than you actually did, meaning that you could end up overpaying tax simply because you were just disorganized, right?

Arthi Rabikrisson:

Yes yes, which is why organization is just not in it's not a nice personality trait. It's actually a money strategy in you everyone, and honestly, speaking, Malika, I think it's also an emotional strategy, because when your business money and your personal money start getting mixed together, you actually don't know what's going on. And I think that's why one of the first habits that we're recommending at the swan effect podcast is that we have a separate account for side hustle money. Again, does not need to be anything fancy. We just need something that can create that separation.

Malika Petersen:

Absolutely, I agree. 100% a clean separation equals even cleaner thinking, right? Yes, yes. And then another habit Arthi that we do need to talk about is what I like to call a tax parking habit. So every time that money comes into that separate account that you created for your side hustle, move a portion of that money aside immediately before you celebrate, before you shop, before you tell yourself I deserve this right. Remember the analogy that I shared before, about three parts, this was a while back, right? You need to have save, spend and share pots, well, fourth side hustle. There's a fourth part, and that fourth part is called SARS.

Arthi Rabikrisson:

I love that we call we're going to call it the 4S pots system. And I mean, as Malika is saying, we're not going to give you a universal kind of percentage here, okay, because everyone's situation is going to be different, but it's the principle of what Malika is suggesting, is important not to treat the full deposit as free money, especially if you are potentially a provisional taxpayer, okay? And, and, and that's that's another interesting one that comes into the mix, right? Because if you go on to the SARS website, they explain to you what is provisional tax. There's a whole system around it called IRP six, and it's meant to help qualifying taxpayers to actually pay during the year, rather than taking this one giant hit much later, you know, at the tax season end. So feel free to go to the SARS website then, or even speak to your tax advisor. Please go and find out more, to find out if you may be illegible.

Malika Petersen:

I think what we saying to everyone here, Arthi that the real mind shift, or mindset shift, is that your side hustle may be small, but it already has a tax shadow, right? So let's go to the question that people love asking when they start and are settling into their side hustle, do I really need to register a business?

Arthi Rabikrisson:

Ooh, yeah, okay. And I even just want to reframe that question a little bit Malika by saying structure is not a status symbol.

Malika Petersen:

Yeah, please say that louder for the people who think that a logo and a bio update and a CIPC registration means that your business is now all sorted.

Arthi Rabikrisson:

absolutely. I will say it again. A name does not create a system. Everybody a system creates a system.

Malika Petersen:

That is such a swan effect way of saying it.

Arthi Rabikrisson:

it is. You know, in South Africa, people often operate in one of a few ways. Okay, so you've got an individual or a sole proprietor, as we call it. You've got a partnership that you could have with someone else or through a company, such as Proprietary Limited, or we say, Pty limited. Now each route comes with different admin, different responsibilities. There's cost implications as well, as well as very particular planning decisions too.

Malika Petersen:

So I think the simplest route for many people, you know starting out, is often the sole proprietor route, right?

Arthi Rabikrisson:

I mean, yes, in simple terms, you're tracking your business income. You're tracking your expenses, like you said, and obviously coming off with the profit that's going to be taxed, right? It can be quite easy to start there Malika, but you know what the danger is, is that people then become too casual, and suddenly your good intentions of not of keeping things separate, ends up becoming mixing everything together. So that's something to watch out for.

Malika Petersen:

And then, obviously, because the money is mixed , we started say things like, the business is doing okay. I think, you know, I can't tell you how many times I've actually h eard that from my network,

Arthi Rabikrisson:

exactly. And I mean, "I think" it's not a bookkeeping method.

Malika Petersen:

What about the Pty limited, you know? What about that?

Arthi Rabikrisson:

Yeah, okay, so now a company can definitely make a lot more sense when a business is growing, when you're recognizing, okay, there's a bit more risk involved here. I'm getting maybe bigger contracts, for example. Maybe you're even thinking about hiring, you know, getting more people in to help and assist, also very valuable if you're wanting a stronger legal and operational structure. But again, you know, sounds great. Might be very relevant. But again, that does not remove the admin everybody. In many ways, it actually increases the need to be disciplined.

Malika Petersen:

And I think that's the part that social media scope, you know, registering can create more to manage, not less in any way, shape or form, right and structural also then links to other questions, like whether provisional tax applies, whether that is becoming relevant, whether you know, a simplified regime, such as turnover tax may be worth exploring if you qualify. SARS says that turnover tax is intended for qualifying micro businesses, and it's basically designed to simplify compliance.

Arthi Rabikrisson:

Yeah. I mean, I'm just nodding my head as you're talking about these because I've been walking this journey with my business in the same way, the same with the same implications and questions that you just asking or giving us a bit of a view to look at. So Malika, I mean, what then should listeners ask themselves before rushing into any kind of formal registration?

Malika Petersen:

Yeah, that's a very important question. I mean, I think everyone needs to consider five key points here, right? Number one, is this income regular, or is it occasional? I almost want to replace the word occasional with sporadic, because occasional can happen often where sporadic is something that really you know. So says I want to use the word sporadic. Number two, is this income growing? Is this a growing business? Right? That's a very important point. Number 3, am I taking on risk? So when you start to think about you, you getting more clients, you're having to put contracts in place, you're having to think about staff and suppliers and debt ratios and all of those things. It's probably time to get a more structured or formal registration in place next, am I reinvesting into the business? A very important question, right? Because when you start to need to use more and more of your own personal money and put it into a business, it is important that you've got a very separate, formal structure to be able to define that. And then, do I need cleaner separation now? Because the numbers are becoming more meaningful, very important point. When it reaches that point, guys, you should probably go the formal route.

Arthi Rabikrisson:

Yeah, I really, I love these questions Malika, because, you know, just going through that kind of thinking, some people may already be saying, Okay, I don't actually need a complicated structure yet, right? But, I mean, again, other people are speaking and possibly giving you advice and things like that, so it can get a bit murky, right, in terms of what to do. And to be honest, you know, everyone, I think you just need a little bit of a spreadsheet, a little bit of a filing habit, and then, of course, maybe a simple separate account, like we said, where you can keep proper records. And again, you know, a lot of our banking apps have this capability to do that for you as well, right? Keeping that money aside, as we suggested, the fourth s part, and then also just doing a quick monthly profit check, all of these little habits can help tie it in together for you,

Malika Petersen:

yeah. And look, it's not glamorous, right? I mean, spreadsheet is not the most glamorous things in the world, but it is a strong way of keeping track, and that's what's important. And I mean, I guess that's the theme again, right? Are you building something that can hold weight or something that collapses the minute SARS starts to ask questions.

Arthi Rabikrisson:

Oh, absolutely, you know, and also to think about, can we avoid the drama everybody, right? You know, based on these kind of practical questions that we've been offering now and thoughts that we've been offering now, okay, but Malika now, I think, speaking about drama, as I've just said, Okay, we have a couple of phrases that we tend to use here in South Africa as well, and maybe other countries too, right? But the one that that's coming to mind is the phrase, "just write it off".

Malika Petersen:

Yeah? So honestly, I mean that particular phrase has done some damage, some real damage. People say it like it's a cheat code, right? As if one invoice turns your whole lifestyle into business development, right?

Arthi Rabikrisson:

Oh, it's so, so true. Okay, so let's ground it for you everybody a deductible expense meaning a genuine expense. It's not the same thing as a free expense, okay, so again, the key word here is genuine. It needs to be genuinely connected to the business, and of course, allowed under the rules and the guidance that we get from our revenue service and must be supported properly at the end of the day, if I've spent 1000 Rand, I've spent 1000 rands right,

Malika Petersen:

correct. I mean, I've not magically saved 1000 rands

Arthi Rabikrisson:

That's right, that's right.

Malika Petersen:

And I think the tax benefit, if one applies, it is only a portion of that

Arthi Rabikrisson:

exactly. I mean, this deduction may reduce your taxable profit, but it does not make reckless spending wise everybody.

Malika Petersen:

Now, that's another one of those gems that we need to put on a t shirt, right? You see this t shirt hustle is, I mean, it's been happening. It's up and running.

Arthi Rabikrisson:

No, it's not up and running. I'm working on it. But I've noted the slogan, okay, but, I mean, I guess just to elaborate then on what I said, everybody, people confuse income tax and VAT all the time, and they're not the same conversation. Everyone.

Malika Petersen:

Yeah, that's a big one. I mean, we get that we get that comment often, so I think let's take the time to explain that simply, yes, income tax is about taxable profit, right? In the context of a business, it's the tax on all of the profit that you make, vat or value added tax is a separate system altogether, right? So if you're a VAT vendor, you generally charge VAT on all of your taxable sales, and you can claim that on your qualifying business purchases, then you basically pay size the difference. So currently that is 15%

Arthi Rabikrisson:

Absolutely,

Malika Petersen:

yeah. And I think you know the big 2026, update, here is important. SARS says that from the first of April 2026 compulsory VAT registration applies on annual taxable supplies exceeding 2.3 million, and then there's a voluntary registration threshold at 120,000 I think that's very important.

Arthi Rabikrisson:

It's very important, and it's quite a

Malika Petersen:

Yeah, because that is how cash flow gets notch up from what the previous kind of regime, right? Which means, you know, listeners, you really need to be careful don't think about like what I just said. There's that. There's

Arthi Rabikrisson:

idea that we're going to put forward, these old threshold numbers that you may have had in your mind about three years ago. These have been updated, so keep on top of it. which is the "20 minute money date" idea, okay, I think it's pretty self-explanatory. But think about it, just once a week, you're saving your receipts, you're labeling your transactions, and then you just adding one line that says, What is this for? Couldn't be easier.

Malika Petersen:

I absolutely love that. I love that, right? And it's a simple habit that offers big protection. Now let's bring this to life with an example that people will recognize.

Arthi Rabikrisson:

Okay, okay, well, here, let's start with, let's take someone who's working full time and maybe does make up on the weekends, as they say.

Malika Petersen:

Very relatable.

Arthi Rabikrisson:

Yeah. Okay, so then money comes in. It's an EFT, yoco payment. You know, we've got all these lovely, easy ways to get money in, right? Maybe it's even cash, okay? Sometimes the deposits come into the same account as your salary, right? And let's say our person is a lady. She's buying products, paying for transportation, maybe even paying an assistant for, you know, certain occasions she can't get to. Maybe it's quite busy, so somebody else is helping, but she's not really tracking anything in one place.

Malika Petersen:

So according to her, the side hustle would feel profitable because money is still moving right?

Arthi Rabikrisson:

Yeah, absolutely. So now let's say she actually she totals now those actual product costs, and like I mentioned, the admin, the transport stock, and maybe even some money that she should have set aside for tax. Suddenly, that picture is changing. She may still be profitable, but not at that level that she imagined initially.

Malika Petersen:

Yeah, and I think that's such a key point, because like we said earlier on, revenue can feel like success, but profit actually tells you what the real story?

Arthi Rabikrisson:

Ah, absolutely. Now compare that. Compare her situation to someone who's doing exactly the same work. Uses one account, one invoice trail, one simple spreadsheet and keeps moving money into a tax bucket every time she gets paid.

Malika Petersen:

Yeah, same hustle, very different stress level, yeah.

Arthi Rabikrisson:

I mean, same same talent, different system, right? That's what we were saying.

Malika Petersen:

And I mean, I think that's often. That's the difference between I have a side hustle and I'm building a bid, right?

Arthi Rabikrisson:

Exactly, all right? And Mallika maybe. Let's consider another story of a fictitious characters, characters, and we'll call them Sam and Zintle.

Malika Petersen:

Cool, all right,

Arthi Rabikrisson:

So Sam and Zintle both make the same side income in a year. You know, you could picture any type of work, right? Same kind of work, same kind of revenue. Okay, so let's assume that Sam keeps every deposit, like bonus money. in his personal account, scattered

Malika Petersen:

Okay, records, missing receipts. Basically, there is mild denial that there's a big move and that it needs to be treated as such. And look again, it's very human, human nature. Yeah, very right. So then filing season comes, and Sam is kind of reverse engineering an entire year using bank statements, screenshots, WhatsApps, anything that they get paid, right? Whereas Zintle has a separate account, has basic tracking via a spreadsheet, has kept all of the receipt and is in the habit of setting money aside as it comes.

Arthi Rabikrisson:

I can already picture this, right? I can imagine, okay. And then on top of that, everybody, add to the mix that perhaps zintle also realizes early that she may be a provisional taxpayer. So instead of waiting for pain in order to get going, to get action going, she actually starts planning around the relevant payment cycle using the rules of the IRP six process,

Malika Petersen:

right? And then obviously the business grows, right, bigger, clients, more consistency. So she checks where the vac is becoming relevant before it becomes an emergency,

Arthi Rabikrisson:

exactly. So it's not the structure that actually saves Zintle, in my mind, it's again, the system that saves her.

Malika Petersen:

Yeah. And I think that's, you know, this whole episode in one sentence, right? And as for Sam, well, it's likely to be panic stations, shock, right from one to the next. And you know, do you really want what Sam is going through? Listeners? Or would you prefer to have the entire experience?

Arthi Rabikrisson:

I would have to say sorry. Sam zintle is my kind of partner. I love I love these examples, and I hope it's really tangible now for our listeners around you know what could be potential scenarios and what's our better ways to actually approach it? So Malika, I think it's time for our little segment everyone that we're putting in called "Ask the swan"

Malika Petersen:

Okay,

Arthi Rabikrisson:

and simply put, this is where we share questions with you listeners that you can take away and you journal on. And of course, afterwards, you are more than welcome to send it through to us just to share where your thinking is going, or even just to kind of have a really honest money conversation with yourself.

Malika Petersen:

Yeah, I'm so excited about this thing. So question one, ask yourself if my if your side hustle actually profitable, or are you just keeping busy?

Arthi Rabikrisson:

Question two, if SARS my revenue service asked me to prove this expense, could I do it calmly, easily?

Malika Petersen:

Question 3am, I treating every payment like income, or am I setting some of it aside for TAP?

Arthi Rabikrisson:

Question four, do I actually know whether provisional tax applies to me?

Malika Petersen:

Question five, is that something I may need to think about in the next 12 months?

Arthi Rabikrisson:

And you know, I think these are such beautiful questions, and I want all of our listeners to be quite honest when you answer. I mean, I could already see with Question three, question four, we might already be getting into vague territory with answering some of that for you. So on the back of these questions that we've shared with you everybody, Malika and I are also going to offer you a practical checklist, which we are calling the "Side Hustle SARS Clarity Checklist", okay, which you can complete within the next seven days. And I think we've been quite generous with the the time here. Mallika, no, absolutely. Let's go for it, for the for the Listen,

Malika Petersen:

right guys, so why separate your money, open a dedicated account, and at very least, you need to use a dedicated card or system. Okay. Number two, choose one tracking method, whether that's a spreadsheet a notebook app, it doesn't matter. Just pick one, though, so that everything is in one place. Number three, create one home for your proof. So one little folder on your laptop, one little folder in your drawer. I don't people still have paper folders, but let's assume they do one little folder on the cloud, all of your receipts, all of your invoices, any slips, you know, make sure that it's all in 1k.

Arthi Rabikrisson:

Excellent, excellent. So the fourth one on your checklist, start a SARS jar, okay, from your next three payments or the money that you're receiving, move something aside immediately. Right? Done and dusted. Let's do it. Number five is, how about you do one 20 minute money date, huh? Check what came in, what went out, and what is actually profit. I think that's going to be very, very, very useful. And then six, login to efiling right? We've got that lovely efiling system. Make sure your details are all in order. SARS often says provisional tax returns are filed and managed through e-filing, making it easier. So actually, let's just go and do the check for ourselves, who qualifies.

Malika Petersen:

yeah

Arthi Rabikrisson:

or not.

Malika Petersen:

And I think if everybody could do these six things, right, you already ahead of where many people start. And I think with that Arthi, we're at our parting shots again, the what we will be. '

Arthi Rabikrisson:

You know, it always surprises me how quickly we come to the end of the conversation, because we having such a good time talking about these things. Okay, I would say I would want to tie it in about what we're talking about in terms of a system that saves us, right with what we've already talked about in previous seasons around legacy. Okay? It's also something we're going to be talking about deliberately in upcoming episodes as well, around the death portion, but in in effect, we're talking legacy Now, remember, everybody, legacy is not only about having large wealth one day, it's. It's also about the systems that you build while things are still small, because, as Malika said, building small habits scale, but unfortunately, also small mistakes can scale. So let's remember that, right? It works both ways. What would be your parting shot? Malika,

Malika Petersen:

yeah, I think you know, it's important that you if you are building something, whether it's a side hustle or it's already a fully fledged business, right? Dean, records are a form of dignity, you know, and clarity is, I mean, we've said this before. Clarity is a form of freedom which will help grow your wealth over time. So I think for me, my parting shot is a call to action. Listeners, pick one thing from today's checklist and do it in the next 24 hours. Just get it done.

Arthi Rabikrisson:

Yes, I love that. Love the call to action. In fact, you know what? I'm going to add an additional small one. Send this episode to that friend who is always posting about "new venture loading", but still has receipts, living in a handbag, a glove box, you know, 10 different screenshots of different things. Yes, please share it. Yeah.

Malika Petersen:

I mean, imagine, imagine if that phone crashes and things aren't backed up. I mean, boy, oh boy, that's just that's a nightmare in real time.

Arthi Rabikrisson:

Oh my gosh, yes. Save yourself. Everybody. Save a friend too, as well, just like our Rescue Rangers, Chip and Dale, you remember that?

Malika Petersen:

Oh, my word. I see now. I've got that theme tune in my head before I start singing out loud, I'm going to sign off. Ciao for now, everyone, okay.

Arthi Rabikrisson:

Ciao for now, thanks for joining us. We hope you found these ideas and guidance useful. We're both seasoned in the investments industry. Mallika is at the coalface of how, where and why people invest the way they do.

Malika Petersen:

I certainly am. And you Arthi, you've witnessed different types of investor behaviors around money, too, and now work as a global award winning coach to free us from the mindsets that stop us from becoming financially free.

Arthi Rabikrisson:

Do Subscribe, Share and write a review or send us comments. We would love to hear from you.

Malika Petersen:

Catch you on the next episode

Arthi Rabikrisson:

of the Swan effect podcast.

Malika Petersen:

Bye for now.

Arthi Rabikrisson:

Ciao.