[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":246},["ShallowReactive",2],{"lesson-\u002Flessons\u002F2-tfsa":3,"lesson-next-\u002Flessons\u002F2-tfsa":132},{"id":4,"title":5,"body":6,"description":95,"duration":96,"extension":97,"meta":98,"navigation":99,"order":89,"path":100,"quiz":101,"seo":128,"sitemap":129,"stem":130,"__hash__":131},"lessons\u002Flessons\u002F2-tfsa.md","Lesson 2: The TFSA",{"type":7,"value":8,"toc":87},"minimark",[9,13,18,26,30,58,61,65,71,75,78],[10,11,12],"p",{},"The tax-free savings account is the most generous deal SARS will ever offer you: money that grows completely outside the tax system, forever.",[14,15,17],"h2",{"id":16},"the-deal","The deal",[10,19,20,21,25],{},"You contribute money you've already paid tax on. In exchange, everything inside the account — interest, dividends, capital growth — is ",[22,23,24],"strong",{},"never taxed again",". No tax while it grows, no tax when you withdraw. For decades of compounding, that's an enormous head start.",[14,27,29],{"id":28},"the-limits","The limits",[31,32,33,40,45,52],"ul",{},[34,35,36,39],"li",{},[22,37,38],{},"R36,000 per tax year"," (1 March to end February)",[34,41,42],{},[22,43,44],{},"R500,000 over your lifetime",[34,46,47,48,51],{},"Both counted ",[22,49,50],{},"per person, across all providers"," — two accounts share one limit",[34,53,54,55],{},"Go over and SARS taxes the excess at a flat ",[22,56,57],{},"40%",[10,59,60],{},"Unused annual room expires each February; it doesn't roll over.",[14,62,64],{"id":63},"the-rule-that-surprises-everyone","The rule that surprises everyone",[10,66,67,70],{},[22,68,69],{},"Withdrawals never restore contribution room."," Put in R36,000, take out R10,000, and you cannot top it back up this year — and your lifetime cap is permanently R10,000 more used. The TFSA punishes in-and-out money. It rewards one behaviour: contribute, leave it, repeat for 20+ years.",[14,72,74],{"id":73},"what-goes-inside","What goes inside",[10,76,77],{},"A TFSA is a wrapper, not an investment. Inside it you choose what to hold — cash, bonds, or equity ETFs. The tax break is most powerful on investments with high expected growth held for long periods, because that's where the most tax would otherwise leak away. What you pick is a personal decision — the wrapper works the same either way.",[10,79,80,81,86],{},"Track your room across providers with the ",[82,83,85],"a",{"href":84},"\u002Ftools\u002Ftfsa","TFSA tracker",".",{"title":88,"searchDepth":89,"depth":89,"links":90},"",2,[91,92,93,94],{"id":16,"depth":89,"text":17},{"id":28,"depth":89,"text":29},{"id":63,"depth":89,"text":64},{"id":73,"depth":89,"text":74},"South Africa's best tax break: how tax-free savings accounts work and the rules that matter.","5 min","md",{},true,"\u002Flessons\u002F2-tfsa",[102,111,120],{"question":103,"options":104,"answer":109,"explanation":110},"What are the TFSA contribution limits?",[105,106,107,108],"R36,000 per year and R500,000 lifetime","R30,000 per year, unlimited lifetime","R500,000 per year","There are no limits",0,"R36,000 per tax year and R500,000 over your lifetime — counted across all your providers combined.",{"question":112,"options":113,"answer":118,"explanation":119},"You contribute R40,000 in one tax year. What happens?",[114,115,116,117],"Nothing — limits are just guidelines","SARS taxes the R4,000 excess at 40%","The excess rolls into next year automatically","Your account is closed",1,"Over-contributions are taxed at a flat 40% — R1,600 on that R4,000. The limits apply to you as a person, across every provider.",{"question":121,"options":122,"answer":89,"explanation":127},"You withdraw R10,000 from your TFSA. Your contribution room:",[123,124,125,126],"Comes back next month","Comes back next tax year","Is gone for good — withdrawals never restore room","Doubles","Withdrawals permanently use up room, both annual and lifetime. That's why the TFSA is for long-term money, not an emergency fund.",{"title":5,"description":95},{"loc":100},"lessons\u002F2-tfsa","sG6JVHULfdRdweAVM2cW42z_CQCzOQusv_lQWT7YRGs",{"id":133,"title":134,"body":135,"description":213,"duration":96,"extension":97,"meta":214,"navigation":99,"order":215,"path":216,"quiz":217,"seo":242,"sitemap":243,"stem":244,"__hash__":245},"lessons\u002Flessons\u002F3-retirement.md","Lesson 3: Retirement & the RA",{"type":7,"value":136,"toc":207},[137,140,142,149,152,156,159,177,180,184,192,196],[10,138,139],{},"Retirement feels irrelevant at 25. That's exactly why the maths works so absurdly well at 25.",[14,141,17],{"id":16},[10,143,144,145,148],{},"Retirement contributions — pension, provident fund, or your own RA — are ",[22,146,147],{},"deducted from your taxable income",", up to 27.5% of income (max R350,000\u002Fyear). SARS effectively pays part of every contribution at your marginal rate: at 26%, a R1,000 contribution costs you R740. At 41%, it costs R590.",[10,150,151],{},"The trade: the money is locked away, and withdrawals at retirement are taxed — usually at a lower rate than you paid while working. You're arbitraging your own tax rates across time.",[14,153,155],{"id":154},"the-two-pot-system","The two-pot system",[10,157,158],{},"Since September 2024, contributions split automatically:",[31,160,161,171],{},[34,162,163,166,167,170],{},[22,164,165],{},"One-third → savings pot",": withdrawable ",[22,168,169],{},"once per tax year"," (min R2,000), but taxed at your marginal rate — an expensive break-glass option.",[34,172,173,176],{},[22,174,175],{},"Two-thirds → retirement pot",": locked until retirement, must buy an income when you get there.",[10,178,179],{},"The system exists because people used to cash out entire pensions when changing jobs. Best practice: pretend the savings pot doesn't exist.",[14,181,183],{"id":182},"why-starting-early-is-cheating","Why starting early is cheating",[10,185,186,187,191],{},"Compounding is exponential: money invested at 25 has ~40 years to double, and double, and double again. A rough rule — every R1 invested in your twenties does the work of R3–R4 invested in your forties. The person who saves R1,500\u002Fmonth from 25 to 35 and then ",[188,189,190],"em",{},"stops"," often retires with more than the person who saves R1,500\u002Fmonth from 35 to 65.",[14,193,195],{"id":194},"your-move","Your move",[10,197,198,199,202,203,86],{},"If your employer offers a fund with a ",[22,200,201],{},"match",", take every rand of it — it's a guaranteed 100% return. Beyond that, see what a contribution would do to your tax in the ",[82,204,206],{"href":205},"\u002Ftools\u002Fra","RA calculator",{"title":88,"searchDepth":89,"depth":89,"links":208},[209,210,211,212],{"id":16,"depth":89,"text":17},{"id":154,"depth":89,"text":155},{"id":182,"depth":89,"text":183},{"id":194,"depth":89,"text":195},"How retirement saving actually works in South Africa: the tax deduction, the two-pot system, and why starting early is unfair (in your favour).",{},3,"\u002Flessons\u002F3-retirement",[218,226,234],{"question":219,"options":220,"answer":118,"explanation":225},"How much of your income can you deduct through retirement contributions?",[221,222,223,224],"10%, capped at R100,000 a year","27.5%, capped at R350,000 a year","50%, uncapped","Retirement contributions aren't deductible","Up to 27.5% of taxable income or remuneration, capped at R350,000 per year — across pension, provident and RA contributions combined.",{"question":227,"options":228,"answer":89,"explanation":233},"Your marginal tax rate is 26%. What does a R1,000 RA contribution really cost you?",[229,230,231,232],"R1,000","R1,260","About R740","Nothing","SARS effectively refunds your marginal rate: 26% of R1,000 is R260 back, so the contribution costs you about R740.",{"question":235,"options":236,"answer":118,"explanation":241},"Under the two-pot system, new contributions are split:",[237,238,239,240],"Half accessible, half locked","One-third to a savings pot you can tap once a tax year, two-thirds locked until retirement","Everything accessible any time","Everything locked until age 65","One-third goes to the savings pot (withdrawable once per tax year, taxed at your marginal rate), two-thirds to the retirement pot, locked until retirement.",{"title":134,"description":213},{"loc":216},"lessons\u002F3-retirement","dP6nmaZt5jbL5EvAAUsquurdhSIAAUsEkes0DqQCqt4",1785421697506]