As a forex trader who is making annual profit you need to pay taxes. Paying taxes on binary options and forex trading should be conducted properly.
To know the exact category under trader’s earning fall into, check policy of taxation in South Africa. It is advised to contact tax adviser to make sure all tax liability are conducted properly.
Taxes on binary options are filed alongside with other earned income in the past year. South African traders first have to determine their overall income per year and afterwards they can see tax bracket they fall into, because for each category, a different tax rate is paid.
To pay taxes, proper documentation has to be delivered. Traders have to complete an Application for Registration as a Taxpayer.
Our advice is to consult a tax specialist who can assist traders in South Africa to determine tax liability.
*Legal Disclaimer: Binary Options South Africa https://www.binaryoptions.org.za/ website is not official site of Tax Administration nor is it authorized to provide any tax advices. This article is for information purposes only and we advise to contact your tax advisor before tax application.
How to pay my taxes on my trading income?
How can customers report binary options income to tax authorities? This is an issue we encounter often and try to help customers with some basic guidelines for their countries.
However, it is important to note that in many cases we are in the dark as much as customers are, so we try to research as much as possible to deliver some basic information or guidelines that will make the issue of binary options taxation clearer.
Here are some of the most relevant topics:
- binary options and regulation status
- taxes for forex traders
- tax policy in South Africa and worldwide
Is Forex Trading Taxable in South Africa?
Binary Options South Africa does not provide consulting services, nor are we a licensed tax advisor.
We do not employ tax specialists and advisors. Information we provide should be seen as guidelines that can help customers when they are researching the way to pay taxes on their earned income.
Tax Authorities Mostly Undecided on Binary Options Trading
Binary options are becoming a widespread way to take part on the financial market, have fun and educate people about technical and fundamental analysis. In this respect, it is weird that authorities have not devised a more detailed way to understand reporting and taxation of this kind of income.
Regulatory Frameworks Often Set Up Too Late
In a way, this shows the fact that regulators are late to the game, as they are in most other industries.
Companies are fast to innovate, however, authorities are late with providing an appropriate regulatory framework to strengthen the market.
In some cases they are unaware this needs to be done. in others they don’t have the capacity and in third case they do it and eventually wreck the market by imposing too many restrictions on the very innovation that created the market for the product or service.
Below, we’ll explain in more details about paying taxes on binary options.
From Country To Country, Taxing Binary Options is Different
Different countries have different ways they design their tax policy and different ways they define certain categories in their tax codes. They all have one thing similar – taxes are complicated for the ordinary person.
In the case with binary options income taxation, the issue of a complicated tax system meets the lack of clear taxation code for this category. For some customers, who do not want to risk fines when withdrawing their profits just because authorities are slow, this is frustrating.
IQ Option Tax
IQ option South Africa does not report your winnings to SARS. It is entirely up to you to declare your winnings based on your tax situation and general income. IQ Option taxes are not paid via the platform to our knowledge. Paying taxes from IQ is a matter of the individual investor and you should seek professional advice from your local accountant if you have made significant winnings that you are afraid to receive to your bank account.
Some would suggest to withdraw in bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies as it is not seen as FIAT or regular legal tender. We do not advise for or against this model. We are not advising our customers from a legal standpoint but merely here to raise awareness on this topic.
International Tax Treatment When Withdrawing Profits From Binary Trading
Another problem with the tax code is that binary options income is usually withdrawn from the trading account at the broker to the customer’s bank account so make sure to check IQ Option withdrawal South Africa or Webmoney withdrawal South Africa and figure out what is the most suitable withdrawal method for you. This is required and enforced by the international anti-money laundering framework. We have already written about scam in binary options industry here.
For traders who invest and later on profit from binary options traders have to pay taxes on binary options income. Tax treatment differs from country to country.
Broker’s and the banks that they use to conduct their business are in most cases outside of customer’s country of tax residence.
This means that, other than the local tax code, binary options income taxation sometimes can involve specific regulations that arise from international relations and tax treaties (and absence of such treaties. This further complicates everything.
Tax Codes Are Complicated, Find Help If you Are Overwhelmed
Many of the provisions will be triggered depending on the size of the profit (or even losses if the tax code treats them as a form of deductible). This is why customers must decide, depending on the size of the income flow, if they want to take a specialized tax consultant or are they going to try to report the income as part of their own efforts.
How You Report Binary Trading Income Depends on The Definition Your Tax Authority Uses
Much of the confusion stems from the inability of customers, but in some cases, tax authorities themselves, to understand binary options trading in relation to their county’s tax code. Some countries see binary options as a form of gambling income, others see it as a form of capital income. Sometimes one’s own country sees binary options as gambling, however, the country where the broker resides classifies it as capital income.
Some countries define binary options differently, they do not allow one kind of market structure and allow for another one. This also influences how the income earned by trading binary options is going to be defined and taxed.
European Union: Single Market for Many Tax Codes
In the EU, the regulation by CySEC, enforced across the Union through the MIFID directive should make things easier. However, that is not the case. Individual countries and their tax authorities have specified binary options in ways that are not always consistent with the spirit of the single market directives.
While MIFID ensures customers are protected because they can trade with regulated binary options broker even if it is regulated by Cyprus and not by their own country’s authority, incomes are treated as capital gains or gambling, depending on the country in questions.
Also, some countries do not have a clear definition what binary option constitutes in term of the tax code, so they cannot determine if this is capital income or gambling income, or some other form of income.
Make Sure to Be Mindful of Currency Conversion When Stating the Amount for Taxing
Since the trading is conducted online and income will have to be withdrawn from another country, to national bank account traders need to see how that influences the way they report taxes. One practical matter can be simply determining the appropriate exchange rate since taxes are paid in the national currency of the country.
In any case, as usually with taxes, there are many things to consider and traders should make sure they check their country’s tax code for more information or find a specialist consultant to get proper information before risking a fine for improper reporting.
Tax on Binary Options in South Africa
South Africa is a large country with population close to 55 million people. As regards to participating on financial market, a lot of South Africans are interested to invest on global markets. Latest and widespread industry which is very popular among people in South Africa is binary options trading.
Binary options, also known as digital options, are type of online investment with fixed payout in predetermined period of time.
Trading binary options has only two possible outcomes; will asset price go up or down. South African investors find binary options trading as an excellent way to maximize profit and achieve high payouts. In this article, you can find more information on how to proclaim capital gain in South Africa with regard to online investment in South Africa.
An important note for all traders who are interested in this type of online investment, is that binary options are legal in South Africa.
In the last few years, it is visible how binary options trading experienced great popularity and boost among traders in South Africa. There are no regulatory bodies who oversee brokers, available on South African market.
South Africa does not allow domestic binary brokers to offer their services, but offshore brokers, who are registered outside South Africa, are allowed to be present on this market, by offering trading instruments and services to traders in South Africa.
Is Forex Trading Illegal in South Africa?
No, forex trading is not illegal in South Africa. According to Securities Service Act in 2004, binary options industry is classified as a derivative instrument. In 2007, The Bond Exchange of South Africa (BESA) with its partners developed a platform that allows traders in South Africa to trade with underlying assets on Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE).
Shortly after, binary options become a popular field of interest among traders who wanted to earn money with binary options, knowing risk level where it is not possible to lose more money that amount invested at the beginning.
As mentioned above, industry of binary options isn’t currently regulated by Financial Services Board.
Binary options industry is a new market and trading binary options is defined as a right, not as obligation, to invest in trade with fixed payout in future time. Due to low protection of investors, numerous brokers are allowed to offer trading services on South African soil. This is the reason why it is important to trade with reliable binary brokers like the one that we reviewed in our Deriv.com review South Africa.
Also, it is also possible to trade Forex without a complex investment structure. Forex trading represents currency processing which means that traders can invest in Forex trading with basic assets. While other trading options involve different types of assets, Forex deals only with options that focus on currency pairs.
We must note that the forex market provides the potential for profit. In one hand, general trading at the market is simpler and you always know what risk you are trading while forex trading is a variable and there are more things to consider. Also, it’s important to know when to invest, when to quit trading, and how to manage your trade in the meantime. Based on the difference, evaluate what you would like to trade and try a demo account with a forex broker to see all the tools and features you can use.
Forex and Taxes in South Africa
Paying taxes is the obligation of every citizen of every country in the world. South Africa is no different and forex traders have to pay taxes on their profit. This is strongly advisable as otherwise there might be legal consequences. However, the tax system is very complicated and rules vary from case to case so it is impossible to give one unique solution about how much tax you are going to pay as a forex trader.
The best advice is to check with your accountant or tax advisor. You can even reach out to SARS for more info on your status.
The South African Revenue Service known as SARS have the role of taxing and building the tax system and the acquisition of funds that belongs to the nation. Their job, as they say, is linked to the code of behaviors and the principles of SARS which are responsibilities, honesty, integrity, transparency, and trust.
SARS encourages compliance with tax and customs law to ensure that everyone pays their fair share. There is much more information about SARS on their official website and under different FAQ pages listed on their home page. Also, you can contact their customer support and ask for more information regarding any issue with tax related to South Africa trading.
