Free tool Tax
PR gift ledger
SARS now says products, trips and stays you get for content are income. Log every one as it arrives, and tax season becomes a copy-and-paste job.
What's in it
- Gift ledger: one row per item, with the columns SARS lists: what it was, who sent it, its market value, the campaign or deliverable it was linked to, and whether you kept, used, returned, donated or disposed of it.
- Worked out for you: pick what the gift was linked to and the sheet marks it "Likely" income under the SARS guide, or "Check facts" for a no-strings gift. It files each one under the right tax year (1 March to end February).
- Summary: per tax year, what's likely income and what to check with a tax practitioner.
- Start here: how to value a gift, what proof to keep, and an example row.
Free, no sign-up. Opens in Excel, Numbers, or Google Sheets (File → Import).
A record-keeping template based on SARS's guide. Not tax advice; you're responsible for your own return. Disclaimer.
Likely income from gifts
R26,000
| Phone for a launch Reel and 3 stories | Likely |
| Two-night hotel stay, monthly PR partner | Likely |
| Lip kit, arrived with no brief and never posted | Check facts |
Example figures. The ledger is a record-keeping aid, not a tax ruling.
How to use it
SARS's guide for influencers and content creators, effective 20 October 2026, asks for a PR gift ledger and says to keep records for at least five years. Here's how to keep one without it becoming a chore. Read what the guide says.
1. Log it the day it arrives
One row per item, while the email or DM is still in front of you. In February you won't remember which agency sent the serum.
2. Value it at what it costs to buy
SARS wants the market value. The simplest honest number is the retail price on the brand's own South African site, or a big local retailer, on the day you got it. Screenshot the price and note where it came from.
3. Be straight about what it was for
A brief, a tag request, an agreed post or a regular PR box means it's linked to content, so it's income. "No strings attached" is only for gifts where nothing was asked or expected. That's the line the SARS guide draws, and the ledger is how you show which side a gift is on.
4. Keep the proof next to it
The brief or email, the post link, screenshots of stories (they disappear after 24 hours) and the price screenshot. Note in the last column where they live.
Source
General information, not tax advice (disclaimer). Foreign income, a company or lots of deals? Speak to a registered tax practitioner.