kokkie its not that easy anymore. SARS leaves little room for innovation on personal tax side. the broader divide is whether you are classified as an employee or are able to offer your services as a consultant. but even as a consultant there are SARS pitfalls. if your employer controls your work and/or working hours and if a significant percentage, or worse, all your work is for only ONE "customer", you will be taxed as an individual ! technically, SARS wants to see and tax EVERYTHING that accrues to you in cash or otherwise in terms of and subject to limits of the income tax act. this is a complex subject and i urge you to obtain one on one advice from a specialist. my advice, don't get drawn into too many fragmented allowances as an employee that will make the filing of your return a nightmare and will see you having to restructure your package continuously with SARS ammendments to the act. with each item you are claiming comes more onus to retain records for proof. decide if you could be a consultant at an arms length, if not, you will have to go employee route. then negotiate best possibilities for yourself, ie let company pay med aid and claim the relevant caps (although there is talk of this being abolished once the new national social security system goes live), let the company pay for an approved prov fund for retirement, life insurance, disability benefits, dread disease etc (these are all tax deductible for the company and you given a certain set of rules), decide on co car versus car allowance (bear in mind deemed tables discontinue at end of this tax year). ask for a petrol card, i have not seen this targeted by SARS etc etc etc - there are many options but with every option come endless rules - you have to consult with someone who knows their stuff.