Tax Solutions for Engineering, Construction & Property

Building a Solid Financial Foundation for Your Business.

The engineering, construction, and property development sectors are the backbone of the South African economy. However, they are also defined by project-based revenue cycles, complex contractor arrangements, and high-value transactions, creating a landscape ripe with tax challenges. A single delayed project or a complex property sale can trigger significant and often unexpected liabilities with SARS.

We provide specialised tax debt resolution for professionals and businesses across these intertwined industries. We understand your financial realities and can build a strategic solution to protect your business.

Know More

Common Tax Challenges in Your Sector

The unique financial flow of project-based work presents specific compliance risks that can easily lead to debt. Our expertise covers:

Cyclical Income & Provisional Tax Revenue in construction and engineering is often cyclical, not linear. This makes accurately forecasting income for provisional tax payments extremely difficult, frequently leading to underestimation and substantial year-end liabilities.
Contractor & Sub-contractor Tax (PAYE/UIF) The distinction between an independent contractor and an employee is a major point of contention with SARS. Misclassifying workers can lead to massive historical PAYE, UIF, and SDL liabilities being assessed.
VAT on Project Milestones Managing VAT correctly across the lifecycle of a long-term project, with its various payment milestones and retentions, is a complex administrative task. Errors are common and can result in significant VAT debt.
Capital Gains Tax (CGT) on Property For property developers and investors, the sale of a property triggers a significant CGT event. A failure to plan for this tax liability can leave a business with a huge debt and insufficient cash flow to pay it.

How We Help You Build a Path to Recovery

We apply our services to provide stability and a clear path forward for your business.

Cash Flow-Aligned Payment Plans We negotiate SARS Payment Plans with repayment schedules that are realistic and aligned with your project-based cash flow, ensuring you can meet your obligations without halting operations.
Debt Compromise for Distressed Companies In cases of severe financial distress, we can prepare and negotiate a SARS Debt Compromise to reduce the total liability, potentially saving the business from liquidation and allowing for a fresh start.
Dispute Resolution for Contractor Tax If SARS has reclassified your sub-contractors as employees and levied a large PAYE bill, our legal team can manage the formal dispute resolution process to challenge the assessment.
Strategic Advice on CGT Liability We provide proactive advice and solutions for businesses facing a large, unaffordable CGT liability after a major asset sale.

Specialised Advice for Complex Financial Profiles

For our high-net-worth clients, we provide an enhanced level of service that addresses the complexities of investment portfolios, trust structures, and international assets. Our advice is always completely discreet, tailored to protect your wealth, and aligned with your long-term financial goals while ensuring full compliance with South African tax law.

Our Strategy for Construction & Property

Our strategy is to provide stability and a clear path forward for your business by:

Aligning Payments with Cash Flow

We negotiate SARS Payment Plans with repayment schedules that are realistic and aligned with your project-based cash flow cycles.

Securing Compromises for Distressed Companies

In cases of severe financial distress, we can prepare and negotiate a SARS Debt Compromise to reduce the total liability and save the business from liquidation.

Disputing Unfair Assessments

If SARS has reclassified your sub-contractors and levied a large PAYE bill, our legal team can manage the formal dispute resolution process to challenge the assessment.

Providing Strategic CGT Solutions

We provide proactive advice and resolution strategies for businesses facing a large, unaffordable Capital Gains Tax liability after a major asset sale.

Other Services

Frequently Asked questions

Here are answers to common questions from the construction and property sector.

SARS has reclassified my sub-contractors as employees. What are my options?

This is a complex legal dispute. The first step is to formally object to the assessment from SARS. Our legal team can analyse your contracts and working relationships to build a strong case that they are independent contractors, and manage the entire dispute process.

My tax debt was caused by a client holding up a large retention payment. Can you explain this to SARS?

Yes. Demonstrating that your debt is a direct result of a cash flow issue caused by a specific, verifiable event (like a delayed retention payment) is a key part of our negotiation strategy. This can be used to motivate for a payment plan or penalty waiver.

My business partner and I are in a joint venture. Who is responsible for the tax debt?

In a joint venture, liability can be complex. It often depends on the legal structure of the JV itself. We would need to analyse the JV agreement to provide specific advice, but typically, all partners can be held jointly and severally liable.

Don’t Let Tax Debt Demolish Your Hard Work

Your industry requires long-term vision and resilience. Don’t let a temporary tax issue jeopardise your projects or your company’s future. Contact us for a confidential assessment of your situation.

Book a Confidential Consultation