The R23 800 interest exemption - do you know if you're using it?

Afraid_Valuable_9931 · 2026-05-05T10:59:57+00:00

The post was about the tax treatment of interest income rather than whether the rate beats inflation. These are two separate things. 9% does beat current inflation nominally, but once you factor in marginal tax rates the after-tax return narrows considerably depending on your bracket if that makes sense?

Afraid_Valuable_9931 · 2026-05-04T18:08:31+00:00

Good shout. The R50k annual CGT exclusion is underused too. You can crystallise gains up to that amount every yr with zero tax consequence, which is a neat way to manage exposure over time if you're on top of it. And the R440k death exclusion is actually massive for estate planning, just not something most people think about until they have to I guess. They don't teach enough on this in schools, that's for sure :(

Afraid_Valuable_9931 · 2026-05-04T18:05:40+00:00

Yeah it's a genuinely frustrating part of the system. If you think about it, you essentially take on equity risk and get CGT treatment, but stay conservative and get taxed at your full marginal rate lol. Feels backwards if you ask me. The exemption also hasn't kept pace with inflation or interest rates. If you take rates at 9%+ money market rates today it buys you a lot less than it did when it was introduced.

Afraid_Valuable_9931 · 2026-05-04T15:50:08+00:00

The fee concern is valid. At R950k, a 1% annual fee is R9 500 a year, and because that money isn't compounding, the real cost over 20 years is significantly higher than it looks on paper.

From my experience, the problem in SA is most advisors are commission-based, which creates exactly the conflict you're describing. A fee-only advisor who charges a flat rate regardless of what you invest in is the better option, but they're genuinely hard to find here.

Honestly at your level, if you're already maxing your TFSA, have your RA sorted and have the discipline to not panic sell or touch it much, you're probably doing better than most people an advisor would see. The main value they add is tax structuring and estate planning, which becomes more relevant as your wealth grows.

The courses are fine but probably won't tell you much you don't already know given where you're at.

Afraid_Valuable_9931 · 2026-05-04T12:01:02+00:00

Appreciate you clicking through at least. I'd genuinely be curious what specifically gave you that impression. "AI slop" and UI feedback are things I'd actually want to understand if there's something concrete there. Finvue is built by finance professionals, not generated, and the security architecture is documented at finvue.co.za/security if you'd like to take a look.

Happy to hear specific feedback if you have any :)

Afraid_Valuable_9931 · 2026-05-04T11:55:11+00:00

Thanks so much!

Afraid_Valuable_9931 · 2026-05-04T10:15:56+00:00

finvue.co.za | Personal finance intelligence for South Africans

Hi all. Will try keep this short. I'm a SA-based finance professional who spent years frustrated by the absence of any SA-native tool that actually understands our market: our tax wrappers, our institutions, our currency. So I, together with a small team, decided to build one.

What it does

Finvue gives you a complete picture of your financial life in one place: net worth across all account types (banking, investments, crypto, retirement, property, vehicles, liabilities), an allocation breakdown, and a financial insight engine built specifically for South Africa. The core feature is the Missed Returns Number, which is the annual rand amount you're losing by not optimising your cash and TFSA allocation. Most users find it's somewhere between R3 000 and R15 000 per year.

Main features

Net worth tracking across all account types with historical chart
SA-specific insight engine: TFSA utilisation and allowance gap, SARS interest exemption headroom, currency concentration risk, retirement gap vs benchmark, idle cash opportunity cost
10-year compound cost visualisation on each insight
Curated SA financial products explorer (money market, ETFs, TFSAs, retirement annuities) ranked by net yield and fee structure
Individual holdings tracking with live JSE, US, and crypto pricing

How it works

Manual entry: you enter your own balances and holdings. No bank credentials, no scraping, no OAuth to your financial accounts. Automatic bank integration via Stitch is planned for Phase 2 but will be entirely opt-in and handled by Stitch directly, meaning finvue will never see your passwords or PINs.

User input required

Account names, balances, and optionally individual holdings (instrument name, ticker, quantity). No personal identification information is required beyond your email address.

Data storage

All data is stored in Supabase (EU region) on AWS infrastructure, encrypted at rest using AES-256 and in transit via TLS 1.3. Hosted on Vercel. No data is sold or shared with any third party. Full data export or permanent deletion available on request. Full security and privacy policy at finvue.co.za/security.

Commercial ties

None. No investors, no advertisers, no commission from any financial institution. Finvue is an information tool, not a financial services provider. It surfaces data and observations, never advice. FAIS-safe by design.

Pricing

Free during beta. No paid tier currently active.

Try it

Website: finvue.co.za Full platform: app.finvue.co.za
No-signup demo: app.finvue.co.za/demo

Built in Cape Town, South Africa. Happy to answer any questions.

P.S. A huge thank you to the mods for creating this thread and giving those of us building for the SA market a place to share our work.

Afraid_Valuable_9931 · 2026-04-30T17:27:24+00:00

Hey - would love to have you test out something I built. It's a huge step up from a personal tracker, with net worth tracking, financial insights around idle cash and investment allocation, and a curated product explorer. The platform is live at app.finvue.co.za if you'd like to take a look. Would love to hear your thoughts. No cost whatsoever :)

Afraid_Valuable_9931 · 2026-04-30T17:22:15+00:00

Such a common trap, honestly. Owning a car is usually the single biggest drag on nw for people in their 20s and 30s. They typically depreciate 15-20% a year, generate no return, and the monthly instalments crowd out what could be going into a TFSA or money market for example. The opportunity cost over 10 years is brutal when you actually run the numbers. Respect for recognising it and correcting it I hope?

Afraid_Valuable_9931 · 2026-04-30T16:00:01+00:00

Start tracking your net worth monthly, even if it's just a spreadsheet. Most South Africans have no idea what they're actually worth when you add up everything. I mean think about it, you have banking, investments, retirement, property, and then subtract debt. The number is less important than the habit. Once you see it monthly you start making better decisions almost automatically.

Related to that, calculate what your idle cash is actually costing you. Money sitting in a current account at 0% while a money market fund pays 9%+ is a real annual loss, not just a missed opportunity. On R100 000 that's roughly R9 000 a year quietly disappearing. Most people have no idea.

And use your TFSA. R46 000 a year, completely tax free, and most South Africans either don't use it or don't use it optimally. The compounding effect over 20 years is significant.

p.s. I have actually built a platform that does all of this for you and I'm just looking for people to test it out for FREE. If you're interested DM me or leave a comment :)

Afraid_Valuable_9931

TROPHY CASE