![]() ![]() SARS does not give money back unless tax has been paid already. This means that if you don’t earn an income, but do contribute to a medical aid, you can’t claim the medical credit. You can't carry any unused credit over to the next tax year and it won't ever result in a standalone refund from SARS. This means that your contributions to a medical aid, as well as a portion of your ‘qualifying expenses’ (certain medical related spend), is converted to a tax credit, which is deducted from your overall tax liability (the amount of tax you have to pay SARS). Luckily, certain medical expenses may come with a bit of tax relief in the way of tax credits.Ī tax credit is a deduction off your tax payable. However, it's an outlay that few of us can avoid. ![]() This post was written by one of U4SC’s Educators 4SC Research Assistants, Samantha.Private medical treatment is increasingly pushing the limits of medical aid scheme benefits and our own wallets. There has to be a way for educators to get the supplies their students need without dipping into their own funds! On $42,000 a year, a high school teacher in Florida cannot afford to spend a portion of her salary on supplies, which goes to show just how much some are affected by this prospect. Even though it isn’t in their job description, the vast majority of teachers go out of their way to keep their classrooms fully stocked, even when it only does them harm in the long run. Purchasing school supplies out of pocket is just one example of this. Teachers don’t get enough credit for all they do inside and outside of the classroom. Between the fact that teachers are underpaid and buy supplies for students, something needs to change. But oftentimes teachers help out their students at their own expense. Overall, teachers across the country buy supplies for their classroom because they love their students and want nothing more than for them to succeed. The only way to change the fact that teachers are paying for school supplies out of pocket is to change this system. When families and schools cannot provide for students, teachers are left to do it. According to The Guardian, “45% of the teachers told the union they had also spent their own money buying basic necessities for pupils over the past year, with most paying for food, while 29% purchased toiletries and 23% said they bought clothing or shoes.” This issue of spending on supplies goes beyond the classroom. Above all, it doesn’t matter if teachers have the finances to buy these supplies because they shouldn’t have to.Ĭlassroom supplies aren’t the only materials, however, that some teachers are purchasing for students. This needs to change, whether schools across the country find a place in their budget to pay for these supplies or parents who are more financially stable donate a small amount of supplies to their children’s classrooms. When winter comes and germs start to spread, the costs of tissues, hand sanitizer, disinfecting wipes, and paper towels begin to add up. The amount of money that teachers spend buying supplies for their classroom per school year varies based upon where schools are located in the United States, specifically whether schools are in high-poverty or low-poverty regions.įor teachers with extremely meager salaries, buying supplies for their classrooms can be a burden. Each teacher wants their students to succeed, and they will only be able to do so with the necessary supplies, whether or not the funds for these materials comes out of their own budget. More often than not, educators are not reimbursed for their back-to-school purchases due to there not being enough room in the budget, and many teachers feel a certain level of disrespect at this fact. Most spend hundreds to thousands each year on standard school supplies, such as pencils, cases of copy paper, glue sticks, and markers, along with other classroom materials (games, books, supplies for STEM-related activities, etc.). Despite the fact that many teachers look for a second job in order to make enough to support their own lifestyles and families, in the majority of schools they have little choice but to purchase supplies for their own classrooms.
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