Tax and SARS knowledge base

What records prove an overseas business-trip expense?

Last reviewed: 28 August 2026

Direct answer

For an overseas business-trip expense, keep records that show why the trip was undertaken for the trade, what was actually spent, and which costs relate to private time or people. The ITR12 business information has a foreign-travel-cost category, but that is not a blanket approval for all travel paid from the business account. A flight confirmation or bank card statement does not by itself show an income-producing purpose.

Prepare the evidence while planning the trip. Reconstructing the business purpose after a holiday, conference or client visit is much harder than maintaining a dated itinerary and meeting record.

What this means in practice

Begin with the commercial reason. Record the client meeting, supplier negotiation, conference, site visit, training, trade fair, delivery, professional engagement or other business activity. Retain invitations, agendas, registration evidence, emails, meeting notes, presentation material and contracts. If the trip did not produce immediate income, explain its identifiable connection to the existing or intended trade without overstating the result.

Keep an itinerary that separates travel days, business meetings and private days. Include departure and arrival dates, countries, accommodation, people met and the topic discussed. If a spouse, child, friend or another person accompanied you, keep their costs separate unless you have evidence for their independent trade role. Personal extensions, sightseeing, family accommodation and private transport should not be absorbed into a broad “foreign travel” total.

Collect primary financial records. These include flight invoices, boarding passes, accommodation bills, car-hire contracts, local transport receipts, conference invoices, visa or business-document fees where relevant, and proof of payment. Check that the supplier, currency, date and traveller are identifiable. A card statement may corroborate payment but normally needs the underlying invoice to explain what was purchased.

Currency conversion should be documented. Keep the original-currency invoice and the working used to arrive at the rand figure recorded in the accounts. Do not use a casual estimate or an exchange rate found later without a clear source. If the trip involves several countries or a company card, maintain a transaction-by-transaction reconciliation.

Step-by-step

Create a trip file before departure.

Save the invitation, client correspondence, agenda, expected meetings and proposed itinerary. Give the trip a reference number.

Keep a daily business record.

Note the date, location, business activity, attendees and outcome. Retain meeting notes, badges, presentation material and follow-up emails.

Collect itemised supplier evidence.

Keep airline, hotel, car, rail, conference and local-transport invoices together with boarding and attendance evidence.

Mark private and mixed components.

Identify personal extensions, companions, upgrades and non-business days. Do not assume all costs are trade costs because the trip included one business meeting.

Reconcile currencies and payments.

Retain the original amount, exchange-rate working, rand amount, card statement and proof of payment. Match the totals to the business records.

Retain the final support file.

Keep the itinerary, invoices, notes, calculations, submitted ITR12 and assessment. SARS says supporting records should be held for at least five years.

Documents and records to keep

Invitation, client emails, agenda, conference registration and meeting notes.
Dated itinerary separating business and private activities.
Flights, boarding passes, hotel and transport invoices.
Proof of attendance, contracts, orders or follow-up correspondence.
Original-currency documents and rand-conversion working papers.

Important limits and exceptions

This guide does not calculate a travel deduction or decide the treatment of a particular foreign trip. The result can depend on the taxpayer’s trade, the purpose of each cost, private use, companions, the relationship between the travel and income, and any applicable allowance or capital rules. A trip that is mainly private is not transformed into a business trip by adding a short meeting.

Do not claim another person’s costs merely because they travelled with you. Do not mix an employee travel allowance with a sole-proprietor business-expense claim. If a client reimbursed an amount, an employer paid the cost, or an overseas entity arranged the trip, preserve the full correspondence and obtain advice on the reporting position.

When to get tailored advice

Seek advice for long trips, mixed-purpose travel, companion costs, foreign conferences, significant currency conversion, client reimbursements or a trip involving a related entity. TaxProof can assemble the trip evidence schedule for review.