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Don’t blow your tax refund, make your money work for you

Sowetan · 🇿🇦 public South Africa · · 646 words · By Lindile Sifile
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What to know about Don’t blow your tax refund, make your money work for you

That happy SMS from Sars confirming your tax refund has landed can feel like winning a small lottery.

Claims checked 9
Techniques found 0
Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center86%
Right14%

7 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

That happy SMS from Sars confirming your tax refund has landed can feel like winning a small lottery.

Why it matters

But before you book that holiday, splash out on shopping or start planning how to spend every cent, financial adviser Marnus Mostert says taxpayers should pause and give their refund a job.

Common ground

The tax season started in July and ends in October.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.sowetan.co.za/news/2026-08-17-dont-blow-your-tax-refund-make-your-mo…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 9 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

info Single Source 5
check_circle Corroborated 3
help Insufficient Evidence 1
info
Claim 1: “If someone contributes R46,000 a year to a retirement annuity from age 33 to 65, assuming a 9% annual return after charges and a 45% marginal tax rate, they could retire with about R7.91m if they spend the refund each year.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The specific calculation (R46,000 contribution, 9% return, 45% tax rate resulting in R7.91m) is mentioned in a News24 article. Other sources discuss retirement generally but do not corroborate these specific figures.
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web search NEUTRAL — Assuming a 9% annual return after charges and a 45% marginal tax rate, if you spend that refund each year rather than reinvesting it, you could retire with roughly R7.91 million. Reinvest it into the …
https://www.news24.com/business/opinion/marnus-mostert-three…
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web search NEUTRAL — If you feel behind on saving for retirement, you’re not alone. Maryland residents estimate they need around $1.2 million to retire comfortably, according to a recent Northwestern Mutual survey.
https://www.thebanner.com/economy/careers/maryland-retiremen…
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web search NEUTRAL — At TIAA, we believe everyone deserves a secure retirement. Explore our annuities, retirement plans, financial planning, investing & wealth management solutions.
https://www.tiaa.org/
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Claim 2: “Reinvesting the refund into the same retirement annuity could increase that figure to about R13.63m.”
CORROBORATED
Both the News24 article and the article 'Don’t blow your tax refund, make your money work for you' explicitly state that reinvesting the refund into the retirement annuity increases the figure to R13.63m.
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web search NEUTRAL — Putting your refund into a retirement annuity gives it years to grow and compound, while a tax-free savings account offers another way to build wealth over time.Reinvest it into the same retirement an…
https://www.news24.com/business/opinion/marnus-mostert-three…
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web search NEUTRAL — Reinvesting the refund into the same retirement annuity could increase that figure to about R13.63m. “A tax-free savings account works differently. Contributions do not provide an upfront tax deductio…
https://www.sowetan.co.za/news/2026-08-17-dont-blow-your-tax…
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web search NEUTRAL — Do This Instead | Tax-Efficient Retirement Legacy Planning. A Smarter Way to Retire with Tony Leonardi CFP®.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3pAMoWx5Lg
help
Claim 3: “A 33-year-old investing the R46,000 annual limit until reaching the R500,000 lifetime cap could have about R4.38m by age 65, compared with about R3.31m if the same contributions were made to an ordinary taxable investment.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was provided for this claim in the search results.
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Claim 4: “Mostert, franchise principal and financial adviser at Consult by Momentum”
CORROBORATED
Three independent sources (LinkedIn, News24, and a report on millennials/Gen Z) all identify Marnus Mostert as the Franchise Principal and Financial Adviser at Consult by Momentum.
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web search NEUTRAL — Marnus Mostert CFP®, Franchise Principal and Financial Adviser at Consult Waterkloof Park, shares how using it strategically could help reduce debt, build emergency savings or give your long-term inve…
https://za.linkedin.com/in/marnus-mostert
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web search NEUTRAL — The money landing in your account this tax season isn’t a windfall - but it can create a waterfall. Marnus Mostert is franchise principal and financial adviser at Consult by Momentum.
https://www.news24.com/business/opinion/marnus-mostert-three…
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web search NEUTRAL — According to Marnus Mostert, Franchise Principal & Financial Adviser at Consult by Momentum, millennials, typically born between 1981 and 1996, are cautious with their spending and strongly inclined t…
https://businesstech.co.za/news/finance/778180/how-millennia…
info
Claim 5: “If that person adds R3,833 a month, equal to a R46,000 annual tax refund, towards the debt, they could potentially save R1.5m in interest and become debt-free about a decade sooner, using the debt snowball approach made famous by Dave Ramsey”
SINGLE SOURCE
The evidence provided for this claim consists of irrelevant legal records regarding 'State of Louisiana vs. Kenneth Collins'. No evidence regarding debt snowball calculations or tax refund applications was found.
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web search NEUTRAL — Jun 18, 2025 · At no point in time did you ever agree with the state of Louisiana to continue this case, or even suggest that the case be continued. In fact, you insisted that you wanted to move to tr…
https://law.justia.com/cases/louisiana/fourth-circuit-court-…
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web search NEUTRAL — 2 days ago · Court documents show all charges against Kenneth Collins were dropped because the woman involved changed her story.
https://www.wral.com/news/local/clayton-coach-collins-charge…
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web search NEUTRAL — Aug 21, 2026 · Searchers looking for State of Louisiana vs. Kenneth Collins or State of Louisiana v. Kenneth Collins are generally looking for the June 18, 2025 Louisiana Fourth Circuit opinion arisin…
https://court-records.org/louisiana-court-records/
info
Claim 6: “someone with R2.75m in debt – made up of a R2m bond at 10%, a R650,000 vehicle finance at 11%, and a R100,000 personal loan at 18% – could have minimum repayments of about R35,972 a month.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The evidence provided for this claim consists of irrelevant search results for Wonga, CS2 Upgrader, and Mon Compte Formation. No financial calculations or corroboration for these specific debt figures were found.
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web search NEUTRAL
https://www.wonga.co.za/
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web search NEUTRAL — Subscribe to notifications — we will send you personal offers, bonuses and important website news.
https://upgrader.vip/ru
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web search NEUTRAL — Faites financer votre formation à 100%.
https://www.moncompteformation.gouv.fr/
info
Claim 7: “The refund could come from medical aid credits, retirement annuity contributions, or other tax deductions that were not fully accounted for during the year.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The evidence provided for this claim consists of irrelevant search results regarding Shopee Express and WhatsApp browser issues. No evidence was provided to confirm the sources of tax refunds.
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web search NEUTRAL — Apr 23, 2025 · Some of the customer didn't prepare cash when the driver arrived at their property/office since the driver no longer can whatsapp customer. driver still can whatsapp customer, i just go…
https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/5519991
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web search NEUTRAL — Feb 27, 2026 · Male QUOTE(aneppp @ Feb 27 2026, 12:40 PM) same problem as me according to reddit, whatsapp web is down for ios Same here, updated whatsapp profile pic, but not updated when i check thr…
https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/5556445
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web search NEUTRAL — May 20, 2026 · 293 posts Joined: May 2006 Male I just Google Web Whatsapp and then click the link from there. Able to open without forwarding to Facebook CardPM Top LikeQuoteReply
https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/5565190
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Claim 8: “Contributions [to a tax-free savings account] do not provide an upfront tax deduction, but interest, dividends, and capital gains are not taxed”
CORROBORATED
The claim that tax-free savings accounts provide no upfront deduction but exempt interest, dividends, and capital gains is corroborated by the 'Don’t blow your tax refund' article and general descriptions of TFSAs in the Hamilton Journal and AOL results.
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web search NEUTRAL — “A tax-free savings account works differently. Contributions do not provide an upfront tax deduction, but interest, dividends, and capital gains are not taxed,” says Mostert.
https://www.sowetan.co.za/news/2026-08-17-dont-blow-your-tax…
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web search NEUTRAL — Balancing taxable, tax-deferred and tax-free accounts can give you flexibility to manage your tax liability both now and in retirement. While tax-deferred accounts offer immediate savings, Roth accoun…
https://www.aol.com/articles/taxable-vs-tax-deferred-vs-1924…
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web search NEUTRAL — A Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) shelters your savings or investments from the taxman, but many Canadians stumble on the rules. Introduced in 2009, it lets all growth and withdrawals remain completel…
https://hamiltonjournal.org/blog/what-is-a-tfsa-limits-downs…
info
Claim 9: “The tax season started in July and ends in October.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The provided web search results discuss general tax season definitions (Investopedia), South African tax brackets (FreshBooks), and UK tax dates (GOV.UK), but none of them specify that the tax season starts in July and ends in October for the relevant jurisdiction.
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web search NEUTRAL — Tax Season Definition Investopedia.
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/tax-season.asp
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web search NEUTRAL — Tax statistics show about twenty-two million of South Africa’s 58 million residents pay taxes. In this article, we'll cover everything you need to know about the tax brackets in South Africa.
https://www.freshbooks.com/en-za/hub/taxes/tax-brackets-sout…
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web search NEUTRAL — Estimate how much Income Tax and National Insurance you can expect to pay for the current tax year (6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027).
https://www.gov.uk/estimate-income-tax
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.