Die inkomstebelasting is 'n aftrekking.

Die means the.

In Afrikaans, die is the definite article for:

• singular nouns: die boek = the book
• plural nouns: die boeke = the books

Unlike English, Afrikaans does not change the article for gender, and it also does not have different forms like the vs. something else depending on case.

Afrikaans often forms compound nouns by writing them as one word.

So:

• inkomste = income
• belasting = tax

Together:

• inkomstebelasting = income tax

This is very common in Afrikaans, and it works much more like German or Dutch than English. Where English often uses two words, Afrikaans frequently uses one compound word.

Examples:

• huiswerk = homework
• handdoek = towel
• belastingopgawe = tax return

Is is the present-tense form of wees (to be).

In this sentence:

• Die inkomstebelasting is 'n aftrekking.
• is = is

A useful thing for learners: in the present tense, Afrikaans verbs are usually much simpler than English verbs. There is no change like:

• I am
• you are
• he is

Afrikaans just uses:

• ek is
• jy is
• hy is

So is stays the same.

'n is the Afrikaans indefinite article, meaning a or an.

So:

• 'n aftrekking = a deduction

Afrikaans does not have separate forms like English a and an. It always uses 'n.

Examples:

• 'n boek = a book
• 'n appel = an apple
• 'n huis = a house

The Afrikaans indefinite article is always written as 'n, with:

• an apostrophe first
• then a lowercase n

This is standard spelling.

A famous spelling rule is that even at the beginning of a sentence, 'n usually stays lowercase:

• 'n Aftrekking is belangrik.

So the n normally does not become a capital N in ordinary writing. Instead, the next word is capitalized if needed by sentence position.

'n is usually pronounced as a very short, unstressed uh sound, like a schwa.

So 'n aftrekking sounds roughly like:

• uh af-trek-ing

The n is usually not clearly pronounced like an English n in careful speech. The article is very weak and unstressed.

That is one reason Afrikaans spelling here can feel unusual to English speakers.

Aftrekking is a noun.

It comes from the verb:

• aftrek = to deduct / to subtract

Then the ending -ing turns it into a noun:

• aftrekking = deduction / subtraction

This pattern is common in Afrikaans.

Examples:

• betaal = pay

• betaling = payment

• beskryf = describe
• beskrywing = description

So aftrekking is a noun formed from a verb.

Yes, in this sentence the word order is very similar to English:

• Die inkomstebelasting = subject
• is = verb
• 'n aftrekking = complement

So the pattern is:

Subject + verb + complement

That said, Afrikaans word order can change in other sentence types. For example, if another element comes first, the verb still usually stays in the second position:

• Vandag is die inkomstebelasting 'n aftrekking.
  = Today, income tax is a deduction.

So this sentence is straightforward, but Afrikaans word order becomes more noticeably different in other contexts.

Afrikaans does not have grammatical gender in the way many European languages do.

So you do not have to learn separate articles like:

• masculine
• feminine
• neuter

You simply use:

• die for the
• 'n for a/an

This is one of the simpler parts of Afrikaans for English speakers.

A rough pronunciation guide might be:

duh IN-koms-tuh-bel-ah-sting is uh AF-trek-ing

A few notes:

• die here sounds roughly like duh, not like English die
• inkomstebelasting has several syllables, with stress commonly falling earlier in the word
• 'n is very weak: uh
• aftrekking has the af- and trek parts clearly audible

This is only an approximation for English speakers, but it helps avoid reading die as the English verb die.

Yes. Aftrekking can mean subtraction in a math context and deduction in a financial or administrative context.

So the exact meaning depends on context.

For example:

• in math: aftrekking = subtraction
• in tax/accounting: aftrekking = deduction

In your sentence, because the subject is inkomstebelasting, the financial meaning is the relevant one.

You would usually use the Afrikaans double negative:

Die inkomstebelasting is nie 'n aftrekking nie.

This literally looks like:

• not ... not

That double negative is normal in standard Afrikaans.

So:

• is = is
• is nie ... nie = is not

This is an important pattern to learn early, because it appears constantly in everyday Afrikaans.

The plural is usually aftrekkings.

So:

• 'n aftrekking = a deduction
• aftrekkings = deductions

Example:

• Daar is baie aftrekkings.
  = There are many deductions.

This -s plural pattern is very common in Afrikaans, although not every noun uses it.