Independent contractor reference material

As an independent contractor in the information technology sector can I claim reference and text books that I purchase from tax? - in many cases we in South Africa do not have access to some of the international training and this is one of the ways we keep our knowledge current and stay marketable.

If your income is coded to 3616 on your IRP5 then you will be able to claim all work related expenses provided they were expenses in trying to produce income. In this case, reference and text books would be claimable if you need them in order to keep up to date and therefore generate income.