How long to wait for my refund from SARS and what must I do?

Posted 3 September 2014

On 01/07/2014 I have submitted my returns and then I was selected for audit the next day later I submitted my supportive doc.31 days later I received a letter from SARS which state verification of assessment is complete. I then went to SARS head office to find out if there is anything they will need from me after receiving a letter of verification and they said No my money will paid to me after 21 working days now 21 days have passed by and I phoned SARS to find out why my refund is still not pa...

Read more →

"Refund Review" by SARS?

Posted 1 September 2014

Tim, With reference to the blog posted by yourself : What?%u20AC%u2122s the delay with getting my SARS Refund? I would like to know what could typically flag this type of audit? The documents I submitted was nothing out of the ordinary and it has now been 2 months since I filed my return - the audit were concluded on the 8th of August 2014. If this is an automated tool why is the turnaround time 30-60 days?

How do I know if I am a tax resident of South Africa?

Posted 18 August 2014

My client was employed in Zimbabwe for 11 of 12 months, so he qualifies as being out of the country for more than 183 days. However, he regularly traveled back to SA on week-ends for a break, so was never out of the country for more than the 60 days in a row as required. Does this then disqualify him from being a non-resident for tax purposes?

Shoud I (non South African) pay tax on my global income which comes to my non resident account?

Posted 12 August 2014

I am a foreigner working overseas. My spouse, also a foreigner, lives in South Africa on a work permit and pays taxes here. When I am not doing my consultancies, I come to South Africa to stay with my spouse. I have recently opened a non resident account in South Africa so that my consultants fees can be paid to the account here and it will help me with liquidity as well as eventual investments that I may want to make. What is my tax liability in South Africa?

Foreign unemployment benefits - counting as foreign income or otherwise taxable in RSA?

Posted 9 August 2014

Hi - I am from Europe, working in the RSA for a South African employer since early in the 2014 tax year. During the period between March 1st 2013 and my arrival/start of work in the RSA, I had no salary, but received an amount in unemployment benefits from the European country I then lived in. Are those benefits taxable in South Africa (as income or otherwise), and if so, under what heading should I enter them for my 2014 tax return? Foreign Income, some other category?

State pensions received from foreign country

Posted 9 August 2014

Are state pensions received from a foreign country taxable in South Africa in cases were contributions to such pension fund was paid while permanently residing and working in said foreign country? Must such amounts be declared as income? Are the banks obliged to advise SARS of such pension money transfers from foreign source?

Do I need to declare my foreign income on my ITR12?

Posted 6 August 2014

I was living and working outside of SA for more than 6 months in the last tax year. On the first page of the tax return, it asks if I was unemployed for the full tax year. I called an agent at SARS and explained that I was unemployed in SA but employed in the UK for the tax year. She asked if I have an IRP5, which I don't as I didn't work in SA for the tax year. She then said that I would then say that I was unemployed.

I am wanting to check if that is correct. I understand that my i...

Read more →

Is there any refund due to me for 2012 and 2014?

Posted 5 August 2014

On 2012 I did my eFiling and my return was R-1478.05 this year 2014 I received Notice issued on SARS for ITA34 for 2012/1
Thank you for submitting your income tax return for the 2012 year of assessment.Your assessment has been concluded and reflects an amount refundable to you of R-1478.05
please note that this amount only reflects your income tax assessment and does not reflect tax payable under any previous assessment or any othre balances on your account.The current balance on your ...

Read more →

Can a SARS refund be audited after your audit have been completed?

Posted 4 August 2014

Good morning
Have received a completion letter, have refund due to me. Now they say I cannot receive my payment because my refund is being audited. How can I overcome this and receive my payment?

Verification and supporting documents twice

Posted 1 August 2014

I have submitted my tax return whereafter they asked for supporting documents, which I uploaded via efiling. Then Sars issued me with a letter saying the original assessment is correct and no changes has occurred. Two days later I get a letter again from SARS asking again for the same Supporting documents. This letter looks exactly the same as the first. I submitted the supporting documents again. Why would sars want to verify my detail twice ? I dont understand , why would they ask another time...

Read more →

PAYE while working in Swaziland?

Posted 14 July 2014

If I am to work in Swaziland for a South African based company earning ZAR , how would they tax me , I believe if you work out of the country for more than 63 days consecutively and for a minimum of 183 days p.a then earnings are tax exempt ?

Can I claim tax on international travel insurance?

Posted 9 July 2014

Can I claim tax back on an international travel insurance of a total value of R6000 from a South African company (TIC)?

Tax on interest when abroad

Posted 7 July 2014

Regarding the residency question - If you earn interest(South African source) with no other income, spend more than 183 days out of the country, will that interest be subject to tax. Lets assume the interest earned is R250 000 for the year. If this isn't tax free, would the opposite be true where by the interest is from a foreign source yet you are resident in SA but do spend more than 183 days out of the country.

UK State Pension on SARS eFiling?

Posted 1 July 2014

I believe that UK State Pension is not taxable income in South Africa. Is that true? In particular, is it necessary to mention it at all when doing SARS eFiling?

Tax on Foreign income

Posted 5 May 2014

I am receiving and will be receiving a maintenance settlement every month for the next 15 years from UK in the form of a cheque in British pounds. What procedures do I follow when declaring this and or submitting my tax return? I have a letter which accompanies the payment every month from the courts in the UK. Any help is appreciated.

Sabbatical tax relief - more than 183 days

Posted 25 April 2014

The 183 day rule - I will be out of the country in the coming year for 177 in the US and 10 days in Finland on business. I am an academic and will be a visiting scholar in the US. I will be paid by my institution in South Africa while away for the whole period. Do I get any tax relief from the 183 day rule apply? Or does it only apply if I'm getting paid outside the country?

Does the set tax period Feb to March apply for non resident tax payers....please see detailed reques

Posted 15 April 2014

I work out of the country for more than 183 days and with some trips being longer than 62 days in a year, so I am a "non-resident".....does my tax period also run from the set dates Feb to March as with resident tax payers?
As far as I understand I can adjust my 12 month period as to when these 183 days fit in? So how will I use your site then?
For example: Say I worked from Feb 2012 to Feb 2013 and got my 183 days and done that years tax return......Then stayed at home not working f...

Read more →

How to treat foreign income

Posted 5 April 2014

I am a SA citizen and live outside SA with my family(since 1998). I have bank accounts and property investments in SA, and I still fill tax return every year. My salary income is all foreign though. I visit SA almost every year for a period of 4-6 weeks for vacation); sometimes another 2 weeks over Christmas. I also own foreign property.Questions:1. Should I declare my foreign income?2. Should I declare my foreign property in any way, purchase, rental income, sale?

Do we need a tax directive to avoid paying PAYE due to working out of the country ?

Posted 31 March 2014

My husband works out of the country and in 2013 was in Moz for 63 consecutive days, meaning he shouldn't pay PAYE in SA. How is this worked out in the system? Should he be paying monthly PAYE, and refunded at year end, or does he need to apply for some sort of tax directive from SARS? He has been invoicing the company, who have paid him in SA but there are no payslips or PAYE deductions. Now we are applying for a homeloan, they want payslips.

"Temporary expat" liable for South African tax?

Posted 25 March 2014

I left South Africa in Feb 2013. I started a limited company in the UK in April 2013. Myself and my wife are shareholders of the limited company, we're paid a salary and declare dividends.We're now moving to Germany, I have 2 homes in South Africa... one of which is currently under offer. The other is occupied by a caretaker.I understand that I need to submit a "nil tax return" this year and for any other years that I'm out of the country, but am I liable for any taxatio...

Read more →

Residents based tax - how does it work in SA?

Posted 22 March 2014

Hi Tim. I am currently a South Africa provisional taxpayer but will be leaving SA to work for a US based company for the next 5 years . I will be leaving on the 30 June 2014 but will receive a pension payment commencing 1 July 2014 from my current employer for the next 5 years payable in South Africa . I will also receive a bonus in December 2014.

I will be out of the country for more than the 183 days as well as the 60 day consecutive period . My question is as follows :

1. Is the monthly pension taxable...

Read more →

Deemed disposal of assets after being away from SA for work?

Posted 14 March 2014

I have been given the advice that I would automatically be considered a non-resident if I spend more than 183 days and more than 60 consecutive days outside of South Africa by SARS and would therefore have my tax status changed to non-resident. SARS would then deem my assets as sold (even though I have not actually disposed of them) and I would be liable to pay CGT.

Is this the case?

Do travel days count towards 183 days out of country?

Posted 6 March 2014

Do the days of travel to and from SA count as being out of country?

Dubai/RSA tax question?

Posted 6 February 2014

I am a South African citizen and have been made an offer of employment by a Dubai-based consultancy. They will give me an employment contract to work in Dubai (among other offshore locations), they will sponsor me as a permanent resident in Dubai and will assist me in setting up a bank account for my salary to be paid into tax-free in Dubai. I will be away from south Africa for at least 183 days in each 365-day tax year.

Question: would I have to declare my earnings in my RSA tax retu...

Read more →

Do I pay tax on my SA salary if I am out of the country for most of the year?

Posted 5 February 2014

I am going to work for a Tanzanian company for the next 12 months, but will still earn my SA salary. Is it business as usual in terms of PAYE on my SA salary, or is there some sort of relief?
Older posts →← Newer posts    1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9