Seasoned provisional taxpayers – those people who earn income from sources other than, or in addition to a regular ol' salary or traditional payment from an employer - are all too familiar with the process of estimating taxable income and submitting provisional tax returns. Not once - but twice a year!
Yes, it's a bit painful (although TaxTim makes it super easy) but entirely necessary if you don't want to be lumped with penalties from SARS...
Read more →
If you left out some documents in your original submission to SARS, don’t panic.
SARS has recently implemented a new process
Read more →
1. This is the gross base cost of all shares you bought through the institution. You must NOT use this value on your return.
To calculate the base cost of the shares that you sold, you will have to deduct the profit / loss from the proceeds and then enter this amount in the base cost field on your return.
2. This is the proceeds i.e the value that your shares were sold for. This amount needs to be entered as proceeds in the capital gains section of your tax return....
Read more →
As part of SARS’ mission to simplify the eFiling system, the Tax Type Transfer process was updated in 2020 for all Tax products in a bid to offer users complete control of their eFiling profiles.
Overall, you can expect to see the following key changes introduced to eFiling from the end of April 2021:
You’ve been up since 4am in order to catch yet another red-eye flight for a 9am business meeting - 1,400km away - and you’re already onto your third coffee by the time you board the plane.
Read more →
2024 tax year (1 March 2023 - 28 February 2024) - see changes from last year
South Africans were bracing themselves for bad news when Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana delivered his budget speech yesterday. However, in line with expectations during an election year, he delivered the reassuring news that there would be no significant tax hikes, no VAT increase, and no introduction of a new wealth tax. Contrary to earlier speculation, the medical tax rebate is also set to stay for a while longer.
However, this positive news is not without consequences. As South ...
Read more →
TaxTim has TWO exciting competitions in 2024!
COMPETITION 1: Win R10,000 in cash by filing your tax return with TaxTim
How to enter:
Read more →
If you belong to a Medical Aid, there is important information on your medical aid tax certificate which needs to be included in your tax return.
This will ensure you receive the medical aid tax credit that is due to you.
Do you belong to any of the below medical aids?
- Bankmed
- Bonitas...
Read more →
The CIPC recently (1 April 2023) implemented a new register called the Beneficial Ownership (BO) register in an attempt to establish who owns or exercise control over which companies.
In layman’s terms, BO in respect of a company means, an individual who, directly or indirectly, ultimately owns that company or exercises effective control over that company for tax or financial purposes.
This new register is to assist law enforcement with relevant information when it comes...
Read more →
When a Tax Return is filed usually SARS issues an immediate assessment (ITA34), however sometimes they do need to do a further manual check on their side.
Read more →
Each time SARS makes changes on eFiling or with their standard operating procedures, TaxTim has to adjust its systems and processes. We usually receive no warning of these technical changes. During this time, some of our users might feel a need to abandon our service and either seek help elsewhere or go and queue at SARS.
We understand this may cause frustration, however we will not refund you in cases where you have worked your way through every section of the TaxTim dialogue a...
Read more →
During the tax year, SARS issued SMS's to taxpayer whom they chose to auto-assess.
Those selected individuals would typically be taxpayers earning fixed salaries without additional allowances. If they did have medical aid and retirement annuity fund contributions, these details would have already been sent to SARS by their service providers, and SARS should have automatically included them in the assessment.
We've received many questions on our help desk where users say that t...
Read more →
It is important to note that verifications and audits are two different processes. In a simple explanation, verification is the "straightforward" process to confirm if the information you declared on your tax return is true and correct, whilst an audit is where the tax return is under deeper investigation which means they look at the finer details.
Supporting documents request
If SARS decides to review your tax return, they will notify you via a SARS let...
Read more →
Nowadays, work culture has evolved massively and “Flexible employment” has become the new buzzword. This is especially relevant at the moment, where many employees are still working from home due to the global Corona virus outbreak of 2020.
Read more →
Flexible employment is becoming increasingly popular, many taxpayers spend some (or all) of their time working from home. If certain conditions are met, taxpayers are allowed to claim a portion of their office running costs as a tax deduction on their tax return. However, please note that SARS usually flags these returns for audit. If you do work from home, take a read of our home office blog and also check out our handy decision tree to make 100% sure you are claiming this expense correctly.
Read more →
If your 2023 individual income tax return was auto-assessed by SARS earlier this year, and you intended to include extra income or expenses/ deductions but missed the deadline, don't be dismayed, there might still be a way to fix things!
Is SARS rejecting your tax return submission and your dispute too?
Have you requested an extension, but SARS granted it for a day before they replied to you? i.e, you asked for an extension till 10 November 2023, but SARS gave you an extension...
Read more →
If you're a regular employee (i.e non-provisional taxpayer), your tax filing deadline is 23 October 2023. But, if you do fall into the provisional taxpayer category, your deadline extends to 24 January 2024.
Now, if you're thinking about waiting until the later deadline next year and consider yourself a provisional taxpayer, it's super important to make sure you actually meet the criteria for being one in 2023.
Let's debunk some common misunderstandings many taxpayers have abo...
Read more →
Guest post by - OneSpark
Are you looking to protect your family and take out life insurance, but asking yourself, "Is my life insurance claim going to be taxed? If I take out R1 Million cover, will it get reduced by tax before my family is paid?" Well, the short answer is ‘No”, but it’s a vital question to consider, especially when considering future financial planning.
As of this article’s last update in 2023, life insurance claim pay...
Read more →
Guest post by - OneSpark
Life insurance: it sounds about as exciting as watching paint dry, right? However, just like that fresh coat of paint protects your walls from wear and tear, life insurance is all about protecting your loved ones from the financial burdens that could pop up in your absence.
Now, the one thing that may be sucking that excitement out of life insurance is the perception of it being overwhelmingly complex and unjustifiably expensive. But ...
Read more →
Guest post by - OneSpark
Navigating tax laws, especially in relation to life insurance, can be complex. But don’t worry, we’re here to help, and we’re going to use some real-life examples to make it even simpler.
In the current landscape of 2023, life insurance premiums in South Africa are not eligible for tax deductions. While tax laws are in constant flux, the present situation translates to the following:
Example 1: The De...
Read more →
The updated ITR14 on eFiling has some new sections, and one that often raises questions is the part about share classes. Although it might seem confusing, it's actually quite simple. SARS is just asking you to tell them more about your shareholders in the company.
When you begin your ITR14, please have the balance sheet, income statement, and also the share register ready. A share register is is a list of all active and former owners of a company's shares. To complete the capita...
Read more →
It seems that dormant companies are on SARS' radar.
If you registered a company with CIPC some time ago and forgot about it, that company could land you in hot water with SARS. Read more to find out what the financial repercussions could be and why you should get a hold on the situation.
A dormant company is classified as a company that has not actively traded for the full year of assessment. Because there is no activity in the compan...
Read more →
With the end of the tax year looming, SARS tax collectors are on high alert to collect taxes and meet their revenue targets.
If you owe SARS, you should be receiving constant reminders to pay your debt. This may be in the form of SMS's, phone calls or even posted letters.
If the debt is unfamiliar or if you are not in agreement with the debt, you can File a dispute with SARS , howe...
Read more →