If you received another email from TaxTim requesting SARS supporting documents, but you already sent these to SARS more than 21 business days ago, one of these four scenarios might be the reason you are still waiting:
Scenario 1:
You submitted the documents directly on SARS eFiling yourself, but you did not inform TaxTim. In this case, our system needs to be updated to reflect that you already submitted your documents.
Please log into your TaxTim profi...
Read more →
The South African Revenue Service (SARS) says it will implement an "online traveller declaration system" that will go into effect on November 1, 2022. According to SARS, the new system will be applicable to all South Africans travelling abroad and says that it will simplify passenger movement at South African airports.
According to SARS, the system's goal is to collect travel information and in exchange, grant a traveller pass via email. It requires that all South Africans and residen...
Read more →
Step 1:
Log into your SARS eFiling pofile.
Step 2:
Navigate to your Tax Return which was auto-assessed.
You can do this by clicking "Returns" (top menu), then "Returns History" (side menu), then "Personal Income Tax ITR12" , then select the the relevant ITR12.
You will see the
Read more →
From 1 July to 4 July, SARS aims to issue auto-assessments to taxpayers who are due a refund.
The rest will be issued in batches up to 24 July.
Timing is Everything
If you receive an auto-assessment, you will have just 40 working days to request a tax return on TaxTim (or eFiling), complete and submit it. If you take no action within the ...
Read more →
The 2022 filing season opens on 1 July. Tick tock. That’s just around the corner.
It is important to be aware that the season is shorter than prior years. This means that SARS are giving you less time to file your return.
Important Filing Deadlines
24 October 2022: non-provisional taxpayer (i.e. salaried employees)
23 January 2023: provisional taxpayer (i.e self-employed, rental earners, freelancers, etc)
Auto-Assess...
Read more →
SARS is warning that those who fail to submit their tax return on time, will face harsh penalties. The period of leeway which applied to 2021 has now passed.
SARS announced a change to their legislation in December 2021 whereby they would levy administrative penalties to taxpayers who missed the filing deadline for one or more tax returns. Prior to this change, taxpayers only paid penalties when two or more returns were outstanding.
As a...
Read more →
In order to complete the Medical section of your annual tax return, you will need a tax certificate from your medical scheme (if you contributed to a medical scheme that is!).
This certificate details exactly how much was paid to the medical aid for yourself and your dependents over the course of the tax year (1 March to end Feb). It also details how much money you paid for other medical expenses, such as medicines and doctors expenses, which you claimed for, but your medical aid did NOT cover...
Read more →
You may be employed by someone, but for one reason or another- you don't receive an IRP5 and no amount of begging or pleading
Read more →
SARS recently announced the 2022 tax season dates:
01 July 2022 to 24 October 2022: individual (non-provisional) taxpayers
01 July 2022 to 23 January 2023: provisional taxpayers
If you earn less than R500 000 in a year, and fulfill a series of complicated criteria, you may not have to file a tax return in 2022.
However, we advise you to take GREAT CARE here, and understand your duties properly, because if you don't, you may suffer for it later on.
Here are the top 5 reasons why you should not skip filing your tax return this season:
Read more →
The Public Servants Association (PSA) served SARS with a notice of strike action on Friday, 13 May 2022. The strike is due to take place on Wednesday, 25 May 2022.
The union is demanding a CPI plus 7% across the board, while the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (NEHAWU) demands an increase of 11.5%. The unions and SARS hit a deadlock as SARS unashamedly made a final offer of a 0% increase.
If there is no resolution at the Com...
Read more →
According to SARS commissioner Edward Kieswetter, some South Africans who came into money were eager to “display their wealth”, giving cause for SARS to look into the income of these individuals.
In many cases, SARS found that there was a major disconnect between the income that was being declared and the type of lifestyle that these individuals were leading, according to third-party data. These include social media platforms.
As we already know, people are often i...
Read more →
For months, SARS has been clear about its plan to clamp down on crypto investors. While many may be under the impression that crypto is going under the radar, SARS is firmly taking the position that it is not.
With luxury audits being the order of the day, SARS is continuously looking into those who live luxurious lifestyles, particular those who own luxury cars and crypto assets, without declaring their income to the revenue service.
In many cases, this income pertains to the...
Read more →
Once you’ve completed filing your tax return, it’s possible to find that instead of getting money back
Read more →
In 2020, about 2.2 million jobs were lost in South Africa and in 2021, that number is expected to double as a result of Covid-19. With that, we have found that there are many questions surrounding the subject of taxes and severance packages. Here’s everything you need to know.
The Basic Conditions of Employment Act states that your severance pay should include at least one week’s worth of remuneration for every full year of work. Your severance package may consist of your ...
Read more →
Completion Letter
You will receive a Completion Letter if all goes well and SARS is happy with your documents. This means that SARS is not adjusting your Original Assessment and if you have a refund due, it should be paid out in 7 working days (provided you have no tax debt due or outstanding tax returns from prior years). Similarly, if you owe tax to SARS per your Original Assessment, the amount you owe will remain unchanged.
Hundreds of thousands of South Africans are filing their annual tax returns and everyday people ask us “when will I get my refund from SARS?”.
Read more →
If you’re an individual non-provisional taxpayer, make sure you file your tax return before or on the deadline of 2 December 2021.
SARS is warning that those who fail to submit on time, will face penalties. Legislation has changed and you will have to pay penalties in January 2022 if you have not submitted one or more of your returns. This means that if you file your 2021 return after the deadline, SARS will levy an admin penalty.
Before, you only paid penalties when two...
Read more →
Identity fraud happens when someone uses your personal information, such as your name and identity number, without your permission.
Criminals steal your identifying information from your home, car or wallet and even your rubbish bins and use your details to commit crime. Con artists can also get your personal and confidential information from the internet, social networking sites, emails, spoofed websites, Short Message Services (SMS) and unsolicited telephone calls.
It’...
Read more →
Like in previous years, there have always been opening tax season niggles and 2021 has been no different. Patience is a virtue, so the adage goes.
Read more →
In the past SARS needed to prove that a taxpayer had committed a tax crime “willfully and without just cause” but the legislation has just been changed. The court can now find you guilty of a tax crime even in cases of negligence or even in a case where the taxpayer may have made a mistake.
The amended law separates non-compliance into two groups: the first is where the taxpayer’s intention is not considered, and the other group is where the taxpayer’s intentio...
Read more →
If SARS have issued you an Auto Assessment, you will need to follow these steps to reject it so that we can help you to complete and submit your return to SARS.
Read more →
We are seeing many cases where taxpayers submit their documents to SARS, wait 21 working days (sometimes longer) only to receive a second letter on eFiling which requests the exact same documents again.
The letter we are referring to here is the generic SARS document request which looks like the below:
The South African Revenue Service (SARS) thanks you for submitting the revised income tax return for the 2018 tax period.
The revised information still does not match the information in the possession of the SARS and/or the income tax return has been identified for verification in terms of the Tax Administration Act....
Read more →
As early as July 2017, Adobe announced that Flash Player would be discontinued by 31 December 2020 and that Flash Player would block its Flash content by 12 January 2021
Read more →
1. Keep an accurate record of revenue and expenses
You can draw up these records by way of a simple spreadsheet based on your invoices and then confirm these amounts by cross-checking them against your bank statement.
Read more →
There is a new scam going around this tax season, SARS has made us aware of it and we would like to make sure you know about it too.
Read more →