Do Your Tax Return Easily Avoid penalties Maximise your refundCompletion 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.
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....
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SARS has recently issued a new guide with regards to updating your banking details with them. This was done in order to reduce the risk of refunds being paid into the wrong accounts and also to streamline the process, which has tended to be an onerous one in the past.
Change of bank details can be done:
When did this happen?
Previously, assuming that SARS did not request any documents for verification and everything for the year was accepted, refunds due were typically paid out quite quickly to taxpayers within 1-2 days.
From 2015, SARS has implemented a new requirement that ALL tax returns, since the first year a taxpayer registered for a tax reference number, must be submitted before any refund is paid out.
...
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Now that the 2018 tax season is open and hundreds of thousands of South Africans are filing their annual tax returns, every day people ask us “when will I get my refund from SARS?”.
While we’re not involved in the payments of tax refunds, we can provide a little insight into the SARS processes and timelines. So here goes …
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Tax isn’t the easiest of subjects to navigate. Besides the long list of legalese to master, there’s the fact that tax legislation evolves year on year. What was applicable on your tax return 2 or 3 years ago, isn’t necessarily valid on your next, and what’s right this year, may change next season.
It’s unsurprising then, that when faced with the daunting task of filing their annual tax return, many people turn to a friend, colleague or trusted broker to help them out, in the hope that they’re more proficient...
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The South African Institute of Tax Professionals (SAIT) issued a statement on Tuesday 20 September 2016 advising that they’re looking into the issue after numerous complaints had been raised...
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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. While you’re fairly accustomed to the frequent business trips requiring out of town travel, you’re still somewhat confused by the tax implications of the subsistenc...
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You’ve been diligent with your tax obligations. You’ve paid your PAYE each month without fail. You’ve kept all the supporting documents for your deduction claims. You’ve carefully filled out your tax return, making sure you’ve put all the right amounts in all the right places, against all the right codes. (Pssst, if you used T...
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Getting a new business venture off the ground is an equally exciting and stressful time. You’re enthusiastic about getting your new product or service out into the market, but you face quite an administrative process to get it off the ground legally.
A decision that often stumps many small business owners is whether to operate as a sole proprietor or as private company, a PTY Ltd. We receive many questions about this from entrepreneurs wanting to know the tax implications of each route.
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Are you the type of person dashing into the store to grab a birthday gift en route to a party? Or perhaps you’ve found yourself scratching through your craft box at 11pm the night before to make a ‘World Book Day’ outfit for your son? Or possibly you’re one of the hundreds of thousands of South Africans who waits until the last week of November to file your tax return?
While I’m not suggesting that every minute of your life needs to be pre-planned and organised, there are certainly a number of benefits to getting your tax done early...
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For those fortunate enough to receive bonus payments as part of your remuneration, you’ll understand the frustration of seeing one amount on your letter of bonus, but a dwindled amount reflecting in your bank account on payment.
We receive hundreds of queries from people with regards to what percentage tax they’ll have to pay on a bonus they’ll be receiving, either annually or as an adhoc performance bonus. Much like other variable incomes, such as commission, there’s a misconception that tax on a bonus payment is withheld at a higher rate.
The fact is that there’s no special ‘bonus tax rate’...
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Our helpdesk receives hundreds of questions related to tax where commission is involved. A misconception that comes up time and time again is that people believe commission is taxed at a higher rate than what a fixed salary is.
This isn’t true!
Tax on commission is at exactly the same rate as a fixed salary.
The confusion comes from the fact that tax is calculated on a different amount each month (depending on your performance, of course), and this can result in different tax rates being applied month to month...
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Turnover Tax is a simplified tax system only available to sole proprietors, partnerships, companies or close corporations with a “qualifying turnover” of less than R1m per year. These types of entities are called micro businesses.
As the name implies, Turnover Tax is a type of tax, which is calculated against the turnover of a business, as opposed to a percentage of profit (i.e. income less business expenses) as per usual business tax. This difference reduces the administrat...
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Medical expenses are nothing to sneeze at. Private medical treatment is increasingly pushing the limits of medical aid scheme benefits and our wallets. It's an outlay few can avoid. Luckily, certain medical expenses come with a bit of tax relief in the way of tax credits.
A tax credit is a non-refundable rebate. This means that a portion of your qualifying expenses, in this case medical related spend, is converted to a tax credit, which is deducted from your overall tax liability (the amount of tax you have to pay SARS)...
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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...
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Tax compliance makes its way into many aspects of life and business. Perhaps you’re considering applying for a tender, or for a foreign investment allowance to move funds offshore, or even looking to emigrate and leave our shores. These are just a few examples of instances where you may be asked by a third party to provide a Tax Clearance Certificate.
And until now, the course of action to obtain your certificate has been a tedious one.
Upon request, SARS would check its records and verify that the taxpayer had filed all required tax returns, paid all taxes, penalties and interest due, before releasing a Tax Clearance Certificate confirming a good standing...
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Have you been the lucky recipient of a gift or donation from a generous family member of friend? Perhaps they struck it lucky on the Lotto and decided to share their winnings with you!
Or maybe you're the giving type and have donated cash, shares or even property to someone you felt deserved a little boost.
Irrespective of whether you're the giver or receiver of a donation or gift, it's good to understand donations from a tax perspective, and how to declare these to SARS.
Ready to find out?
Let's get started.
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Do Your Tax Return Easily Avoid penalties Maximise your refund