Tag: eFiling

Retirement annuity contributions can carry forward when taxpayers do not claim them. However, most taxpayers never check whether this happened. From today, taxpayers who received a South African Revenue Service (SARS) auto-assessment this month can submit a corrected return if they find something inaccurate or missing. One of the most commonly overlooked corrections involves a contribution that a taxpayer made months, or sometimes years before this year's assessment was generated.

For many taxpayers, especially expatriates, managing South African tax obligations from a distance can be complicated. Years may pass without any direct interaction with the South African Revenue Service (SARS). During that time, key details such as contact information, banking details and tax number status often become outdated.

With the holidays around the corner, combating holiday tax scams is more important than ever. While it is the season to be jolly, it is also a time for caution in South Africa. During this period, South Africans face a heightened risk of tax scams.

The country’s SMBs have had a tough 18 months, and unfortunately it seems that challenges are set to continue. The first quarter of 2021 saw one of the highest jobless rates since records began – 32.6 percent – and the latest projections show that South Africa’s economy is only expected to recover to pre-pandemic levels in 2025.

Filing season opened on 1 July 2021, with a significant number of taxpayers being assessed automatically. So, should you file a return this year or not?

Speak to any individual taxpayer and tax practitioner these days and no doubt ‘auto assessments’ will feature in the conversation. Whilst many agree that the auto assessment process is a good idea and there is appreciation of SARS’ intention to simplify tax compliance, there are mixed feelings regarding the implementation and practicality thereof.

You, as the taxpayer, are responsible for declaring the correct information to SARS and will face the consequences if you don’t. Ensure that your tax practitioner declares all income by providing all the correct information to him or her.

The South African tax season for non-provisional individuals kicks off next month. With the South African Revenue Service (SARS) pushing for the use of its online eFiling service, we are cautioning people to be on the look out for an increase in tax scams.

SARS replaced the Tax Clearance Certificate (TCC) system with the enhanced Tax Compliance Status (TCS) system on eFiling in April 2016. The new TCS system is aimed at improving tax compliance as taxpayers can better manage their TCS and remedy any non-compliance through the 'My Compliance Profile' (MCP) function on eFiling.