With the 2018 tax season in full swing, SARS (South African Revenue Service) has made some changes to reduce the number of people visiting their offices. In this article, we’ve summed up the most important points taxpayers need to be aware of.
1. The 2018 Tax Season will be shorter
This year, the tax season will be 18 business days shorter than usual, to allow more time for verification prior to the December holidays. Most individual taxpayers will have to submit their returns by 31 October 2018.
2. Not everyone has to file a Tax Return
You do not need to submit a return if:
- Your total employment income/salary for the year (March 2017 to February 2018) before tax (gross income) was not more than R350 000; AND
- You only received an employment income/salary for the full year of assessment (March 2017 to February 2018) from one employer; AND
- You have no car allowance/company car/travel allowance or other income (e.g. interest or rental income); AND
- You are not claiming tax related deductions/rebates (e.g. medical expenses, retirement annuity contributions other than pension contributions made by your employer, travel).
3. Use eFiling
cording to statistics, during the 2017 tax filing season, a total of 120 000 returns were submitted by tax practitioners at SARS branches. SARS are encouraging people to make use of the eFiling system, as this will lighten the burden at the branches. SARS will support e-Filers with the Help-You-eFile service, which connects taxpayers to one of its agents in real time.
4. Make sure you meet the deadlines
The deadline for manual filing by post or at a SARS branch for provisional and non-provisional taxpayers is 21 September 2018. The deadline for eFiling or electronic filing at a SARS branch for non-provisional taxpayers is 31 October 2018. The deadline for eFiling for provisional taxpayers is 31 January 2019.
For more information on how to use eFiling, visit www.sarsefiling.co.za
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