What you need to know about paying your tax is that it just got easier, even if you’re not registered with Sars eFiling or don’t have a tax number. Tax season started on July 1, but this is one of those tasks that consumers often promise to come back to later because they find it so overwhelming. However, according to TaxTim, a digital tax assistant, obtaining a tax number is now as easy as registering for SARS eFiling if you have a valid South African ID number. If you’re a returning taxpayer, TaxTim has these tips for consumers…
What you need to know about paying your tax is that it just got easier, even if you’re not registered with Sars eFiling or don’t have a tax number.
Tax season started on July 1, but this is one of those tasks that consumers often promise to come back to later because they find it so overwhelming.
However, according to TaxTim, a digital tax assistant, obtaining a tax number is now as easy as registering for SARS eFiling if you have a valid South African ID number.
If you’re a returning taxpayer, TaxTim has the following tips for consumers who have decided to pay their taxes and dust them off:
- Make sure your bank details are up to date. You can update your bank details online using your SARS eFiling profile, but you may need to make an appointment with SARS to update your details.
- Make sure your contact details are correct, such as your physical address, contact numbers and email address. You can also do this in eFiling by selecting ‘SARS Registered Details’ and then ‘SARS Registered Details Maintenance’.
- Check your tax compliance by making sure you’ve filed all past tax returns and that you have no outstanding penalties or tax debt. If you owe Sars money for previous years, this may delay the payment of compensation for the current year.
- Prepare the following documents: IRP5/IT3a from your employer or pension fund, medical certificate, IT3b/IT3c showing your investments, your retirement annuity certificate, PBO certificate showing your donations and a travel log for business trips.
If you have been made redundant, withdrawn or transferred from your pension fund, you must receive an IRP5/IT3a from your employer or fund, which must be included in your tax return. An incorrect exclusion will result in a delayed assessment and possibly a refund.
READ ALSO: It’s tax season, but keep these Sars changes in mind
Self-employed? Keep proper records
If you run your own business, you can claim all business-related expenses against your business income.
Taxpayers in this category include sole proprietors, commission workers, independent contractors, and freelancers.
Keep accurate records of your income and expenses with relevant invoices and receipts. Sars may reject your expenses if you are unable to provide the appropriate supporting documents.
If you primarily work from home, check to see if you qualify for the home office deduction.
SARS Automated Assessments
Although Sars has made an automatic assessment for some taxpayers, TaxTim advises taxpayers not to accept the automatic assessment and it is better to file the tax return yourself.
This will prevent you from missing out on a full refund or, in the worst case scenario, no refund at all.
Automatic assessment does not allow you to claim tax deductions such as travel expenses, donations, home office and asset depreciation, and does not include additional medical expenses that you paid yourself.
Serve early
It is best to file your tax return as soon as possible during tax season. If you put it off until the last minute and run into a problem, you could miss the deadline and incur unnecessary fines.
READ ALSO: Can You Be a Temporary Taxpayer Without Realizing It?
Why do I owe SARS more money?
According to TaxTim, you may find that instead of getting your money back, you actually have to pay Sars.
This can be a nasty surprise, especially if you (wrongly) calculated and planned to spend this extra income.
You may owe money to Sars because you:
- worked for several employers and received several IRP5s
- are pensioners and receive a monthly pension
- received travel allowance, but did not keep a journal
- received travel allowance, but rarely went to work
- used a company car, but you did not keep a logbook
- have access to a company car, but you don’t drive a lot for work
- received investment income
- received rental income
- you run your own business or work as a freelancer
- the number of dependents on your medical care has decreased
- your superannuation contributions (RA) in your IRP5 exceed the total amount of RA contributions in your tax certificate.
NOW READ: It’s tax season, but keep these Sars changes in mind
