Next tax return deadline looms

KNYSNA NEWS - By Wednesday , 19 October, just over 238 000 taxpayers in the Eastern Cape region had already filed their tax returns. That is approximately 73% of all the taxpayers in this region. The filing patterns are consistent with those of the 2015 Tax Season.

Since the launch of the tax season in April, SA Revenue Services (Sars) has received more than 4-million tax returns nationally.

Deadline Dates for the 2016 Tax Season
• September 23, 2016 – manual/postal submissions
• November 25, 2016 – At a Sars branch (nonprovisional)
• November 25, 2016 – eFiling (nonprovisional)
• January 31, 2017 – provisional taxpayers via eFiling

Only those that earn more than R350 000 need to submit an ITR12

Not everyone needs to submit an income tax return. Taxpayers whose total salary for the year is no more than R350 000 may not need to submit a tax return if:

• Their total salary for the year before tax is less than R350 000.
• They only receive employment income from one employer for the full year of assessment.
• They have no other form of income such as car allowance, business income, taxable interest or rent or income from another job.

• They don’t have any additional allowable tax deductions to claim such as medical expenses, retirement annuity contributions, travel expenses.

If there is an uncertainty about who should submit a tax return, taxpayers can get assistance on the 2016 tax season webpage on www.sars.gov.za.

Fraud Alert

With tax season comes many attempts to scam taxpayers. Sars would like to remind taxpayers that, even if they are using the service of a tax practitioner or an intermediary, the taxpayer remains personally liable for their own tax affairs and their own compliance. Taxpayers should ensure the tax practitioner they use is registered and accredited, and can check the registration status of a tax practitioner on the Sars website.

Taxpayers who are concerned about emails or SMS messages claiming to be from Sars should:

• Visit the Scams and Phishing webpage on www.sars.gov.za
• Email phishing@sars.gov.za
• Call the Sars fraud and anti-corruption hotline on 0800-00-2870, or
• Call the Sars contact centre on 0800-00-7277.

eFiling and Help-You-eFile services
Taxpayers are once again encouraged to use Sars eFiling to submit their tax returns as it is the quickest and easiest way to submit a return and is available 24 hours. eFilers requiring assistance can make use of the free Help-You-eFile service by simply clicking on the Help-You-eFile icon on eFiling and following the prompts to get access to a friendly SARS Contact Centre agent who will help them every step of the way while eFiling.

Recovering forgotten eFiling login details and password

We understand that Taxpayers sometimes forget their eFiling credentials. To receive your login details, follow these easy steps:

• Visit www.sarsefiling.co.za
• Click on Login
• Click on the question mark
• Request your login details
• Sars will send it to your registered email address or cellphone number
• If you are still stuck? Phone the Sars contact centre on 0800-00-7277 for help.

SARS Contact Centre – Call-back function:
Taxpayers calling the Sars contact centre who are too busy to be put on hold can request Sars to call them back without losing their place in the queue. By following the voice prompts, a Sars agent will return calls and provide telephonic assistance.

Bring correct documents

If you would like to submit your ITR12 easily, have the following documents which are applicable to you on hand if you are eFiling or with you if you are filing at a Sars branch:

• PROOF OF INCOME. All the certificates you received IRP5 (employer), IT3(a) (Pension or retirement fund, IT3 (b) (Investments), capital gain tax and financial statements.

• PROOF OF IDENTITY. ID book, passport or driver’s licence.

• PROOF OF DEDUCTIONS. All relevant documents such as medical aid, pension and retirement annuity certificates and medical expenses

DON’T INFLATE OR UNDERSTATE AMOUNTS. Use only accurate information and the correct figures that appear on your various supporting documents when you complete your return.

A review of 2015 Tax Season highlights the following:

• 99.96% of returns were filed electronically, either via eFiling representing 51.84%, or through electronically assisted filing at a Sars branch or mobile tax unit.

• Manual submissions are down to less than 2 000 returns, representing 0.04% of total volume

• More than 95% of all returns submitted were assessed within three seconds and more than 99% within 24 hours.

• Sars paid out 1.82-million refunds to the value of R15-billion – more than 95% of these refunds were paid within 72 hours.

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