Kamogelo Olaitan
The South African Revenue Services (SARS) has launched the 2022 tax season with an announcement that it has made significant changes to filing.
The tax season is relatively short this year as SARS announced that it will be auto-assessing a significant number of taxpayers automatically.
Taxpayers who are exempt from filing are those who receive total income of less than R500,000 for the year from only one source and receive no other allowances or benefits, and from whom PAYE has been deducted according to the prescribed tax deduction tables.
Here are the important dates for filing this year:
- For individuals, trusts, institutions and boards that are submitting their returns manually, the tax season is open from 1 July to 24 October.
- Those using online platform efiling can submit their returns from 1 July to 23 January 2023.
- Companies need to file their tax returns within 12 months of their financial year-ends.
SARS has also introduced an auto-assessment programme that will work based on data received from employers, medical aids, banks, retirement and annuity funds.
In a statement, the tax authority said individuals will be auto-assessed to make it easier for everyone to comply.
Once SARS has completed the auto-assessment, taxpayers will be notified by an SMS or email. The taxpayers will be able to view the auto-assessment on the assessment eFiling website or the SARS MobiApp.
Taxpayers will also be able to view the third-party data that was used to pre-populate the return to check that the data is correct.
If the taxpayer is satisfied that the auto-assessment is correct and contains all relevant information, and a refund is due, they do not need to take any action. The assessment refund will be paid into their bank account within 72 hours.
But if the taxpayer does not agree with the estimated assessment, they can file an accurate ITR12 tax return within 40 business days of the date of the estimated assessment.
“This year over three million taxpayers have been auto-assessed by SARS and will not have to file a tax return if they are satisfied with the outcome. If you are in the auto-assessment group, you will receive a notification from SARS during the first few days of July,” the tax authority said in a statement.
