Fines for avoiding tax returns
With only a few weeks to go until this year's tax season officially closes, residents who have not yet submitted their tax returns, need to get a move on.
The South African Revenue Service (Sars) has already received more than four million individual income tax returns.
This figure includes over one-million returns received for previous years of assessment.
Read: Tax season tips from Sars
Over 1.4-m returns were submitted via eFiling and 1.5-m submitted electronically at a Sars branch.
What happens when I don’t submit my tax return?
Administrative penalties are levied on individuals when they have more than one return outstanding.
The penalties range from R250 to R16 000 per month per return outstanding, and are levied each month for 35 months.
Read: SARS gives taxpayers satisfactory service
Sars encourages taxpayers to submit their tax returns via eFiling, stating that this helps to avoid long queues at Sars branches.
Those taxpayers who need guidance when filing their returns via eFiling can use Help-You-eFile, which is an online service that connects taxpayers to a SARS agent telephonically, in order to navigate eFiling together, every step of the way.
Tax Fraud
Taxpayers are warned to be on the lookout for fraud and phishing scams, where criminals try to gain access to their banking details by sending emails, claiming to be from Sars.
Sars will never ask for personal, tax, banking or eFiling details (passwords, login information, etc.) via phone or email.
Taxpayers will also never be asked to log into the eFiling website from a link in an email.
Thus Sars has tightened its controls on the tax return process, in light of the challenges encountered towards possible tax fraud.
Refund turnaround times
A legitimate refund is paid as soon as the information submitted on the tax return has been verified.
During this tax season the following turnaround times have been achieved:
• Returns assessed within three seconds – 91.73%
• Returns assessed within 24 hours – 97.55%
• Refunds paid within 72 hours – 94.33%
If a return was flagged and a refund is due, it will only be paid once all outstanding requirements have been met by the taxpayer.
The 2016 tax season will end for non-provisional taxpayers on November 25.
Sars urges all those who have not yet submitted their return to do so as soon as possible.
