SARS is warning that those who fail to submit their tax return on time, will face harsh penalties. The period of leeway which applied to 2021 has now passed.
SARS announced a change to their legislation in December 2021 whereby they would levy administrative penalties to taxpayers who missed the filing deadline for one or more tax returns. Prior to this change, taxpayers only paid penalties when two or more returns were outstanding.
As a...
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The cement is all used up and the bricks have been laid exactly where they need to be. A huge sigh of relief because… finally, construction and renovations are complete! And, just when you thought the worry was over, you realise that the differences between the building allowance and renovations aren’t clear to you. “Aren’t they all the same?” is the question lingering in your head. Don't fret, below is a breakdown of the exact clarity you’re looking for. ...
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Our Helpdesk receives lots of questions from home sellers who rented out their primary residence for some of the
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Surely most of us love to travel, but traveling for business purposes is no fun when it comes to completing your tax return.
SARS has some rather onerous requirements, but as long as you know what you need, submitting your documents to SARS should be plain sailing.
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There are various types of taxes with their own special return forms and deadlines.
The Public Servants Association (PSA) served SARS with a notice of strike action on Friday, 13 May 2022. The strike is due to take place on Wednesday, 25 May 2022.
The union is demanding a CPI plus 7% across the board, while the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (NEHAWU) demands an increase of 11.5%. The unions and SARS hit a deadlock as SARS unashamedly made a final offer of a 0% increase.
If there is no resolution at the Com...
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According to SARS commissioner Edward Kieswetter, some South Africans who came into money were eager to “display their wealth”, giving cause for SARS to look into the income of these individuals.
In many cases, SARS found that there was a major disconnect between the income that was being declared and the type of lifestyle that these individuals were leading, according to third-party data. These include social media platforms.
As we already know, people are often i...
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For months, SARS has been clear about its plan to clamp down on crypto investors. While many may be under the impression that crypto is going under the radar, SARS is firmly taking the position that it is not.
With luxury audits being the order of the day, SARS is continuously looking into those who live luxurious lifestyles, particular those who own luxury cars and crypto assets, without declaring their income to the revenue service.
In many cases, this income pertains to the...
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Ensure you have a tax number & eFiling profile
If you have not registered for SARS eFiling or you don't have a tax number don’t worry, SARS has made things a lot easier this year.
Getting a tax number is now as easy as registering on SARS eFiling. Simply click here and if you don’t have a personal income tax number yet, SARS will automatically issue ...
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Once you’ve completed filing your tax return, it’s possible to find that instead of getting money back
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Let’s face it, SARS didn’t make it easy for taxpayers to claim their home office expenses this past tax season. We can’t blame them really - being faced with millions of newbie work-from-homers, they had to weed out the legitimate claims from the chancers.
At the start of the season, they made it clear that they would only allow claims for taxpayers who had a separate office at home, set up specifically for their work, which was used by them alone. The office could n...
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If you think earning an income from a global source isn’t taxable on home soil, I’m afraid I have some bad news. Whether you’re earning Dollars, Euros or Yen, as a South African, it’s more than likely you’ll have to pay tax on this income. This is because South Africa’s taxation system works on a residence-based tax system meaning we’re taxed on worldwide income.
There is, however, some good news!
Section 10 of the Income Tax Act offers a list of conditions where foreign remuneration earned (up to R1,25m) for services rendered outside of South Africa borders will be exempt from income tax.
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Seasoned provisional taxpayers – those people who earn income from sources other than, or in addition to a regular ol' salary or traditional payment from an employer - are all too familiar with the process of estimating taxable income and submitting provisional tax returns. Not once - but twice a year!
Yes, it's a bit painful (although TaxTim makes it super easy) but entirely necessary if you don't want to be lumped with penalties from SARS...
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When planning your wedding, it’s highly unlikely that anything related to tax features on your agenda. However, when saying “I do” it’s very important to understand the tax laws associated with marriage because SARS treats income differently according to the type of marriage contract that binds you and your spouse.
Marriage in Community of Property
If you marry without an antenuptial contract, you’ll by default be married in community of property...
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Finance Minister, Enoch Godongwana, delivered his maiden budget speech on 23 February.
The speech started by indicating that there are still high risks to the economy, which is slowly recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic. The budget reasserts the commitment made in the 2021 MTBPS to set the economy’s course towards growth and fiscal sustainability.
It was announced that employment support will also be extended to the most vulnerable, service delivery shortcomings would ...
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All eyes were on Finance Minister, Enoch Godongwana, when he delivered his maiden budget speech to South Africans yesterday. Taxpayers breathed a sigh of relief when he announced that there would be no major tax hikes. This was welcome news for South Africans who are dealing with the effects of Covid-19, rising inflation, interest rate hikes and significant fuel price increases. 'Now is not the time to increase taxes' - thank you Mr Minister, we couldn't agree with you more!
The minister announced that SARS had brought in R182 billion more in taxes than had been predicted last year in February...
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In 2020, about 2.2 million jobs were lost in South Africa and in 2021, that number is expected to double as a result of Covid-19. With that, we have found that there are many questions surrounding the subject of taxes and severance packages. Here’s everything you need to know.
The Basic Conditions of Employment Act states that your severance pay should include at least one week’s worth of remuneration for every full year of work. Your severance package may consist of your ...
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Have you found yourself with a huge tax bill at the end of the tax year, and no money to pay it? SARS is making your life easier by changing the way it does tax deductions on your retirement fund from 1 March 2022.
You may receive several annuities or pensions from your previous employer or pension fund. In the past, your fund used to look at each income source separately when working out your tax.
The separate amounts you received probably fell bel...
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President Cyril Ramaphosa made the following key announcements in the State of the Nation Address (SoNA) he delivered on 10 February 2022.
Economic issues were high on the Agenda. There is recognition that unemployment, poverty, and inequality need to be addressed to create conditions for long-term stability and development. New energy generation projects were once again promised.
Progress is being made with Covid-19 vaccinations. Thirty million doses have been administered, w...
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1. SARS eFiling connection issue: Resolved
Problem description
When TaxTim tries to connect to individual taxpayers' profiles, eFiling is returning an 'unexpected system error'. This is affecting all Tax Practitioners.
How taxpayers are affected
TaxTim cannot connect to the taxpayer's eF...
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If you’re a provisional taxpayer, make sure you file your tax return before or on the deadline of 31 January 2022. You can check here to see if you are a provisional taxpayer.
SARS is warning that those who fail to submit on time, will face penalties. Legislation has changed and you will have to pay penalties come February 2022 if you have not submitted one or more...
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Does SARS regard cryptocurrency as a real currency?
No - SARS does not regard cryptocurrency as a currency, but rather as an intangible asset. In fact, the annual tax return (ITR12) refers to 'Crypto Assets' and not Cryptocurrency. As there are currently no laws or regulations governing the use of cryptocurrency in South Africa, crypto traders or users have limited legal protection according to the general common law. In other words, if you choose to use or trade cryptocurrency you do so at your own risk.
...
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Perhaps you just tried to submit your tax return and you instantly got an error relating to 3696 and 3699. As frustrating as it could be, don’t worry the error can be fixed. Maybe, you might have just simply left an amount out. Let’s have a look at what you should do, in order to crack these codes correctly – in that way making filing much more easier for you.
You’ll need to check your IRP5 to make sure you answered TaxTim's questions for these amounts correctly. Your IRP5 can show one or more amounts with source codes describing the income you received from your employer that year. ...
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SARS charges interest on late payments made toward provisional tax deadlines.
To calculate this late payment penalty, use the formula below:
Provisional tax amount x 7% x (days after deadline / 365)
Use the calculator below:
Hundreds of thousands of South Africans are filing their annual tax returns and everyday people ask us “when will I get my refund from SARS?”.
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Do Your Tax Return Easily