If you left out some documents in your original submission to SARS, don’t panic.
SARS has recently implemented a new process
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In the Capital Gains section of the annual tax return (ITR12), SARS requires you to insert the relevant asset source code for the item you have sold. However, when you sell financial investments (e.g shares) the financial institution issues an IT3(c) which shows the profit/loss source code (i.e4250/4251) and not the asset source code. This causes confusion for taxpayers, who think th...
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As part of SARS’ mission to simplify the eFiling system, the Tax Type Transfer process was updated in 2020 for all Tax products in a bid to offer users complete control of their eFiling profiles.
Overall, you can expect to see the following key changes introduced to eFiling from the end of April 2021:
2024 tax year (1 March 2023 - 28 February 2024) - see changes from last year
South Africans were bracing themselves for bad news when Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana delivered his budget speech yesterday. However, in line with expectations during an election year, he delivered the reassuring news that there would be no significant tax hikes, no VAT increase, and no introduction of a new wealth tax. Contrary to earlier speculation, the medical tax rebate is also set to stay for a while longer.
However, this positive news is not without consequences. As South ...
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TaxTim has TWO exciting competitions in 2024!
COMPETITION 1: Win R10,000 in cash by filing your tax return with TaxTim
How to enter:
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If you belong to a Medical Aid, there is important information on your medical aid tax certificate which needs to be included in your tax return.
This will ensure you receive the medical aid tax credit that is due to you.
Do you belong to any of the below medical aids?
- Bankmed
- Bonitas...
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The CIPC recently (1 April 2023) implemented a new register called the Beneficial Ownership (BO) register in an attempt to establish who owns or exercise control over which companies.
In layman’s terms, BO in respect of a company means, an individual who, directly or indirectly, ultimately owns that company or exercises effective control over that company for tax or financial purposes.
This new register is to assist law enforcement with relevant information when it comes...
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When a Tax Return is filed usually SARS issues an immediate assessment (ITA34), however sometimes they do need to do a further manual check on their side.
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Each time SARS makes changes on eFiling or with their standard operating procedures, TaxTim has to adjust its systems and processes. We usually receive no warning of these technical changes. During this time, some of our users might feel a need to abandon our service and either seek help elsewhere or go and queue at SARS.
We understand this may cause frustration, however we will not refund you in cases where you have worked your way through every section of the TaxTim dialogue a...
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During the tax year, SARS issued SMS's to taxpayer whom they chose to auto-assess.
Those selected individuals would typically be taxpayers earning fixed salaries without additional allowances. If they did have medical aid and retirement annuity fund contributions, these details would have already been sent to SARS by their service providers, and SARS should have automatically included them in the assessment.
We've received many questions on our help desk where users say that t...
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It is important to note that verifications and audits are two different processes. In a simple explanation, verification is the "straightforward" process to confirm if the information you declared on your tax return is true and correct, whilst an audit is where the tax return is under deeper investigation which means they look at the finer details.
Supporting documents request
If SARS decides to review your tax return, they will notify you via a SARS let...
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Nowadays, work culture has evolved massively and “Flexible employment” has become the new buzzword. This is especially relevant at the moment, where many employees are still working from home due to the global Corona virus outbreak of 2020.
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Flexible employment is becoming increasingly popular, many taxpayers spend some (or all) of their time working from home. If certain conditions are met, taxpayers are allowed to claim a portion of their office running costs as a tax deduction on their tax return. However, please note that SARS usually flags these returns for audit. If you do work from home, take a read of our home office blog and also check out our handy decision tree to make 100% sure you are claiming this expense correctly.
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If your 2023 individual income tax return was auto-assessed by SARS earlier this year, and you intended to include extra income or expenses/ deductions but missed the deadline, don't be dismayed, there might still be a way to fix things!
Is SARS rejecting your tax return submission and your dispute too?
Have you requested an extension, but SARS granted it for a day before they replied to you? i.e, you asked for an extension till 10 November 2023, but SARS gave you an extension...
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A pressing concern for many South Africans is whether or not the taxman gets a chunk of the money when the life insurance policy pays out. It’s a big stress factor to wonder how big the tax portion will be and how much will be left over for your family especially in a time when they need it the most. But here's some good news as of 2023: life insurance payouts usually don't get taxed. That means your loved ones get to keep the whole amount, giving everyone a bit of comfort.
&nbs...
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While it might seem like a morbid topic at first, understanding life insurance is pretty important to safeguarding your family's financial future. Life insurance is about more than just providing for your loved ones after you're no longer around, it is the cornerstone of financial stability during hard times like illness or disability as it protects your income. Think of it as a protective bubble that will ensure your family's financial well-being, no matter what life throws your way.
Delving into tax laws and understanding their impact on life insurance doesn’t have to be headache. At TaxTim, we're here to simplify the world of tax and ensure you stay informed about the key tax implications when it comes to your life insurance. Without diving into too much detail, let's get straight to the point and focus on what you really need to know about the tax implications on your life insurance premiums.
First off, it's essential to know that life insurance premiums ...
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The updated ITR14 on eFiling has some new sections, and one that often raises questions is the part about share classes. Although it might seem confusing, it's actually quite simple. SARS is just asking you to tell them more about your shareholders in the company.
When you begin your ITR14, please have the balance sheet, income statement, and also the share register ready. A share register is is a list of all active and former owners of a company's shares. To complete the capita...
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It seems that dormant companies are on SARS' radar.
If you registered a company with CIPC some time ago and forgot about it, that company could land you in hot water with SARS. Read more to find out what the financial repercussions could be and why you should get a hold on the situation.
A dormant company is classified as a company that has not actively traded for the full year of assessment. Because there is no activity in the compan...
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With the end of the tax year looming, SARS tax collectors are on high alert to collect taxes and meet their revenue targets.
If you owe SARS, you should be receiving constant reminders to pay your debt. This may be in the form of SMS's, phone calls or even posted letters.
If the debt is unfamiliar or if you are not in agreement with the debt, you can File a dispute with SARS , howe...
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SARS have recently introduced a new way to track your tax return online via the SARS website.
See TaxTim's step-by-step guide to help you nagivate this new process:
1. Please go to the SARS website www.sars.gov.za click on "Contact Us"
2. Scroll down the page then click o...
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Step 1:
If you have been auto-assessed by SARS, you may see the screen below when you log into SARS eFiling.
Please click on "View".
You may also see this screen:
If you ...
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Why am I receiving a request for payment for asking a tax question?
During the process of assisting taxpayers with the completion and submission of their tax return, we sometimes receive tax related questions to our Helpdesk which fall beyond the scope of the tax return and therefore requires some more of our time. This is because documents may need to be reviewed or calculations to be performed or even in some cases, external experts to be consulted.
For this reason, you may receive a request for a payment in response to your tax question...
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