Written by Alicia
Posted 18 December 2024
Many taxpayers find the process of filing a correction confusing. This often happens when they submit their tax return after the auto-assessment deadline or attempt to make corrections after SARS has already reviewed or audited their return. To make things clearer, we’ve compiled a list of common questions and answers to guide you through this challenge.
1. How long do I have to submit a correction?
You have up to three years from the date of your last assessment to submit a correction to your filed return.
2. How many corrections can I submit?
eFiling permits up to three corrections to your tax return. Any additional corrections beyond this limit will be rejected, and your last submission will be referred to the SARS manual assessment centre for review.
3. Can I file a correction after sending SARS my documents?
The option to file a correction would be closed on eFiling after you have submitted your documents. If you know your documents do not match the tax return you initially submitted, it’s safer to rather file a correction before sending documents to SARS.
4. Why do I have two links available to send documents to SARS?
If SARS requests documents on eFiling and you submit a correction, a second document link will be created for the correction. However, the first request for documents won’t close automatically. You’ll need to upload the same supporting documents to both requests in order to close both links.
5. Can I submit a correction after a revised assessment was issued by SARS?
Unfortunately not - once your tax return is amended by SARS and your assessment is finalised, the option to correct it is no longer available. You can however, still file a dispute within 80 days from the date of your revised assessment.
6. SARS rejected my correction - what now?
Please check if any letters were issued by SARS relating to the rejected tax return. You can search for such a letter on the SARS correspondence tab. Should there be a letter saying that you filed the correction late, you will need to request an extension, and then resubmit the corrected tax return.
If there are no letters relating to the corrected tax return, but you see either a revised assessment notice or a letter saying that your review is concluded, you would need to file a dispute if you want to correct something in the assessment.
