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Tax season – it’s time to file
This year, the tax season runs from 1 July to 24 October for regular income taxpayers and from 1 July to 23 January for provisional taxpayers.
Over this time, your employer and financial institutions will report to SARS on your behalf and provide you with tax certificates. You or your tax practitioner may be required to file a tax return.
We set out some important information and pointers on filing your tax returns to help clear any uncertainties you may have.
Why should I file a tax return?
By filing your tax return, you have an opportunity to confirm if the information supplied by your employer and financial institutions is correct and report expenses that can be deducted for tax.
These deductible expenses include:
- Certain medical expenses
- Retirement fund contributions
- Business travel
- Donations to approved bodies
- Home office expenses
- Legal costs
- Wear-and-tear for certain assets
Filing your tax return correctly and on time, should put you in good standing with SARS and should result in a possible refund if due to you.
Failure to file or late submissions can lead to penalties of between R250 and R16 000 per month.
How do I file a tax return?
The SARS E-filing website, www.sarsefiling.co.za and the Mobi App provide for an easy and intuitive tax return submission process. The Mobi App efficiency is, in our view, world-class.
The process of completing your income tax return involves simply completing a questionnaire. Much of your information has already been provided by financial institutions and your employer. SARS only requires you or your tax practitioner to provide information which they may not already have.
The questionnaire is dynamic and will ask follow-up questions based on the answers you provide. Outstanding sections and questions are highlighted in red to help you navigate.
Individuals will mainly be associated with any of the following tax returns:
- ITR12 for individuals
- ITR12T for trusts
- ITR14 for companies
SARS may require additional supporting documentation depending on the nature of the income earned or the type of business. This supporting documentation must be kept for a period of 5 years.
First time users will be prompted to provide the following documents to access e-filing:
- Copy of ID
- Proof of residence
- Bank statement not older than 3 months
- A clear photo of yourself holding your ID
Do I need to file a tax return?
SARS provides a guide to ascertain whether or not you need to file a tax return, provided below:
If you earn an income below your income tax threshold, you will not be required to file a tax return.
| Age | Tax threshold |
| Below 65 | R 87 300 |
| Between 65 and 75 | R 135 150 |
| 75 and older | R 151 199 |
If you have earned an income above this threshold and any of the following applies to you, you will be required to file a tax return:
- You are an SA tax resident and conducted trade in SA or outside SA. (trade refers to income not earned through an employer).
- You earned a salary from a company outside SA.
- You received an allowance such as travel, subsistence, or office bearer allowance.
- You held offshore assets to a combined value exceeding R 250 000.
- You had capital gains or losses exceeding R 40 000.
- Any capital gains or income from foreign assets/currency.
- You have participation rights in a controlled foreign company.
- You received an Income Tax Return or were asked to file an Income tax return.
If none of the above applies and you have had only one employer and earned an income below R 500 001 over the tax year, you do not need to file a tax return.
Irrespective of the outcome of the guide above, we recommend filing your tax return nonetheless to be 100% sure. In this way, you can be sure to cover all your bases and possibly claim a refund.
Auto assessments
This year, SARS has auto assessed over 3 million taxpayers who do not have to file a tax return. You would have received an SMS from SARS in July if this is the case.
To view your auto-assessment, log into E-filing or the SARS Mobi App. If you agree with the auto assessment, no further action is required. If you do not, you will still be able to file your tax return for 40 business days from the date you received your-auto assessment.
Am I a provisional taxpayer?
Where you have not received income through an employer or financial institution (e.g., self-employed, or receiving rental income), you will be considered a provisional taxpayer and will need to report your income to SARS twice annually.
Tax certificates Investonline provides
The table below provides a breakdown of tax certificates we can supply upon request.
| Taxpayer | Type of investment | Tax certificates available | Details |
| Individuals, trusts, and companies | Unit Trust portfolios and offshore investments | IT3 (b) | Income in the form of interest, dividends, REIT income, and taxes withheld. |
| IT3 (c) | Taxable capital gain. | ||
| Individuals | Living Annuities | IRP5 | Taxable annuity income and tax already paid “as earned”. |
| Retirement funds (RAs, preservation funds, umbrella funds). | RA fund contributions’ statements | Retirement contributions certificate needs to be used in claiming deductions. | |
| Tax-free savings accounts | IT3 (s) | Transactions within a tax-free savings account. |
Our Endowments and International Wrappers pay tax on behalf of our investors, based on Section 29A of the Income Tax Act, at the following rates:
- 30% for individuals
- 28% for corporate, risk and company policyholder funds
- 0% for non-taxpayers
The tax rates for trusts within these vehicles will be dependent on the nature of the beneficiaries.
Our International Wrapper product requires that you only provide SARS with the value of your investment.
In conclusion
Ensure that you are up to date with your tax and consult with a qualified tax practitioner. For more information, we recommend visiting the SARS website (www.sars.gov.za) or contacting their call centre on 0800 00 SARS (2722).
